AID will finally arrive for the Orang Asli in Pos Simpor, Kelantan, this week after their plight of losing their crops to elephants and floods was highlighted.

The Orang Asli Affairs Department (Jakoa) and civil society groups are mobilising to provide aid for 130 families from three villages cut off from the main access roads by flooding, caused by continuous rain.

Director-general of Jakoa Prof Dr Juli Edo told The Malaysian Insight the department aims to provide aid within this week.

“We are working on getting the emergency funds for the Orang Asli and we hope to solve this issue within the week,” he said.

Orang Asli local and community activist Nur Mohd Syafiq Dendi Abdullah also said several civil society groups contacted him with offers of aid.

“One group from Perak confirmed that it will be coming this Saturday with some aid.

“We’re not asking for welfare but we want the government and Malaysians to know that this is what logging and development have caused.

“It caused the elephants to encroach on to our land and eat our crops. We just want to highlight what we are facing,” Syafiq told The Malaysian Insight.

A herd of wild elephants encroached into their kampung two weeks ago. The villagers blamed logging in the area for causing food shortages in the creatures’ natural habitat.

The elephants destroyed their crops and vegetables and also water supply infrastructure.

Continuous rain has exacerbated their food shortage and living conditions, turning dirt roads connecting the villages into mud.

The Orang Asli have found it difficult to travel to town to replenish food supplies as their motorcycles keep getting stuck in the mud.

Jakoa said yesterday it was arranging with the Wildlife and Natural Parks Department to take action on the human-elephant conflict, and Syafiq said the villagers hoped this could be resolved soon.

He suggested the use of electric fences near three rivers where the Orang Asli go fishing.

“Because of the development, the animals are now loitering near the river and we can’t fish.”

The affected families are from three villages – Kg Jader, Kg Penad and Kg Sedal.

As part of a long-term solution, the roads between Orang Asli villages in Gua Musang will be upgraded through a development programme for all villages in the area, to be completed by 2023, said Jakoa.

The Orang Asli in Gua Musang have fought loggers and planters over the past year, erecting blockades that are promptly dismantled by the state authorities.

Kelantan has issued permits for land clearing and plantations after declaring that the land belongs to the state as the concept of “tanah adat” or native customary land doesn’t exist in the state constitution. Land matters are under state jurisdiction.

The federal government has filed a suit against Kelantan and five private companies for encroaching on Orang Asli land. Kelantan is seeking to have the matter decided by the Federal Court. – November 21, 2019.