Cameron Highlands MP Ramli Nor claimed that the Orang Asli development department (Jakoa) has been ineffective towards achieving this purpose.
The Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker repeated his call for Jakoa to be revamped, with officials given higher rankings in the civil service, and its role reviewed as part of efforts to lift the community out of poverty.
“The Jakoa representatives in districts are only grade N22 officials (in the civil service), which is just like a senior clerk. They are not allowed to make certain decisions, and always have to refer (to their superiors),” he told FMT.
Ramli said the formation of Mara under the New Economic Policy successfully produced more professionals among the Malays and Bumiputeras, alleviating the poverty rate to some extent.
“After Mara, so many more professionals like lawyers, doctors, architects and others emerged from among the Malays and Bumiputeras. So let’s follow that method and emphasise technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for the Orang Asli.
“When I was in Form 5, the smart students from among the Malays would be sent to Australia, the US (and others) to further their studies, with Mara spending millions in scholarships,” said Ramli, who is from the Semai tribe.
In December 2022, Ramli had called for Jakoa to undergo a “direly needed” overhaul, saying it had not been doing a good job of helping the Orang Asli. He said that on average, there were only three Jakoa officers in each district to help the community.
Meanwhile, the Umno man said he had proposed the idea for a new statutory body for the Orang Asli to party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi before the 15th general election in 2022.
However, it could not be immediately implemented given that Barisan Nasional went on to be part of the unity government.
“Now that we’re in the second year (of the unity government), I will submit this proposal again. We will leave it to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim,” he said.
The two-term MP, who is also a former police officer, urged the Orang Asli to be quick to take up any benefits the government offers them, pointing out that they were eligible to enjoy free education from preschool to postgraduate studies.
“However, the number of school dropouts among the Orang Asli is quite high,” he said. “If the Orang Asli do not reach for the opportunities available to them, they won’t ever achieve progress.”
In October 2022, the rural development ministry said more than 10% of Orang Asli children had dropped out of school because of factors like logistics, family problems, and even their negative attitude towards education.
Some Orang Asli students have also cited bullying and racial discrimination in school, even being subject to racial slurs.