Jalal Hussin, Desley @ Rosley Bahdadu and Ariffin Ayun.
KUALA PILAH: Despite being located off the grid, Orang Asli communities in Negri Sembilan hope their incoming assemblymen can provide their communities equal opportunities and amenities as fellow Malaysians elsewhere.
This includes better housing facilities, improved road infrastructure and preservation of customary land, particularly in the constituencies of Johol and Juasseh.
In Johol, Ariffin Ayun, 59, said the residents of Orang Asli villages in Kelapi, Bari and Charik wanted various infrastructural developments there.
“We want the dilapidated roads in the villages here to be tarred again and repairs carried out on dilapidated housing here.
“Our biggest request is for more affordable homes to be built here. It’s been almost 10 years since the last houses were built and we hope more allocations can be given for this.
“We really need this as villagers here cannot afford to build the houses on their own and instead live in wooden houses that have been around for the longest time,” said the village chairman for the Orang Asli villages of Kelapi, Bari and Charik.
“As for improving access roads, we hope the coming assemblyman can raise the matter with the relevant authorities,” he added.
Jalal Hussin, 52, said roads in Kampung Bari desperately needed improvements.
“We hope they can solve this as soon as possible. It’s hard for cars to pass through due to the poor conditions.
“More streetlights are needed here as well.
"We raised the issue during meetings with the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jakoa) but there’s been no response yet,” he said.
Jalal also hoped for approvals for more Orang Asli customary lands.
“Our income will be affected if there is less land. With more reserve land, we can carry out more agricultural activities.
“Housing too should be improved. At least our future generations will have proper homes to live in as well,” he said when met here.
Kampung Senibai Orang Asli village chairman Desley @ Rosley Bahdadu said he hoped for Orang Asli villages to be given the same priority as others.
“Let it be equal,” the 59-year-old said.
Education should also be a priority for the incoming assemblyman, he said.
“They should pay attention to this. We want the same opportunities as everyone else.
“The incoming assemblyman must be close to the residents. Don’t come (around) once every five years,” he added.
In Juasseh, Adnan Sulak, 57, said the biggest issue was the availability of customary land.
“Our communities are growing but the land is limited. How can we make a living then?
“How can we send our kids to school, let alone pay utility bills,” he said.
Water supply was another outstanding issue, said Adnan, the Kampung Orang Asli Guntur chairman.
“When we don’t make enough money, we can’t pay the bills. The cost of things is high.
“Rubber prices are also dropping, making (earning a livelihood) difficult,” he said, adding that many members of the community were rubber tappers.
Kampung Orang Asli Guntur’s Tok Batin Jani, who goes by a single name, also hoped for more customary land to be allocated.
“This allows us to carry out agricultural activities like planting rubber trees or oil palm.
“At least then more job opportunities can be created for our communities,” he said.
Village access roads from Guntur to Langkap here also needed work, the 56-year-old added.
“It has been approved long ago but the works haven’t begun yet. We hope the assemblyman can push for this,” he said.
Jani added that the community would prefer an assemblyman who is familiar with the community.
“The first thing we do when we see the candidates is identify where they’re from, so we can give our full support.
“They must be from here so they know how to solve our problems.
“It’s even better if the incoming assemblyman always visits us consistently,” he added.
Johol will see a straight fight between Barisan Nasional's Saiful Yazan Sulaiman and Perikatan Nasional's Kamaruddin Mat Tahir on Saturday (Aug 12).
In Juasseh, the contenders are Barisan's Bibi Sharliza Mohd Khalid, the wife of former mentri besar Mohd Isa Abdul Samad; and Perikatan's Eddin Syazlee Shith.
