KUALA LUMPUR: The livelihood of the Orang Asli community is likely to be most affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed on March 18.
Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) founder Dr Colin Nicholas said during the MCO, the Orang Asli could not sell produce as many roads were blocked and no one could enter their villages without a permit.
“Not only do they lose their daily income, they are also forced to go into the jungle to find food to feed their families.
“They are in need of emergency food and medical supplies to sustain them throughout the MCO,” Nicholas said.
COAC, together with Raleigh International Kuala Lumpur and Impian Malaysia, have set up The Covid-19 Orang Asli Fund (TaC-OA), a fundraising project aiming at providing food and other essentials like face masks, sanitisers and urgent assistance to the community.
Instead of bringing supplies to the villages, which would require them to go through many procedures, the group had teamed up with local Orang Asli coordinators, whom they had been working closely with for years.
“The funds will be channelled through local coordinators who will buy the food and essentials needed locally,” he said.
Nicholas said although the economic stimulus covered the Bottom 40 income category, in which the Orang Asli were in, but in reality not everyone in the community was registered.
“There are 853 registered Orang Asli villages and 190 villages unregistered with the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jakoa),” he said.
The fundraising campaign would run until April 15 with a target of least RM30,000. The aid is meant for difficult-to-reach areas identified by COAC and its network members.
In Pos Kemar, Grik, Perak, the Orang Asli are crying for help to get food and medical supplies. Their situation worsened recently after their crops were destroyed by wild elephants, which was their source of food during the MCO.
According to Edward Lim Fung Chin from the A-Force 4x4 Club, the village was 60km deep inside the forest, which was accessible only through muddy tracks.
There are 5,000 Orang Asli in the village, who solely depend on suppliers coming into the area to buy their produce. Chin said the club was trying to get a permit to send supplies to Pos Kemar.
“We have 17 trucks on standby and are ready to deliver 3.5 tonnes of essentials, which include rice, flour, sardines, beans, cooking oil, salt, sugar as well as milk powder for children,” he said.
Despite the muddy terrain, the experienced team was committed to go through the obstacles with their 4X4 vehicles. Their mission was to reach the SK Pos Kemar field and drop off the food supply that the village tok batin would distribute — all with minimum contact with the villagers.
On top of that, AnNajah Community (PKAS) aims to help the Orang Asli in Pos Kemar and Pos Sindirut in Kuala Lipis, Pahang. The group often did volunteer work to educate and motivate the Orang Asli, besides supplying them with food.
According to PKAS accountant, Dr Nik Nadzirah Nik Mohamed, the group was working closely with Jakoa to enable supplies to be delivered. PKAS was targeting to provide 200 families with 10kg of rice each, besides eggs, flour and others.
However, they are having difficulty in getting food, especially rice due to high demand.