COVID-19 infections in the Orang Asli community have increased exponentially from 287 to 3,293 within the span of one month from the period of July 20 to August 20, the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) said.

In a statement, COAC founder Dr Colin Nicholas said to date, an estimated number of 3,293 Orang Asli have contracted Covid-19, while 49 have died from the virus.

He noted that as many as 32 clusters were also detected from the community, and 60 Orang Asli villages have been placed under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) since the start of the pandemic. 

The COAC said visits from outsiders, the lack of adherence to standard operating procedure (SOP), and vaccine hesitancy are some of the contributing factors to the rising Covid-19 cases in the Orang Asli community. 

Colin said activists like himself, Reita Rahim of volunteer group Gerai OA, and Orang Asli lawyer Bah Tony have been monitoring the Covid-19 situation in the Orang Asli community.

“Information and data are gleaned from the daily updates by the Ministry of Health and various postings in the, social media – including the JAKOA (Department of Orang Asli Development) websites, the discussions in various Orang Asli groups, as well as direct communication from those dealing directly with the Covid situation in the Orang Asli community,” said Colin. 

He said the statistics show an increasingly alarming situation. 

Since late July 2021, there has been a rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the community.

Even young children and infants, including a nine-month-old baby, were not spared from being sent to quarantine centres, Colin said.

Lack of social distancing and isolation
Colin said the majority of the cases came from villages in the rural-urban fringe areas, where the Orang Asli have access to centres of employment.

“(Covid-19 positive) Orang Asli (returning) to their villages – including to attend funerals or to escape from quarantining – (has) been the cause of a few clusters arising from close contact with their (fellow villagers),” he said.

“Invariably, the close-knit nature of Orang Asli communities – which makes social distancing within the village confines almost impracticable – is a factor that has caused the quick spread of the disease,” the COAC representative said. 

He said that some of the more concerning clusters are areas in Pahang like the Batang Padang district, Pos Iskandar in Tasek Bera, Rompin, as well as several villages in Negri Sembilan.

New clusters have also emerged in Kampung Peta in Johor, Raub in Pahang, as well as Sepang and Kuala Langat in Selangor.

Risks posed by outsiders 
Colin said another contributing factor is that some communities let their guard down, allowing outsiders – some of whom are unvaccinated individuals – to enter their villages without permission. 

In at least two cases, outsiders were found flouting the SOP by entering the interiors of Orang Asli villages for recreational fishing. 

However, the Orang Asli communities have recently started to take precautions by putting up barricades again to prevent outsiders from entering their villages.

“And for those who can, they have gone back to their isolate-and-retreat strategy – which was effective during the first two movement control orders,” he said. 

Accepting vaccines
Colin said the relatively low vaccination rate in the Orang Asli communities, especially prior to July 2021, had contributed to the increased number of cases needing hospitalisation and deaths. 

He said for a variety of cultural reasons, many Orang Asli were reluctant to be vaccinated. 

“Nevertheless, with a stepped-up information campaign, and with communities seeing first-hand the (damage) that the virus can bring to their lives, more Orang Asli communities now appear to be open to vaccination,” he said. 

Colin said in the past one month, thanks to the authorities, there has been a 337% increase in the vaccination rate among the Orang Asli communities.  

To date, 76,075 Orang Asli have received at least one dose of the vaccine. This is 52.76% of the total number of 144,180 Orang Asli that are eligible for vaccination. – August 22, 2021.