Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
spectors to outcrops of tin and precious metals. They also acted as scouts and guides for
anti-insurgent forces during the Emergency in the 1950s.
Despite this, the Orang Asli remain marginalised in Malaysia. According to the most
recent government data published in December 2004, Peninsular Malaysia had just under
150,000 Orang Asli (Original People); 80% live below the poverty line, compared with an
8.5% national average. The tribes are generally classified into three groups: the Negrito;
the Senoi; and the Proto-Malays, who are subdivided into 18 tribes, the smallest being the
Orang Kanak with just 87 members.
There are dozens of different tribal languages and most Orang Asli follow animist be-
liefs, though there are vigorous attempts to convert them to Islam.
Since 1939 Orang Asli concerns have been represented and managed by a succession of
government departments, the latest iteration being JAKOA (
www.jakoa.gov.my
)
, an ac-
ronym for Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli (Orang Asli Development Department) which
came into being in 2011. JAKOA's primary goal is 'to protect the Orang Asli and their
way of life from the rapid development and exploitation of external parties as well as
provide facilities and assistance in education, health and socio-economic development'.
In the past, Orang Asli land rights have often not been recognised, and when logging,
agricultural or infrastructure projects require their land, their claims are generally re-
garded as illegal, so it remains to be seen how the new government department changes
this.
