LIPIS: Difficult in accessing telecommunication network has forced the Orang Asli villagers in Pos Betau, here, to climb hills or walk to a specific location in order to obtain a signal on their mobile phones.
To worsen matters, during an emergency, including road accidents along the Sungai Koyan-Cameron Highlands stretch, they would have to travel on a motorcycle for quite a distance before they were able to call for help.
The sole telecommunication tower in the area was built more than five years ago, and there were some villagers from nearby villages who would walk some 5km to the tower area to ensure their devices could receive stronger signal strength to make calls and access the Internet.
For some, they believe that poor telecommunication connectivity and Internet access have hampered the community's growth especially
having access to social media platforms or to know more about the outside world through the world wide web.
Odd-job-worker Sari Atom, 37, from Kampung Pos Lenjang said Pos Betau which has 18 Orang Asli settlements with some 3,000 villagers from the Semai-tribe only has one telecommunication tower.
"The cell signal is very strong with full bars (on the phone) near the tower but if we stand about 500 metres or 1km away from the tower, we will get poor cellular signal. When the weather is good, we get good signal near the tower or in high areas but during heavy rain, there is no signal at all.
"The Orang Asli villagers here will climb hills, cross the river or walk quite a distance just to find strong signal to make calls. Sometimes when you notice a group of Orang Asli youth sitting together in a certain spot, it means the signal there is strong," he said, adding majority of the villagers own mobile phones but seldom use their devices due to poor connectivity.
Sari, who often travels on motorcycle to make phone calls, said he hoped that Pos Betau would be able to get assistance soon to help boost Internet connectivity in the area.
"We had previously requested for new telecommunication towers but nothing much has been done. Most of the youth have "WhatsApp" in their phones but seldom use the application as it is difficult to even download an image...we cannot read online news or get the latest information unless we move out from our comfort zone," he said.
Meanwhile, Farez Lalak from Kampung Simoi said the recent incident where an Orang Asli boy suffered 70 per cent burns after being caught in a blast at a main electrical distribution substation (PPU) while his father was making a telephone call nearby should serve as a reminder.
The 33-year-old said since their village had no telecommunication coverage, the victim's father had to walk quite a distance to be near the substation to make a call when his son entered the substation through a collapsed fence.
"The substation was popular in Kampung Sentol as the signal near the site was strong and many people used to gather there to make calls, or use the Internet. The father only wanted to make a call and the boy became a victim, and he is still being treated in Kuala Lumpur.
"There were also several road accidents involving superbike riders and they could not even get immediate help. Instead the Orang Asli villagers had to either give them a lift to the nearby health clinic or inform the clinic.. Several years ago, a superbike rider ended up in a ravine along the Sungai Koyan-Cameron Highlands stretch and waited with his injuries for nearly a day before he was spotted by an Orang Asli who was out looking for rotan," he said.
He added that on most occasions the Orang Asli villagers would prefer to leave their mobile phones at home as they would not be able to use it due to poor signal, and would only bring them out if they wanted to make calls.
Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Eddin Syazlee Shith said officers from the Malaysian Communications And Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Pahang Telekom Malaysia (TM) were scheduled to visit Pos Betau on Jan 18 to discuss on a suitable solution for the long-standing problem.
"I was informed they have coverage in some areas but it is very poor and we need to identify measures to ensure the Orang Asli community can have proper telecommunication access especially during an emergency," he said.
The Cameron Highlands parliamentary constituency has a total of 6,896 Orang Asli voters from a total of 32,008 voters.
A by-election is set to take place Jan 26 with four candidates to battle it out for the parliamentary seat.
They are DAP's M.Manogaran, Barisan Nasional's (BN) Orang Asli candidate Ramli Mohd Nor and independent candidates Sallehudin Ab Talib and Wong Seng Yee.