GERIK: Deep in the Royal Belum rainforest, the Orang Asli share their lives with some of Malaysia’s most elusive wildlife.
For generations, the community has lived alongside tigers, elephants and other creatures of the ancient jungle, adapting to both the wonders and challenges of such coexistence.
Kampung Klewang chief Sedor Gebis, 58, said the people remained committed to protecting the forest and its inhabitants despite crop losses and the ever-present risks.
“We take care of them and we see tigers and elephants, including their young ones, very often, which is a good sign,” he said.
Sedor, however, expressed sadness that they no longer see the rhinoceros – now extinct in Malaysia due to poaching.
He said elephants often wandered into the village in search of food.
Although the giant mammals destroyed crops like sweet potatoes, bananas and cassava, he said they did not harm people and would usually come at night when the villagers were asleep.
“You know they are coming. You will first see the presence of flies, followed by the smell of mud. The elephants usually come in a herd of 12 to 15 around midnight,” he said, adding that the village has about 60 families with 155 people.
Recalling a terrifying experience, Sedor said he spotted a tiger passing by from a distance.
“It didn’t attack me but I heard its roar and it gave me goosebumps,” said the ranger of Project Stampede, which was launched in 2018 to protect the Malayan tiger in Royal Belum State Park.
Fellow ranger Yahya Charol said there was no compromise to combating poachers.
“When we encounter poachers, they would try to offer us cigarettes or other items, but we don’t accept them,” said the 32-year-old.
Yahya also said he and his team once had a close encounter with a tiger during their patrols.
“We saw the tiger walk by and all we could do was stay calm and still. It even looked at us momentarily before walking away,” he said.
World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia Tiger Conservation Programme assistant manager for community engagement Umi A’Zuhrah Abdul Rahman said an early warning system would soon be installed in Kampung Klewang to alert villagers to the presence of wild animals, especially elephants.
With the system, she said, villagers could take immediate safety measures.
“We’ve identified several locations to install the alarm, which is expected to be done either this month or next,” she said, adding that once proven successful, the system would be expanded to other villages.
Apart from dealing with wildlife, the villagers also faced another problem – rubbish, brought by the increasing number of tourists, she said.
