Ramli Mohd Nor also said many of these bus operators were Orang Asli who had not been paid for five months, making it difficult for them to carry on operating.

“How could the government allow this to happen? They must explain themselves and resolve this immediately,” Ramli said in a statement.

The Cameron Highlands MP said the failure by the Prime Minister’s Department and the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jakoa) in paying the salaries of the bus operators would stop Orang Asli children from attending classes.

“This is among the reasons why the dropout rate among Orang Asli is high every year,” he said.

Ramli said the government must not take this issue lightly and should ensure that the bus operators were paid on time

He reminded the Prime Minister’s Department to fulfil its promise to empower the Orang Asli community.

“Such things never occurred when Barisan Nasional was the government,” he said.