AN outbreak of Covid-19 in June among the Orang Asli residents in Hulu Selangor prompted them to push for vaccination, its tok batin (village head) Ramsit Anggung said.

He said he was the first to volunteer for a vaccination drive in order to alleviate a fear of inoculation among his 150 community members.

“I have completed two doses since June. We were quite scared, initially. I went to Serendah myself to get the vaccine after the list of names was released by the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jakoa),” he told The Malaysian Insight during a recent visit to the village.

According to Ramsit, 61, his action increased the confidence of the Temuan, Temai, Temiang and Mah Meri tribes in the village, who saw that the vaccine did not carry any negative effects.

“After coming back from the vaccine injection, I showed them that there is no pain or disease at all,” he said.

A kindergarten teacher, Aina Satun, said she was now relieved after her fellow villagers in Kg Gerachi Jaya were vaccinated.

“At one time, more than 20 villagers were diagnosed positive for Covid-19. When the opportunity arose, I straightaway got the vaccine in June,” she said.

Aina, 39, said she was committed to taking the vaccine because she belongs to the high-risk group as an individual surrounded by several children.

Other residents who were worried about the infection also tried to get vaccinated but only managed to get the jab later, according to their turn on the MySejahtera app, she said.

“Right now, our village is free from Covid-19 infection and all those quarantined are healthy and have even received their first dose,” she said.

Assistant chairman of the Orang Asli Village Security Committee Jamil Asun, said that such concerns caused the community to take a wait-and-see attitude.

“Many were scared at first and agreed to postpone. But as the cases got higher, we got the vaccines in our own village,” he said.

Jamil, 33, said that is why they are willing to let the outside community get vaccinated first, to gain confidence before getting the same protection.

“The outside community (non-Indigenous people) are more vulnerable to Covid-19 infections and so we give way to them first.

“However, we remain registered through MySejahtera, and there was a slight delay.

“Finally, with the help of Jakoa and the Orang Asli Hospital in Gombak, more than 300 families here received their first dose on August 23,” he said.

Several Orang Asli communities are under the enhanced movement-control order (EMCO) due to a high number of infections.

It includes two villages in Pos Blau in Gua Musang, Kelantan and four in Temerloh – Kg Kuala Terbol, Kg Pian and Kg Lubok Wong.

The government began deploying the single-dose CanSino vaccine to community groups in rural areas last week.

It was announced as an initiative to increase vaccination rates in states that had not yet reached a coverage of 50% of the total population. These are Terengganu, Johor, Perak, Kedah, Kelantan and Sabah.

The CanSino vaccine was first distributed to Pulau Mabul in Sabah, which received 2,000 doses, after which 12,000 doses were sent to the rural communities in Negeri Sembilan. – September 5, 2021.