PUTRAJAYA is open to exhuming the bodies of 12 Orang Asli from Kg Kuala Koh buried deep in the forest, according to custom, for post-mortem Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has said.

As the debate over the deaths continued to rage, the minister said the locations of the graves would be a problem because the burials were carried out as per local Orang Asli custom, away from their villages deep in the jungle.

“There are already two cases, which are sufficient (to shed light the cause of death)… but there is no problem in exhumation,” he said.

“We are more than willing to but we don’t know where they were buried exactly,” he said at a press conference, after visiting Kg Kuala Koh villagers in Gua Musang Hospital.

Dzulkefly said it was the norm for ailing tribesmen to move away from their settlement and die in a remote location, which made it difficult to find their final resting place.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of unity P. Waytha Moorthy said the villagers gave him a list of 14 fatalities, including the two official cases reported.

According to the authorities, only two deaths have been reported.

“I met and spoke to the villagers yesterday. Based on what they said, they all have the same symptoms as those who died,” Waytha said, adding that the villagers were nomadic, moving between Kelantan and Jerantut, Pahang.

“It is their nature that when they are very sick they don’t live in the village,” he said.

“Deaths occurred as they were on the move and they were buried in the forest.”

The definitive cause of the outbreak of the disease is still being determined but the patients have shown signs of respiratory related diseases.

The incident came to light when more than 100 villagers began seeking medical treatment for similar symptoms, two of which later died.

Charitable organisations working with the Batek have blamed the cause on polluted water sources, contaminated by chemical run-off from mining operations and plantations nearby.

Currently, there are 42 villagers still receiving hospital treatment at Hospital Gua Musang and Hospital Kuala Krai. Another 47 villagers have been discharged and are receiving outpatient care.

Leptospirosis and tuberculosis were initially reported as possible causes of the villagers’ sickness, but have since been ruled out.

Further test will be conducted to determine the actual cause of the illness.

Dzulkefly said the patients had been suffering from symptoms such as a runny nose, breathing difficulties and fever.

Dismissing notions that the patients were suffering from a rare disease, he said malnourishment coupled with a weak immune system had exacerbated the effects of what could otherwise be a common condition.

“We also know that the area is a former manganese mine,” said Dzulkefly.

“This place has to be isolated, so we advise the public to not enter the village, unless they have complete personal protection equipment (PPE).”

Although, reports on the matter had only surfaced earlier this month, the outbreak was said to have started more than a month ago.

The incident came to light when more than 100 villagers began seeking medical treatment for similar symptoms, two of which later died.

Charitable organisations working with the Batek have blamed the cause on polluted water sources, contaminated by chemical run-off from mining operations and plantations nearby.

Ninety-nine of the 185 villagers have been affected by the outbreak.

Currently, there are 42 villagers still receiving hospital treatment at Hospital Gua Musang and Hospital Kuala Krai.

Another 47 villagers have been receiving outpatient care.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment & Climate Change (Mestecc) has also taken samples of water from the surrounding area to test for possible contamination levels. – June 10, 2019.