Don't dictate development to the orang asli, ask them what they really need, says anthropologist

Minister P. Waythamoorthy (kneeling) launches the book while (from left) Dr Sarjit Singh Gill, Dr Roslan Rosnon and other UPM personnel look on.

SERDANG: The development of the orang asli should be based on the needs of the community itself, rather than dictated to them from the top down, says a social anthropologist.

Prof Dr Sarjit Singh Gill of the Human Ecology faculty of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) said this was so they would not be labelled as "anti-development" when they rejected what was given to them.