Gov’t urged to set up corporation to improve Orang Asli’s socio-economic status

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to set up a special corporation to focus on the development of the Orang Asli community to improve the group’s welfare and socio-economic status.

The motion was raised by Ramli Mohd Nor (pix) (BN-Cameron Highlands) when debating the 2022 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said the role of such a corporation is to plan, draft policies and facilitate the implementation of projects or economic development programmes of the Orang Asli community without shutting down the functions of the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA).

“Presently, JAKOA branches must refer any projects or development programme to its headquarters. With the existence of the corporation, it can reduce bureaucracy, thus making decisions faster,” he said.

Ramli, who has been championing the rights of the Orang Asli, said that the government should give this issue due consideration because about 200,000 Orang Asli are still lagging from various aspects including education.

“According to a report from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the Orang Asli in the country are facing problems getting a quality education. In fact, some of the Orang Asli children do not even go to school and some simply drop out,” he said.

Ramli said various factors contributed to the problem. Among them, most of the Orang Asli community live in remote settlements which are far from schools, with no infrastructure and are also hardcore poor.

“I am proposing this initiative so that the problem related to education among the Orang Asli children can be solved. The JAKOA should create a transportation unit to ferry the Orang Asli children to school and also provide and upgrade the road infrastructure to remote areas.

“In terms of providing school supply assistance, I suggest the Education Ministry together with the JAKOA to evaluate the management monitoring system in terms of quality, quantity and standards of the material in the rural areas,” he said.

A total of 131 Members of Parliament from the government and opposition blocks plus independents participated in the debate at the policy level of Budget 2022 for seven days beginning Nov 1.

The winding-up debate of the 2022 Budget from the relevant ministries is scheduled for four days beginning Monday.

The Dewan Rakyat sitting continues Monday. — Bernama