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Orang asli issues: Access to education still difficult

The standard of education among the Orang Asli people as an indigenous ethnic in Malaysia is still at a low level.

The majority of the Orang Asli people receive formal education only at the primary level.

However, there is a significant trend where the majority of students who completed their primary education will drop out from secondary school.

Hence, only two percent have been successful in advancing their higher education in tertiary institutions.

Such problems are commonly associated with several factors, including students’ attitudes, awareness among parents about education, local culture, school leadership, school environment, and problems related to the teaching and learning process.

For better understanding of this problem, a specific research was carried out to study the Orang Asli students in Kelantan.

The research focused on students’ perspectives based on the questions: What are the teaching and learning methods often used by teachers?

The common problem in the teaching and learning is related to the attitude and commitment of teachers in the teaching and learning process.

The implications of the problems and teachers' attitudes are significantly associated with degrading interest among students on education, issues of attendance and students’ academic performance.

University Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) is the first private university in the country to offer higher education to the Orang Asli children, an indigenous group of Malaysia. Uniten Chairman Datuk Dr. Jamaluddin Jarjis felt that it was their social obligation to assist the government in improving the educational level for the rural indigenous communities.

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Introduction
Maintain a wide range of food prohibitions in order to avoid illness for physical reasons due to beliefs in the supernatural.

What do you know about Food Taboo?
- Human use the term “food taboo” which refers to prohibition

- Avoid the food items for several reasons but not because human
dislike it but it’s due to tradition
Why some food being rejected by Orang Asli?
1.    Kindred spirit or special relationship of the animals.

2.    Consideration of food as unclean

3.    Consideration of food as poisonous

4.    Fear of harmful effect following consumption of the food
Reasons
1)    Kindred spirit or special relationship of the animals.

·         Examples: Do not eat tiger as they believe sometimes tiger eat                human. Thus, tiger might contain human spirit

·         Do not eat pet as it consider morally wrong and take the animal’s            trust.

2)    Consideration of food unclean
·         Small lizard and leeches (Orang asli)

·         Animals that continuous contact with ground like snakes, lizard                and millipedes (Negrito)

·         Rat (Senoi)
3)    Consideration of food poisonous
.         Crow

·         Asiatic Toad

·         Red-headed krait
4)    Fear of harmful effect following consumption of the food

·         Flesh of some animals believe to cause ‘sawan’ or convulsion

·         Meat of larger or less commonly caught animal have stronger                  spirits and most likely to cause ‘sawan’

·         Strictly restricted to pregnant women and their husband and                    children

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Then orang Asli community is part of the Bumiputera society of Malaysia.There are three major groups of Orang Asli, Negrito, the Senoi and the Melayu Asli. About 70% of them live in areas close to Malay settlements,with the rest in the interiors.

Orang Asli

Orang Asli are believe in animism. Animism is belief in natural things, such as plants, rock, thunder and earthquakes, have spirits and can influence human events. The animism professed by the Orang Asli states that each living thing or creature possesses a soul of its own.

Negritos

Negritos practice animism that believe all things possess power.Negritos believe that the world is home to various deities and creatures that possess power. According to this belief, the most powerful of the living people is Tok Pendin, who created this world.

Senoi

The Senois have four main deities, which are Engku,Hilok and Hiwoh. If anyone who breaches any custom will be punished with misfortune or mishap: while anyone who does good will be rewarded with good fortune.Senois also believe in genies. Genies protecting the Senois in their daily lives. These genius have their respective duties to perform, like protecting hills, stones, trees and rivers.

Melayu Asli
About 85% of the Melayu Asli are Muslims.All their beliefs are based on Islamic teachings. However, a small groups of Melayu Asli practice animism, believing in the existence of supernatural power in certain objects. They also believe that devils, deities and ghosts live in the world. Consequently, the Melayu Asli have specific ways to check themselves from committing crimes like murder which will be reciprocated with misfortune.

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From the social structural and organization aspects, the Orang Asli community still preserve the importance of co-operation in their daily life leadership systems call the Lembaga Adat. Firstly, the ‘batin” (Chieftain) is responsible to look after and safeguard the well-being of his tribesmen.  He is also the contact person with the outside world.  As the Chieftain, he has the authority to determine regulations for his tribe and impose punishment on those who have made mistakes or offences. Next, orang Asli also believe in religious intermediaries (shaman) or the bomoh whose role is to conduct rituals. In some of the Orang Asli’s community, there has an assistance (jawatan mentari) that act as an advisor of “batin”. Then, the headman of the village or penghulu will be the 4th level of the organisation. Meanwhile, the villagers of Orang Asli will choose a “jurukerah” that help the headman to make houses and their social structure has shown the value of co-operation or “bergotong-royong” in their daily life. At last, the Sentin will be the lowest level that help the jurukerah on works.

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Traditionally living in the deep jungles of Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia wore clothing made from natural materials such as tree barks like the terap, and grass skirts. Ornaments include skillfully woven headbands with intricate patterns that are made from leaf fronds.

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The Orang Asli are known for their arts and cultures. Their life is full of mystic and beliefs towards nature. Although some of them have been influenced by modernity, their arts remain intact. Among the crafts that they still preserve is carving of masks and sculptures as an activity during their ritual ceremonies.

The arts are in line with their belief, imagination and worldview on god and sprits. Their imagination can be seen through their carving which were given various names similar to nature such as land, rainbow, thunder, mind, sea and earth.

- Sewang Dance
- Accessories
Technique on making the tree bark clothing, beads necklace, ‘selempar’ and ‘simpai’.
- Musical Instruments
Technique of making and playing an Orang
Asli musical instruments such as flute,
keranting, centong, rebab, ect
- Hunting Tools / Traditional healing
Technique on making fish traps, hunt animals and various traps.
The use of herbs and plants as medicine
- Blowpipes
How to use blowpipes
- Weaving
Technique on making mat, basket, tabacco box, etc.

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The traditional dances of the Malaysia’s Orang Asli are strongly rooted in their spiritual beliefs. Dances are commonly used by witch-doctors as rituals to communicate with the spirit world. Such dances include Genggulang of the Mahmeri tribe, Berjerom of the Jah-Hut tribe and the Sewang of the Semai and Temiar tribes

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Blowpipe : Orang Asli ,who live in the jungle, hunt with blowpipes for birds and little monkeys. The blowpipe is made from bamboo. The mouth piece is made from damar. Blowpipe is deadly accurate within 20 meters.
Fear of the spirits of dead hunted animals is very strong amongst them, and it is an unwritten law that all animals caught, in the forest should suffer no pain.

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Orang Asli is a general word that refers to any indigenous groups in Peninsular Malaysia. They are divided into three main tribal groups: Negrito, Senoi and Proto-Malay. Each group or sub-group has its own language and culture. Some are fishermen, farmer and hunters.

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Most Orang Asli people cooks their food by using the bamboo logs. There are two most popular dishes they cook using the bamboo logs:
1. Ubi Kayu Kennem @ Ubi Kayu Goreng Semasa
-Grated tapioca that is soaked in water till it starts to ferment. Popular to eat during breakfast or as a snack option.

2.  Lemang
-Rice that is wrapped with banana leaf and filled into the bamboo logs to be cooked. Usually eaten with meat curry.

3. Umbut Bayas
-Scrumptious palm with curry cooked in a bamboo logs.

4. Ketupat
-Rice cakes cooked in coconut leaves. The coconut leaves are weaved to form pockets & the pockets are filled with rice & later leave for steamed.

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- Forest resources are important to the indigenous peoples in Malaysia, especially the aborigines (orang asli) in Peninsular Malaysia and in Sabah and Sarawak.
- Traditionally, they depends on the natural resources to sustain their livelihood.
- Some of them have engaged in modern agricultural activities
- The lifestyle and means of subsistence of Orang Asli varies.
- There are four main economic activities of Orang Asli: Fishing, Hill rice cultivation, agriculture, hunting and gathering.

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1) Fishing
- In Peninsular Malaysia, fishing is the chief occupation for coastal communities such as orang Laut, Seletar and Mahmeri.

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2) Hill rice cultivation
- Semai, Temiar, Che Wong, Jahut, Semelai and Semoq Beri engage in swiddening (hill rice cultivation). They also trade in petai, durian, rattan and resins to earn cash incomes.

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3) Agriculture
- Temiar, Temuan, Jakun and Semai communities practice permanent     agriculture - rubber, oil palm or cocoa farms.
- Temiar communities are provided with an option by the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) with 7 acres of land per family outside the water catchment reserve to be planted with rubber or oil palm.

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The majority Orang Asli live in the rural areas form a rotational (shifting) agriculture, combined with wet padi, tapioca, fruits and vegetables.

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4) Gathering and hunting
- Currently, Orang Asli are no longer associated merely with forest produce gathering and hunting.
- Rattan harvesting was an important source of income in the 1980s and early 1990s when the resources were plenty
- non-timber forest produce resources are depleting
- some of them have engaged in modern agricultural activities and the modern manufacturing sector