FIK3042 English for Communication II

Group UPSI 2(U)(A112PJJ) SUBMIT TO :

Leela Chakrabarty
SUBMIT BY : Wan Fatanah Binti Mustafa (D20102041165) SUBMISSION DATE: 31 MAY 2012

ORANG ASLI EDUCATION http://www.coac.org.my/codenavia/portals/coacv2/images/articles/OA %20Education.pdf This article represents a part of a longer consultancy report entitled Orang Asli: Rights, Problems,Solutions prepared in July 2006 for the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). The writer has written another article on orang asli entitled The Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia ( http://www.magickriver.net/oa.htm ) Writer: Colin Nicholas Title : The State of ORANG ASLI EDUCATION and its Root Problems I agree with the writer that orang aslis enrolments in school are increasing year by year. This is because the government has placed an important role in educating everyone in Malaysia. However, government has identified the problem of dropouts that is increasing year by year. There are reasons as to why these dropouts occur. The main reason cited by the writer is boredom and laziness. Children are not interested in studying as teachers scold them and they feel embarrassed by this. I feel that teachers should make their lessons more interesting to increase the love and passion for these children to study. Other reasons for such dropouts are factors relating to poverty. Most children who come from poor family feels that working with their family are better than studying. Parents with many children will feel burdened, as it is not cheap to send children to school. Another reason would be non-delivery of educational assistance. Education subsidies for orang asli have not been given out constantly year-by-year. Since orang asli students do not have access to outside assistance, this will result in them falling behind in their schoolwork or even dropping out of school.

Orang Asli are not anti-development, as often alleged by the government. On the contrary, they have frequently requested for various forms of assistance, especially for improvements in the quality of life - in areas of health, education, human capital formation and infrastructure. Alternative development strategies must reflect the needs of the Orang Asli and their specific social and physical environments. For example, aboriculture could be developed for communities undergoing the transition from traditional, subsistenceoriented economies to more settled, agriculture-based communities. The preferential treatment status accorded to the Orang Asli in Article 8(5)(c) of the Constitution should also be applied. The right to affirmative action should be transformed into actual programmes and opportunities. For example, positive discrimination in economic projects affecting or involving Orang Asli traditional areas (such as eco-tourism projects, trading in forest products and alternative agriculture) as well as preferential status in business opportunities, educational placings and job placements should be instituted. Every encouragement and assistance should also be given to Orang Asli efforts to uplift their economic position through their own cooperatives, foundations or other such bodies. The writer has also identified that the contrast in the pedagogy and culture as another reason for high dropouts. Orang Asli students are taught to be polite, considerate and amicable. This is the contrast in our education system where students are taught to compete among each other.

Orang asli schoolchildren are also subjected to bullies because of prejudice and ignorance of their origins and culture. These children also are not accustomed to scolding and for fear of teachers; they prefer to stay at home. Another reason for dropout is the irregularity of transport services that does not pick up those children for months as these operators complain they did not get their

wages on time. Government should look into this problem, as this is a serious problem. Children should not be deprived from education just because they do not have transport to go to school. The writer suggests (in another article) that Responsibility for developing the Orang Asli should not be the sole responsibility of the JHEOA. Instead, a multi-agency approach should be adopted, with a special Orang Asli unit set up in each of these agencies to attend to the social and economic needs of the Orang Asli. The JHEOA itself is to be revamped, with greater Orang Asli control and involvement, and with greater powers to effect recommendations and programmes. As a federal agency, the JHEOA should occupy itself primarily with getting the respective states to grant permanent tenure to Orang Asli lands. The role of the JHEOA should also be restructured so that it acts as a watchdog body to ensure that policies and programmes for the advancement and wellbeing of the Orang Asli are implemented. Among its other functions would be to look into Orang Asli grievances and to resolve disputes with other agencies or non-Orang Asli. Finally, Parent-Teachers Associations are negligible in performing their duties to ensure that those children are not left out in education. Teachers too sometimes arrive late to school and this will give the impression that they just do not care at all despite the government had given them decent staff quarters. Bearing all this in mind, everyone should play an important role so that the orang asli community benefits as well in this country.

Title : Educational Policy and Opportunities of Orang Asli: A Study on Indigenious People in Malaysia Writer : Kamarulzaman Kamaruddin He is an Associate Professor, Sultan Idris University of Education Osman Jusoh, Senior Lecturer, Sultan Idris University of Education http://www.hraljournal.com/Page/11%20Kamaruddin.pdf The research done by the writer is comprehensive. The writer has examined the educational policy and the opportunities of orang asli in Malaysia. The government has set up a committee that is Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA) to give annual report on the growth, problem and solutions in dealing with orang asli. A lot of educational programmes and other programmes were suggested. Education was the main agenda to improve the standard of living of the orang asli. As far as legislation is concerned, the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 was introduced to recognize the basic rights and to maintain the cultural autonomy. This writer too recognizes that there are high rates of dropout among schoolchildren. Not only in primary school but including secondary. JHEOA had made policies to cater for vocational training and technology based training. One such centre is the National Vocational Training Council in Paya Bungor whereby 486 youths completed Level 1 certificate in tailoring. I feel that more training centres should be opened to cater all the dropouts to come up in life. If these trainings are provided their standard of living will be improved. Even adults are illiterate and have low academic achievement. Various literacy programmes should be conducted so that the adults will know the importance of education for their children. In addition to this, there are also problem with settlement and infrastructure. The Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula has been introduced to place the orang asli whereby all kinds of infrastructure is provided for the betterment in their lives.

The Orang Asli still fare poorly in education with the number of undergraduates and school students is not reflective of their population figure. Members of the community blame on the lack of financial resources that seriously impede education for the community though they receive numerous aid. Though the education infrastructure can be considered satisfactory, the welfare of the Orang Asli children still needs attention. Even today it is a known fact many Orang Asli children go to school on an empty stomach. Though there is the Supplementary Food Scheme in schools, outside school the Orang Asli children don't have the menu like what their other counterparts are enjoying. I think that the government's recent gesture of providing scholarships to six Orang Asli students to study overseas and this augurs well for the community. So far, the Orang Asli students lacked the opportunity to study overseas though some of them were qualified and among the reasons for this is the lack of a dedicated organisation like Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to assist us. I feel that the government, NGO (Non-governmental Organisations) and other agencies should equip the community with skills instead of just providing monetary assistance. Monetary assistance will make the Orang Asli dependent on the assistance and discourage them from working hard to earn a living. If the government provides training on skills like tailoring and making bead ornaments, this will help them to increase their income and reduce their dependence on monthly monetary assistance. What I see now is that a small number of them have become dependent on assistance, tough we still want the financial assistance it should come along with the appropriate skills training. More government agencies and NGOs should held meetings to protect and improve the lives of this people in the community. Many agencies are helping the community. However, private sectors should be given more roles in the development of orang asli community. Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, National Population and Family Development Board, Department of Social Welfare should work together,

make more frequent visits to RPS, and educate the people the importance of health, job, education and community. This writer also identified that different culture is another reason for high dropout. Students get culture shock when they enter Year 1 without being exposed to preschool. Harvest season and fruit season are the main two important season in orang aslis life. Students prefer to stay home during these seasons and help their family in harvesting the crops. It is like Hari Raya Puasa to the Malay community. In 2011, Seven Orang Asli students pursued their higher learning education in various public institutions (IPTA), the Malaysian Institute of Teacher Education (IPGM), and the Industrial Training Institute. Of the seven students, three of them managed to get into IPTA. One of them studied A-Levels here before taking off to India. The other two students will be pursuing biophysics and timber studies in Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The government will allocate RM200,000 annually for the educational development of the Orang Asli community in Gua Musang alone. Kelantan received RM1.2 million for the same purpose last year to help fund transportation fares, school fees, stationary sets, scholarships and other expenses. As a conclusion, I think that even though many talks have been going on the topic of orang asli, mere talk is not enough. Implementation needs to take place by looking at orang aslis culture and lifestyle.