We were informed by Orang Asli in many of our usual meetings before, that we should visit the Orang Asli of Bertam Valley in Cameron Highlands. Not only this place has a large concentration of Orang Asli, mostly of the Semai sub group but this place also comes with many problems that plagues a community neglected in today’s dizzying development that we have to deal with.
To get to Kampung Sungei Tiang one needs to follow the road in Ringlet, Cameron Highlands and head inland to Bertam Valley.
My colleague Augustine Anthony and I drove inland for an hour along dusty dirt road to experience what the Orang Asli had been complaining all this while, the drive was not pleasant to say the least.
A year ago all was fine until road construction had brought all the ills of developments here. The gruelling journey to Bertam Valley which is well known for its farming activities and the road to Kuala Lipis ran through the forbidding sands of development thus forcing us to turn back.
Our original plan was to head to Kampung Sungei Koyan also an Orang Asli village but we had to bring the journey to an abrupt end in view of the construction work and we proceeded to stop over at Kampung Sungei Tiang.
We were directed to the Tok Batin’s humble home where Bah Ie welcomed us with open arms. A brief law awareness session was conducted in his home. It was an all-ladies affair as the men folks were away working.
Near the end of the session, tears welled up in her eyes as Nor Azian spoke of the anxiety that raged in her. Like other villages scattered in this area, Kampung Sungei Tiang is populated by impoverished Semai ethnic people plagued by alcoholism and other social ills related to it.
“I am driven to hopelessness because I am unable to save my brother who is a victim of alcoholism, and we are not eating enough as a result” she said, her voice weighted with sadness. We were also informed that most of the youths got hooked-on to these habits to overcome their grief - to get away from the realities of daily-life due to unemployment, soaring food prices and cramped living conditions.
The intersecting highway is being constructed almost at their door-step thus placing their children in a vulnerable position. Honestly speaking, it was the sight of the children playing on the highway that caught our attention and made us to stop-over.
The once clear flowing river situated beside the village is heavily silted with mud and dirt due to the construction work. Some nature lovers will be appalled; others will applaud. Whichever way, it’s the Orang Asli who suffer the most whenever there is development in their ancestral land.
Tok Batin Bah Ie has requested us to conduct a law awareness program in the very near future and assured us full participation of the villagers. He fears the youths may get involved in criminal activities while under the influence of intoxication.
We should instill some awareness in them.
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(M. Gokoolaram Naidu is the Executive Officer of Perak Legal Aid Centre & Human-Rights Sub-Committee)