146
around them. They believed that supernatural beings dwelled in the forests and they
were responsible for providing and protecting all its resources. As such, the Orang
Asli traditionally believed that forest resources must be extracted with a purpose
(Hood 1995). The forest was considered as their “bank”, where they could withdraw
its wealth when needed, and in a sustainable manner to avoid wastage. The resources
must be carefully managed so that the next generation would also be able to make
use of the wealth (Ramle et al. 2014b). Several taboos in forest resource harvesting
were adhered to by the Orang Asli. For instance, permission or consent must be
requested from supernatural beings prior to exploiting any plant or animal for their
subsistence. They believed that failure to do so would incur the wrath of the forest
spirits, which would lead to punitive consequences befalling their community, such
as disease and natural disasters. Wildlife was an important forest resource that contributed to the well-being of the Orang Asli. In this study, we documented that the
Orang Asli had utilised wildlife for both consumptive (74%) and non-consumptive
(26%) purposes. Similarly in Sabah and Sarawak, the hunting of wildlife by the
natives there was also observed to be largely for household food consumption
(Azlan and Faisal 2006). This indicated that wildlife played an important role in
sustaining the Orang Asli life.
Nevertheless, deforestation, complicated by poaching and lack of legal and positive economic incentives, were main threats to the livelihood of the people that
relied on forest resources, including the Orang Asli (Milner-Gulland 2012). The
Orang Asli’s livelihood was very vulnerable to developments that encroached on the
forests where they used to hunt and earn their living. Based on interviews, the
Semoq Beri respondents claimed that animals were increasingly hard to hunt and
that they had to spend more time and go deeper into the forest. This could be attributed to the decline in animal populations caused by the loss of habitat due to the
high rate of deforestation in nearby Orang Asli settlements. Historically, Orang Asli
populations occupying vast acreages of forest had a negligible impact on wildlife.
Permanent settlements with limited forests, coupled with the lack of sustainable
economic opportunities, had changed the lifestyle of the Orang Asli for the worse
and increased their burden. Additionally, poaching by locals and foreigners had
been reported in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia (Loh 2016). The threat of paoching had become severe when the Wildlife and National Parks Department
(PERHILITAN) reported large hauls of wildlife parts being seized from foreign
poachers between 2010 and 2015, all of which had been obtained from protected
areas in Terengganu (Fig. 2).
The Orang Asli did not hunt big game animals such as the Asian elephant, but
there were cases where locals and foreigners had been detained for killing the elephants (Dasgupta 2017). In Tasik Pedu, Kedah, an elephant carcass was found two
weeks after it was belived to have been killed by poachers for its tusks (Anon 2016).
In Borneo, two rare elephants were also killed for their tusks (Anon 2017).
Meanwhile, the critically endangered Malayan tiger was reportedly in grave danger
due to illegal hunting for its meat and body parts (Rosli 2016; Zarina 2016). The
Orang Asli were hardly involved in poaching cases. However, there were incidents
where they had been used as guides and paid to hunt smaller protected animals
C. V. Bartholomew et al.
around them. They believed that supernatural beings dwelled in the forests and they
were responsible for providing and protecting all its resources. As such, the Orang
Asli traditionally believed that forest resources must be extracted with a purpose
(Hood 1995). The forest was considered as their “bank”, where they could withdraw
its wealth when needed, and in a sustainable manner to avoid wastage. The resources
must be carefully managed so that the next generation would also be able to make
use of the wealth (Ramle et al. 2014b). Several taboos in forest resource harvesting
were adhered to by the Orang Asli. For instance, permission or consent must be
requested from supernatural beings prior to exploiting any plant or animal for their
subsistence. They believed that failure to do so would incur the wrath of the forest
spirits, which would lead to punitive consequences befalling their community, such
as disease and natural disasters. Wildlife was an important forest resource that contributed to the well-being of the Orang Asli. In this study, we documented that the
Orang Asli had utilised wildlife for both consumptive (74%) and non-consumptive
(26%) purposes. Similarly in Sabah and Sarawak, the hunting of wildlife by the
natives there was also observed to be largely for household food consumption
(Azlan and Faisal 2006). This indicated that wildlife played an important role in
sustaining the Orang Asli life.
Nevertheless, deforestation, complicated by poaching and lack of legal and positive economic incentives, were main threats to the livelihood of the people that
relied on forest resources, including the Orang Asli (Milner-Gulland 2012). The
Orang Asli’s livelihood was very vulnerable to developments that encroached on the
forests where they used to hunt and earn their living. Based on interviews, the
Semoq Beri respondents claimed that animals were increasingly hard to hunt and
that they had to spend more time and go deeper into the forest. This could be attributed to the decline in animal populations caused by the loss of habitat due to the
high rate of deforestation in nearby Orang Asli settlements. Historically, Orang Asli
populations occupying vast acreages of forest had a negligible impact on wildlife.
Permanent settlements with limited forests, coupled with the lack of sustainable
economic opportunities, had changed the lifestyle of the Orang Asli for the worse
and increased their burden. Additionally, poaching by locals and foreigners had
been reported in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia (Loh 2016). The threat of paoching had become severe when the Wildlife and National Parks Department
(PERHILITAN) reported large hauls of wildlife parts being seized from foreign
poachers between 2010 and 2015, all of which had been obtained from protected
areas in Terengganu (Fig. 2).
The Orang Asli did not hunt big game animals such as the Asian elephant, but
there were cases where locals and foreigners had been detained for killing the elephants (Dasgupta 2017). In Tasik Pedu, Kedah, an elephant carcass was found two
weeks after it was belived to have been killed by poachers for its tusks (Anon 2016).
In Borneo, two rare elephants were also killed for their tusks (Anon 2017).
Meanwhile, the critically endangered Malayan tiger was reportedly in grave danger
due to illegal hunting for its meat and body parts (Rosli 2016; Zarina 2016). The
Orang Asli were hardly involved in poaching cases. However, there were incidents
where they had been used as guides and paid to hunt smaller protected animals
C. V. Bartholomew et al.