WHILE the Orang Asli in Rompin and Pekan in Pahang would usually prepare themselves in case of floods during the monsoon season, the recent downpour caught them by surprise.

The villagers said that continuous logging activities in the state had contributed to the recent flooding, among the worst the country has seen since 1971.

They also told The Malaysian Insight that the government has not been attentive to the affected group, providing little to no help, particularly to unregistered Orang Asli villages.  

Mia Yusri, 40, from Kampung Petah, said three weeks of continuous rain in mid-December had devastated Orang Asli villages that sit along Sungai Pahang, particularly those in Rompin and Pekan.

She said between five and six villages were cut off for three weeks as the connecting bridges were swept away by strong currents during the flood.

“This made it difficult for villages to get food supplies from outside,” she said.

According to the Orang Asli Welfare Department (Jakoa), at least 64 Orang Asli villages in Pahang were flooded, leaving 565 families displaced. 

“Most of the villages in the lowlands near the South China Sea were severely affected. Many houses saw water levels reach more than 1m,” Mia said.

“The water was also slow to recede this year. As a result, villagers had to wait before they started cleaning their homes,” she said.

Mia said the floods had also caused fear among the villagers who were concerned about diseases from the dirty water as well as dangers posed by snakes.

Insufficient, inefficient, selective aid from authorities

Mia said during the floods, which lasted almost three weeks, most Orang Asli villages in the area only received aid from government agencies once.

She said this had left the majority of villagers to depend on the generosity of the public.

“They had to resort to asking civil society groups for help.

“Most aid was sent to Selangor since nobody expected the flood to be bad there.

“Most Orang Asli folk get revenue from the sale of palm fruit. However, this situation makes it difficult for them to generate revenue,” she said, adding that the flood had also ruined their farms and plantations.

Two other villagers agreed with Mia on the inefficiency of aid delivery by government agencies.

An Orang Asli villager in Rompin, who did not want to be named, told The Malaysian Insight affected villagers were not moved to relief centres but left to fend for themselves.

“Their pondok houses were flooded and were destroyed, so the majority are staying with their relatives in raft houses, while some are building their own raft houses,” she said.

The villager said Jakoa had only helped villages that were registered and ignored the smaller and unregistered ones.

Mia and the villager said the affected villagers had to use their boats to move people in and out as well as to buy supplies.

“We even asked the Fire Department at one point if they could lend us a boat to help the villagers who were affected but we were told to contact Jakoa.

“But we could not go to Jakoa because the villages were not registered.”

For an Orang Asli village to be registered, it must have a certain number of residents and a Tok Batin (village headman).

If these requirements are not met, the village is left out from the Jakoa system and will not receive aid.

Another Orang Asli villager by the name of Normah, 50, living in Kampung Pinang, said her village had only received help from the Social Welfare Department in the form of a 5kg rice pack and a bottle of cooking oil, once in early January. Nothing else.

“While I consider myself lucky because I’m doing quite okay, I do feel sad for the rest of the other villagers whose houses and farms were destroyed by the flood, on top of no help, they now no longer have a source of income,” she said.

All three of the villagers also said that logging activities are the main contributor to the terrible flood.

“Because we live in areas where logging is happening, you can see this in the mud that comes with the flood-waters,” Mia said.

Continuous rain on the weekend of December 18 caused widespread flooding in seven states, with Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Pahang badly hit.

The floods claimed 54 lives and left more than 70,000 people displaced. – January 14, 2022.