First Bateq grave found

GUA MUSANG: The orang asli settlement in Kuala Koh has been declared a restricted zone as authorities work to locate 12 resting places of residents believed to have died of a mysterious illness.

In a search-and-recovery operation that started yesterday, police found the first Orang Asli grave two hours after they began their search in the settlement.

Kelantan police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Hassanuddin Hassan said the search-and-recovery team of more than 30 members discovered the grave around 4.30pm with the help of the Bateq people in the area.

“We have yet to determine the gender of the deceased as part of the remains were found on a tree, while some bones were scattered on the ground,” he said.

(It is customary for the Bateq to leave their dead in high places like in a crook of a tree.)

Deputy Comm Hassanuddin said the grave had been marked and that the search would continue for the other 11 resting places.

Tight security: Security personnel manning one of the entrances to the Orang Asli village in Kuala Koh. — Bernama

The village where 14 Bateq people died of a yet-to-be identified illness has been declared a red zone until investigations and search-and- recovery operations are completed.

Access to the area is restricted to the search team.

The lockdown made it difficult for the NGO, Sahabat Jariah, to bring in food aid for the 57 families in the village as they were stopped at the operations centre about 200m from the village entrance.

“We will try and enter again and if we are still unable to do so, we will redistribute the aid to other Bateq settlements in the area,” said Johan Halid, who is Sahabat Jariah president.

Other tribe members who had previously visited the area also grew more concerned about the situation there.

Religious teacher Mohd Fazil Mamok said the situation in the camp was worsening with more and more people showing symptoms of the baffling disease.

“It is worrying because those who were once healthy have now started showing symptoms,” he said.

Meanwhile, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong called for a special task force to be formed to investigate and deal with the crisis in Kuala Koh.

“I am still waiting for the report or investigations to be completed.

“What I have been told is that the incident is still under investigation,” he said in a statement as he voiced his sympathies to the affected families.