GRIK: Exploring and covering the lives of the Orang Asli community deep inside the thick forest of Gerik, Perak was definitely an experience to cherish.
Prior to this, I’d no intimate knowledge of the Orang Asli community.
What I knew was that they normally shy away from outsiders, although I had the chance to meet some of them during this year’s Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election where many voters were Orang Asli.
At that time, I did not get much chance to mingle with the Orang Asli community there due to time constraints.
My focus was more on the by-election candidates, one of whom was ex-policeman Ramli Md Nor, an Orang Asli.
He went on to win the by-election and become the country’s first Orang Asli member of parliament.
When I was assigned to cover the lives of the Orang Asli with my colleague Azdee Simon Amir, I expressed my hope to observe this community in their natural state, no matter how deep or thick the jungle I had to walk into.
Azdee is an “expert” in looking for such opportunities, and before long, we got ourselves invited to join a non-governmental organisation activity to send basic supplies to the Orang Asli villages here.
We travelled on a four-wheel drive for almost six hours to reach the first village, Kampung Air Papan which has a paved road.
We took a break there while the volunteers started distributing some of the supplies to the villagers.
Next, the Orang Asli brought us to the second village, Kampung Air Laba, to see activities conducted by a teacher from the the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns Jenita Engi, from the Temuan tribe, who was hired to train the Temiar Orang Asli from the nearby villages on how to be a teacher so that they could later teach the children.
I was impressed by the commitment shown by Jenita in teaching the Temiar youths the national language.
She told me that basic education is of utmost importance for the youths. Although they live deep inside the jungles and far from the modern world, they have to move ahead, in line with progress.
The muddy, narrow and hilly roads were one of the challenges as we journeyed to the next Orang Asli village, Kampung Ong Jangking. We were also required to walk for almost 3km while carrying the supplies as there was no access roads for vehicles to the village.
All three villages are occupied by the Temiar tribe and most of them live all over Grik. The Orang Asli are shy people who need some time to get to know an outsider.
There was also a communication barrier between us, especially among the women and children as they have yet to master the Malay language. Sometimes, I had to seek help from our “fixer” — the adult guys — to get to know them better.
We spent the night at Kampung Ong Jangking which was devoid of clean water and electricity. The community had to rely on a nearby river for water, and solar lights sponsored by local NGOs.
There was a commotion that evening when several men brought in their catch of the day — a wild boar — which would be the dinner main course for all.
They told me to observe how the wild boar was roasted while the children gathered around, sitting on broken tree branches to watch the process so that the skills could later be handed down from one generation to another. As a Muslim, I only helped myself to the boiled cassava dipped in sardine-tomato gravy prepared by them.
The night was quiet and dark. Only the occasional sounds of people chatting in the background broke the silence. It was also interesting to hear the sounds of children running around and chasing one another in the dark, while here I was, like a blind man, not able to see anything when there was no light.
Some of the men had little sleep as they took turns to protect the village from wild animals.
Azdee took the opportunity to talk to them while I took a rest in my sleeping bag in a bamboo hut. As soon as I lay down, I was knocked out due to exhaustion.
The next day, Azdee told me that my snoring had awakened the entire village at midnight.
The villagers thought a wild animal had entered their home. They were relieved when they went inside the bamboo hut and found it was me who had been making all the noise. I have to admit that I have an acute snoring problem and did not even notice their presence.
Early in the morning, an Orang Asli, Jaafar, took us to our next destination, Kampung Tasik Asal Cunex situated in the middle of the forests between Grik and Sungai Siput.
During the 2½-hour journey, I learnt that the villagers there had to fight off illegal loggers who had trespassed on their ancestral lands.
They built barriers made of wood to stop vehicles from entering the forests and stealing its resources.
One of them invited me to see the barriers for myself. They offered me a motorbike to ride. The slippery red dirt road didn’t make our journey easier. On top of that, riding a motorbike with a faulty brake system and bald tyres made it worse. I was left far behind since I was riding too slow.
Each moment I spent with the Orang Asli community will forever be etched in my mind.
They made me feel welcome although I am an outsider. I learnt many things.
Some of them are well-educated but they decided to go back home as they felt they had a duty to preserve their culture and custom.