Getting to know indigenous Malaysians

Mera Samadd (left) and Masara Pam (right) take a breather at a traditional Temuan House erected in the Shah Alam Botanical gardens. 

ALTHOUGH peninsular Malaysia officially has 18 indigenous communities, they constitute only about 0.6% of our national population.

According to the non-governmental organisation, Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), orang asli number around 178,197 as of 2010.

With Aug 9 designated as “International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples” by the United Nations, StarMetro gives a glimpse into the lives of our orang asli communities in the Klang Valley.

In Selangor, state Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Committee chairman Elizabeth Wong’s office estimates that the orang asli population stands at 19,761, based on Orang Asli Development Department figures.

Selangor has 74 orang asli villages, with COAC listing six of those as “urban” and the rest as “fringe,” based on data from 13 years ago.

The two main orang asli ethnicities in Selangor are the Temuan and the smaller group of Mah Meri.

Temuan

Spread out over Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and even Malacca, the Temuan is the larger of the two orang asli groups in Selangor.

Classified as “Proto-Malays” by the Orang Asli Development Department, the Temuan language is closely related to Bahasa Malaysia, although there are regional and local differences.

Communal feasting at the Temuan village of Kampung Kelingsing in the run-up to the International Day of the World's Indigenous People.

“For example the word lesap (disappear), we call it ‘hap’ in Sepang, Kuala Langat and even Negri Sembilan, while those in the Hulu Langat areas say ‘nyiak’,” said Kampung Orang Asli Bukit Dugang village committee member, Ilam Senin.

Similarly, the word “awak” (you) becomes “o’ong” (Sepang, Kuala Langat and Banting), or “ajih” and “igun” in the Hulu Langat and Hulu Selangor side.

Living just off Persiaran Putrajaya – near the Negri Sembilan border – Bukit Dugang resident Nuar anak Pah, 56, remembers a time when it was forest and bushes all the way from Jeram Hilir.

“No one would go out from the village unless there was a big event such as a wedding or a funeral, or when we had to buy items like salt and other basic necessities,” he added.

Although the forests are disappearing to development, people like Ilam, Nuar and Kampung Orang Asli Bukit Dugang villager Muhd Haikal say they still want to pass on their traditional knowledge, especially regarding the forest.

“Orang asli dengan hutan, tak boleh dipisah,” said Muhd Haikal, adding that although the community members had day jobs, the forest was a “filter” to get away from the modern world and its pressures.

The Mah Meri people are well known for their spirit wood carvings, painstakingly carved by hand polished to a nice finish.

“We sometimes bring our children along when trekking or hunting, to teach them about the trees, its uses and which ones to avoid,” said Haikal and Ilam.

Although some Temuans have converted to Islam or Christianity, others continue to practise their traditional faith worshipping “moyang,” which encompasses ancestral spirits and guardians in nature.

Traditional way of life aside, they all agree that formal education is important.

“We need to keep up with the times and use information to protect our lands.

“So the challenge is about holding on to our traditions and natural knowledge while keeping up with the world at large too, so that we do not end up wandering, with no base,” said Ilam.

Mah Meri

By contrast, the Mah Meri – a sub-group of the larger Senoi ethnicity – are mainly concentrated along Selangor’s coastline and islands in the Straits of Malacca.

Perat anak Dolah has been tok batin (chief) of Kampung Orang Asli Pulau Banting for nearly 30 years, and proudly recites the names of all the Mah Meri villages from Sungai Pelek in the Sepang district up to Bagan Hailam and Pulau Ketam.

“We still have our adat,” he happily said, explaining how burial traditions for Mah Meri would start with lighting “koomuyan” (a term loaned from the Malay word for incense) and oil lamps, to offering food and drink to the deceased before burial.

For Aboi, a headman's worries these days still revolve around land matters, especially protecting whatever reserve they have now from encroaching development and totally losing their way of life in the process.

After a week or 100 days after the burial, the tok batin gathers all the deceased’s belongings and calls the remaining family to distribute the possessions.

Although wooden masks and carvings are often identified with the Mah Meri, Perat said the practice of mask-carving was actually limited to the Carey islanders.

Sahudin anak Haya, 62, the fifth from a line of Mah Meri chiefs, recalled days during the Communist Emergency.

“I remember a British armoured car rolling into our village and after that, we had local soldiers stationed nearby.

“I ferried them across the river to continue their patrols, charging them 20sen per person.

“This was when a cup of tea cost the same amount while roti canai was 15sen then,” he laughed.

Faridah binti Rade, 56, recalled going into the forests with her mother to collect ferns and other edible plants.

“The forest can provide almost everything, and it was easy for us to pick up knowledge then.

“We would go into the forest whenever we were free after school,” she said.

Pressures of leadership

Being the village head is a heavy responsibility for the current generation, as their responsibilities have changed with advancing development.

“Back then, the tok batin’s role was different, especially for villages in the interior,” said Aboi anak Budi, 62, chief of the Temuan village of Kampung Kelingsing, Sepang.

“We governed land use, such as allotting a newly married man an area for his new household, then it was up to him to make the land productive,” said Aboi.

These days, he and Perat have to worry about other issues such as land encroachment and securing grants for their villagers’ land to protect it against developers and individuals.

“Sepang is fast developing, with many development projects coming up around the village so we are starting to feel ‘hemmed in’.

“Even though Kampung Kelingsing, Kampung Jambu and Bakok are already gazetted, we have yet to receive the official letters, and this causes sleepless nights for the tok batin,” Aboi added.

Outside assistance

Back in 2011, it was announced that Selangor was pursuing a community-mapping initiative to help mark the orang asli settlements.

This, in turn, will help in securing gazettement against developers seeking to acquire the land.

Wong said the mapping initiative was ongoing, with an additional 20 villages identified.

“Each time we complete mapping an area, we hand it over to the Land and District Offices for them to conduct a detailed survey,” she explained.

The offices would suggest their qualified surveyors to the Selangor Orang Asli Taskforce, a working group under Wong’s office which would appoint them.

Detailed surveys are then sent to the Land Office and Land and Mining Office for final checks before gazettement.

COAC coordinator Dr Colin Nicholas said the move was good because the indigenous people could better secure their right to use their lands.

“They should broaden the gazetted areas and issue the grants faster,” he said.

He said it was a positive step in collaboration between the indigenous community and the Selangor government, adding that it should be emulated in other states here.

Dr Nicholas pointed out that the land title issue was not the only reason for their lack of development.

“There was a draft for the Orang Asli Land Reservations Enactment for the Selangor legislature to debate, where its passing would have helped secure orang asli land rights and help resolve land conflicts.

“It got pushed to the backburner three years ago, it is high-time the state legislature revisited the bill to help Selangor’s indigenous groups,” he said.

“And despite Selangor being a developed state, there are orang asli settlements in urban areas without running water or electricity supply,” said Dr Nicholas, citing the example of the Ulu Kemensah settlement.

Facts at a glance

TEMUAN
> Numbers: ~30,000 in peninsular Malaysia.

> Spread out in the states of Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Selangor and Johor.
> Classed as “Proto-Malays” by the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa), related groups include Jakun, Orang Kanaq, Orang Kuala, Orang Seletar and Semelai.
> Their language, Bahasak Temuan (also called Benua Niap), is closely related to Bahasa Malaysia and part of the larger Malayan language family.
> Main economic activity: Previously, main focus was agriculture, including rice planting and harvesting forest produce. These days, many adults and youths venture out of the villages to work.

MAH MERI
> Numbers: between 3,000 and 4,000 in peninsular Malaysia.
> Concentrated mainly along the Selangor coastline, from Sungai Pelek to Pulau Ketam and Carey Island, off Port Klang.
> Classed as part of the larger “Senoi” group by Jakoa, together with Che Wong, Jah Hut, Semai, Semaq, Beri and Temiar.
> Has their own language called “Besisi” and is part of the Sememlaic sub-branch of Aslian languages.
> Main economic activity: Living along the coastline, some still ply their trade as fishermen, others are involved in tourism and handicraft, while some work in the mainstream economy.