HOMES destroyed, roads washed away and lack of food – these are the three main problems of Orang Asli caught in the floods that struck several states in the peninsula.

Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) executive director Dr Colin Nicholas told The Malaysian Insight that infrastructure in Orang Asli villages must be repaired, as many facilities were damaged in the floods.

“There are three main problems the Orang Asli are facing – they have lost their homes, they are disconnected from the outside world because the roads are badly damaged and difficulty in receiving food supplies,” Nicholas said.

“Getting food to them is a temporary and short-term plan but infrastructure needs to be fixed quickly.

“In Gua Musang and Kuala Krai (Kelantan), Temerloh (Pahang), Ulu Behrang (Selangor) and some parts of Johor, the roads are badly damaged due to the floods.”

Close to 50,000 people were evacuated to relief centres in Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Perak and Johor during the floods.

Environmental group Pelindung Khazanah Alam (Peka) president Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said the movement-control order is making it difficult for aid workers to help flood victims, especially the Orang Asli.

“My organisation was allowed to help the victims but we were not allowed to go into Kelantan. Food is always there and many groups have been sending in aid to the victims but we need more.

“From what I saw, it is not just the Orang Asli but Malay villages were also badly hit by the floods in Raub, Maran, Jengka, Jerantut and Kuantan in Pahang.

“They lost their homes, belongings and almost everything. The MCO does hamper our movement to help those in need,” said the activist.

Both Nicholas and Sabrina agree that deforestation had worsened the floods, saying Putrajaya is not learning from previous incidents.

“The government never learnt from previous incidents. They allowed uncontrolled logging and deforestation to take place for years and every year, we will see floods damaging people’s houses and even causing death.”

Activist Tijah Yok Chopil of Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia urged the government to allow more aid workers to enter villages that were affected by floods.

“At times like these, even for me, I cannot move around to see what is happening in the community. I rely on Facebook to get to know what is happening.

“I know supplies are being sent, I saw images of people and civil society groups sending food to the victims, and from what I heard, Orang Asli are getting enough supplies but I am not sure about the damage to their homes,” she said.

Bernama quoted Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Associate Prof Dr Haliza Abdul Rahman as saying that logging and changes in forest land use could increase the occurrence of natural disasters.

The faculty of medicine and health sciences lecturer said forests mitigate floods by protecting the soil surface from erosion and holding back and delaying the passage of rainwater to streams and rivers.

Uncontrolled development, including large-scale deforestation, will cause rainwater to flow faster.

“This is because among the functions of the forest is to hold or delay the flow of rainwater to the river. But when there is deforestation, it will disrupt the natural water flow and cause locations downstream to get large amounts of water, thus causing floods.” – January 19, 2021.