THE Orang Asli in Ulu Geroh, Gopeng, are concerned that a mini hydro project being built near their village will disrupt the local ecosystem.

The Semai tribe fears for the flora and fauna in the area where the dam is sited, which is home to the Rafflesia, one of the world’s rarest flowers, and Rajah Brooke butterflies.

Their case against the project in the adjacent Ulu Geruntum area is currently being heard in court.

More Semai folk in Ulu Geruntum are angry with Perak for allowing the project to encroach on their ancestral land.

While the Ulu Geroh villagers are not directly affected by the project, they believe it could cause flooding in the area.

They also complained about lorries plying the road and worry about the safety of the children.

Sherrie Edora, 25, said many villagers are still unaware that a mini dam would be built there.

“We don’t want the dam here because we feel that the project will damage the ecological system here.

“Even now our rivers have turned murky and we’re not sure if the area might be flooded during heavy rains,” Sherrie told The Malaysian Insight.

Sherrie said the villagers of Ulu Geroh want their area to be turned into an eco-tourism hub to preserve the lush greenery and pristine rivers.

“We only want to ensure that the ecosystem is not damaged by projects or encroachment on ancestral land.”

Another villager, Longharu Bak Gabing, 62, said about 300 Orang Asli would be affected.

“We used to plant rice, rubber trees and petai. But when the land is encroached on, we lost our source of livelihood,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“Both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan have not come here (to talk to us) and all they gave were empty promises.”

Longharu also said they want the state government to earmark the area for eco-tourism.

“There are the Rafflesia, beautiful rivers and waterfalls. We want to maintain all of these. We fear that any development here will in the long run destroy the jungle which is our only home.

“We hope to see some improvements from the state government.”

Monash University Ecological and Ethnozoology Department head Dr Cyren Wong Zhi Hoong, who visited the area last week, said it is not so much deforestation that is occurring in Gopeng but small-scale land clearing for tourism, such as building of roads.

“The environment is definitely getting worse based on my observations and it has become the concern of the community here.” – February 23, 2020.