Activist continues father’s legacy to save heritage
NGO chairman pursues efforts to help Orang Asli community promote culture and traditions
KUALA LUMPUR: The increasing number of indigenous community members losing touch with their heritage due to urbanisation is of great concern to activist Dr Andre Ratos, who is making efforts to stem the tide.
He is worried their heritage and culture, that have been passed down through countless generations via oral tradition, risk being forgotten by the community’s current generation.
Andre, chairman of NGO Foundation for Indigenous Art (YKOA) has therefore pledged to step up assistance for the community in promoting their culture and heritage.
YKOA was founded by his father Datuk Anthony Ratos, who according to www.magickriver.org, was the first to use the term “Orang Asli” in 1952, in a thesis he wrote while being trained at a teachers’ training college in England.
Upon his return to then Malaya, he became a teacher at the Maxwell Secondary School in Kuala Lumpur, where he coordinated a two-year field study on Orang Asli culture by the school’s senior students, yielding a book and an exhibition.
According to records, Anthony’s initial encounter with the Orang Asli occurred when he was 12 years old in Gombak, which became the impetus that led him to a lifelong appreciation and love of the indigenous community’s way of life.
He would frequently bring young Andre along on his work for the community, exposing his son to everything about them.
Anthony passed away in 2010 and Andre has since been carrying on his work.
Recently, he was dismayed while visiting the Temuan community in Sungai Gabai, Negri Sembilan. With a medical team conducting health checks for the locals, he discovered that many of the community’s youngsters had forgotten some of their own unique heritage.
“While the doctors examined the children, I was speaking to the young adults and asked them if they knew of ‘gasi,’ and they didn’t. I told them that it is a man-eating giant.
“I then realised that most of them were living on the fringes of the city and also working in urban areas, where their lives have intertwined with city life,” he said.
Andre feels that those are the main reasons the young have forgotten their culture and heritage.
“Only the elders remember their history. This is an example of how culture can be lost due to urbanisation, and being busy earning a living. That is why it is important to have their culture preserved,” he told theSun.
One of Andre’s efforts towards preservation of the indigenous culture was “The Kelabits Live in Kuala Lumpur”, a YKOA event held at Berjaya Times Square recently.
The event, highlighting the Kelabits, the indigenous Dayak people of Sarawak and North Kalimantan of Borneo and their culture, attracted hundreds of visitors over two days.
The Kelabits have a special place in Andre’s heart too, as his wife is half-Kelabit. Her mother is a Kelabit.
Andre said his father made him promise to continue the foundation’s work.
“Before his death, he told me not to let it go. I understood that it was important to continue his legacy and create an impact and sustainability for the community.
“This means focusing on their health and creating a source of income, which in turn, will empower them to preserve their culture,” he said.
The indigenous community may have a fresh hero to carry on Anthony’s legacy in the form of Andre’s seven-year-old son, Aidan, who is already slowly embracing his roots.
“It is our duty as Malaysians to continue in championing their heritage for the future generation,” Andre added.