THE Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) through cross-ministry cooperation will provide funds to enable the Orang Asli community to go into the homestay business seriously, said its director-general, Sapiah Mohd Nor.

She said Jakoa is providing funds to buy equipment and other inputs to build the homestay business however much more funds are needed for Orang Asli to expand their business.

“Jakoa will attempt to provide the funds, we will also try to look at other channels. Some funds are provided by the Tourism, Ministry of Arts and Culture (Motac) and it will continue to receive assistance from other related ministries,” she told Bernama after closing the Malaysian Skills Certificate Course for Homestay Operations in recognition of Orang Asli prior achievements in Bangi today.

Sapiah said Orang Asli have started to be involved in the homestay business by using the advantage of their location which is far from the city as it helps in diversifying rural tourism activities.

“However, more related skills such as marketing and advertising are needed for them to get their homestay business moving more successfully,” she said.

The course was conducted with the cooperation of Jakoa and the Institute For Rural Advancement (Infra) for four months since May with 30 participants from Selangor, Pahang, Kelantan, Johor and Perak covering five series of courses among them basic food handling module, financial management and customer service.

Among others, it is aimed at creating rural tourism entrepreneurs and homestay operators among Orang Asli to be more independent and to open up various paths of success for them.

Muhammad Jamil Asun, 34, of Kampung Orang Asli Gerachi Jaya, Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor said the skills and teachings he acquired would be applied to build his homestay or chalet.

“I am now preparing a working paper to build a homestay but its location is not determined yet as it required the approval of several parties including the Orang Asli community,” said Muhammad who is from the Temuan tribe.

Jamil who also received the Visionary Guide Trainee Award at the ceremony hoped Infra and other agencies would provide skill training as nature guides for mountain climbing and kayaking.

He said this is to prepare them with various skills for the challenging activities that are getting more popular. – Bernama, August 19, 2022.