BETTER amenities, homes for their growing families and jobs are what the Orang Asli of Kg Tiang in Cameron Highlands want from their new MP come January 26.

For these kampung folk, many of whom are part-time farmers, these necessities as well as better drainage system and power supply are their urgent needs.

They are not too concerned over the parties as long as they get a good representative to look into their wellbeing. 

An Orang Asli, who wanted to be known as Wan, said they were more inclined to support Barisan Nasional as the coalition provided some amenities for them in the past.

“We understand that they (BN) are no longer in the federal government, so we will have to decide.

“Usually the village chief (tok batin) will call for a meeting before the elections, then we will decide who we will vote for.

“Sometimes we will object to the tok batin’s choice but usually all will follow him,” Wan said at his home in Kg Tiang.

The by-election will see a four-cornered fight between Manogaran, Ramli Mohd Nor (BN), and independents Sallehudin Ab Talib and Wong Seng Yee.

The by-election was called after the election court in November annulled the 14th general election results for the parliamentary seat, finding that BN’s winning candidate C. Sivarraajh had been involved in vote-buying and money politics.

Sivarraajh has also been suspended from contesting in elections for five years.

Wan, also a part-time farmer, said another issue that needs to be addressed is finding full-time work for them.

“I earn RM600 a month. And if I don’t go to work, they (employers) will deduct RM20 a day.

“So, what is lacking are jobs. That’s what most of the people need.”

Wan said they have raised their concerns with the Orang Asli Affairs Department (Jakoa) but to no avail.

“Since 2002, we have been complaining about the drainage and landslips in the area. They came and did some work but it’s not enough.”

There are about 200 living in the kampung about 30 minutes from Tanah Rata.

The villagers live in 18 bamboo homes and 30 low-cost homes built by the previous government.

Another villager, Rosmi, said they voted BN previously but this time, will weigh their options before choosing a candidate.

“The villagers voted BN because they gave us homes but it is not enough as our families have grown. And when we get married and have our own children, we have to get a place of our own.

“We all cannot be crammed into one small house. We have already raised this issue with Jakoa.”

Rosmi hinted they might choose a different party other than BN this time.

“We don’t care much for money. What we want is land to do farming and homes for our families. We will give the person a chance and if he doesn’t perform, we will change the person in the next general election,” he said.

Another villager, Kasim, 64, said he might not vote because of the government’s unkept promises.

“We have raised many issues but nothing much has been resolved. The previous government had said that there was no allocation.

“Every five years, they come here before election but after that, we don’t see them.” – January 16, 2019.