204
tourism industries. According to JAKOA (2011), the government had opened new
land for the Orang Asli to get involved in agriculture, such as planting rubber, oil
palm, bamboo and rattan, besides livestock production. On top of that, new projects
like the Agropolitan Project, eco-tourism projects and herbs project were introduced
in the 10th Malaysia Plan. To lift the Orang Asli out of poverty, the government has
provided business courses to teach them good business skills, besides providing
premises and equipment to support them. Therefore, they can earn their living without being exploited by middlemen.
Ironically, not all Orang Asli are willing to embrace development as they are
used to living in their traditional ways (Jamiran and Ta Wee 2013). The main challenge towards Orang Asli development is the geographical factor and awareness of
a civilised environment. Most of the Orang Asli in the east coast of Peninsular
Malaysia are still living in their native environments. This factor has always been
the main obstacle in providing them assistance. Furthermore, their scattered and
isolated villages made it difficult to conduct outreach programmes.
Another factor that has always been a concern to the Orang Asli is the impact of
transformational development on their livelihood and preservation of their ancestral
beliefs. They believe that by embracing development, it will ruin their relationship
with nature, which has the power to control their livelihood. Thus, the Orang Asli
believe that their days may be reckoned if they do not practice what have been taught
by their ancestors. They are also worried that the development will forever change
their future generations’ view on their ancestral beliefs which, in turn, will result in
a decline of their heritage. These thoughts make them shy away and avoid any form
of development to support and sustain their livelihood (Jamiran and Ta Wee 2013;
Choy et al. 2010). According to Zuriatunfadzlia et al. (2009) and Choy et al. (2010),
changes to the Orang Asli’s socio-economic status and sustainability of livelihood
are related to development programmes implemented by the government.
Sustainable development programme is crucial as the majority Orang Asli are
still poor and lagging behind other ethnic groups in Malaysia. The future lives of
Orang Asli are dependent on effective implementation of development programmes.
Methods
This research examined the Orang Asli resettlement process at Kampung Sungai
Berua, Hulu Terengganu. The village was near Tasik Kenyir, where the new Sultan
Mahmud Dam was built. The number of displaced Orang Asli who resided in that
village was 510 in 95 households. The majority of them were from the Semoq Beri
and Bateq sub-tribes. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Questionnaires
were distributed to 93 household heads in the village to obtain the socio-economic
background of the families and assess their perception towards development implemented by the government.
Descriptive data were analysed by calculating the accumulated mean of each
likert scale question. The highest number of percentage represented the Orang Asli’s
M. F. Abdullah et al.
tourism industries. According to JAKOA (2011), the government had opened new
land for the Orang Asli to get involved in agriculture, such as planting rubber, oil
palm, bamboo and rattan, besides livestock production. On top of that, new projects
like the Agropolitan Project, eco-tourism projects and herbs project were introduced
in the 10th Malaysia Plan. To lift the Orang Asli out of poverty, the government has
provided business courses to teach them good business skills, besides providing
premises and equipment to support them. Therefore, they can earn their living without being exploited by middlemen.
Ironically, not all Orang Asli are willing to embrace development as they are
used to living in their traditional ways (Jamiran and Ta Wee 2013). The main challenge towards Orang Asli development is the geographical factor and awareness of
a civilised environment. Most of the Orang Asli in the east coast of Peninsular
Malaysia are still living in their native environments. This factor has always been
the main obstacle in providing them assistance. Furthermore, their scattered and
isolated villages made it difficult to conduct outreach programmes.
Another factor that has always been a concern to the Orang Asli is the impact of
transformational development on their livelihood and preservation of their ancestral
beliefs. They believe that by embracing development, it will ruin their relationship
with nature, which has the power to control their livelihood. Thus, the Orang Asli
believe that their days may be reckoned if they do not practice what have been taught
by their ancestors. They are also worried that the development will forever change
their future generations’ view on their ancestral beliefs which, in turn, will result in
a decline of their heritage. These thoughts make them shy away and avoid any form
of development to support and sustain their livelihood (Jamiran and Ta Wee 2013;
Choy et al. 2010). According to Zuriatunfadzlia et al. (2009) and Choy et al. (2010),
changes to the Orang Asli’s socio-economic status and sustainability of livelihood
are related to development programmes implemented by the government.
Sustainable development programme is crucial as the majority Orang Asli are
still poor and lagging behind other ethnic groups in Malaysia. The future lives of
Orang Asli are dependent on effective implementation of development programmes.
Methods
This research examined the Orang Asli resettlement process at Kampung Sungai
Berua, Hulu Terengganu. The village was near Tasik Kenyir, where the new Sultan
Mahmud Dam was built. The number of displaced Orang Asli who resided in that
village was 510 in 95 households. The majority of them were from the Semoq Beri
and Bateq sub-tribes. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Questionnaires
were distributed to 93 household heads in the village to obtain the socio-economic
background of the families and assess their perception towards development implemented by the government.
Descriptive data were analysed by calculating the accumulated mean of each
likert scale question. The highest number of percentage represented the Orang Asli’s
M. F. Abdullah et al.