AN Orang Asli guide assisting the search team to locate the bodies of 11 Bateq tribesmen said they would likely have been eaten or removed from their resting place by wild animals by now.

Ijai, who is also from the Bateq tribe, told The Malaysian Insight that he will be taking authorities to five sites today to locate the remains.

“We are expected to travel to the places by boat. (But) I think there won’t be any (body) at the five places.”

Wildlife, such as tigers, bears and monitor lizards known to roam the forests, might have already gotten to the decomposed bodies.

It is the tradition for the tribe to return the bodies of their dead to the jungle, where the ritual entails wrapping the body in cloth with the face exposed and placing it on a metre-high bamboo platform.

Ijai said that if the weather is good, the search team can cover all the sites in a day.

“The furthest site is two hours away. We should be able to cover it.”

During the search yesterday, the authorities did not remove any specimen from the site and cordoned off the area with police tape.

The search team also found what is believed to be the remains of one Orang Asli.

It is learnt that the Fire and Rescue Department, police, Wildlife and National Parks Department, and Kelantan Orang Asli Development Department will enter the jungles in search of the other 11 who died earlier this month.

The General Operations Force has blocked access to the area for the duration of the search.

This was done after an undetermined disease claimed the lives of 14 Bateq tribe members. The authorities have said the illness is possibly a lung or respiratory infection.

Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said the pneumonia outbreak had nothing to do with water pollution or logging activities, as alleged by environmentalists and volunteer groups working with the Orang Asli community.

Amar said the matter was confirmed by several government agencies, including the Department of Health and the hazardous materials unit of the Department of Fire and Rescue Malaysia.

“Previously, various forms of slander were raised against the state government, linked to the Orang Asli issue in Gua Musang.

“Alhamdulillah, the confirmation has been made by several government agencies and even the health minister (Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad) has explained that the Orang Asli issue in the village has nothing to do with water pollution or mining as previously claimed,” he said. – June 13, 2019.