51
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
M. T. Abdullah et al. (eds.), Resource Use and Sustainability of Orang Asli,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64961-6_4
Spending Habits of the Orang Asli
in Kampung Sungai Berua, Hulu
Terengganu, Malaysia
Norhayati Ab Manaf, Ramle Abdullah, Jumadil Saputra,
and Nurul Faezah Noor Azizan
Abstract Poverty eradication is an important agenda in developing countries like
Malaysia. Although the government has implemented various development programmes, the indigenous community of wellbeing level is still low compared to
other communities in Malaysia. The Orang Asli community in Kampung Sungai
Berua, Hulu Terengganu, rely on forest resources as their income, which is unstable
and plunges them into poverty. They have to struggle to gather resources just to feed
their family for the day, and the concept of saving money is almost non-existent.
This study aims to identify the patterns of Orang Asli expenditure. It is based on
three questions; (i) what do the Orang Asli spend on? (ii) what are their daily expenditures? and, (iii) how is the attitude of the Orang Asli towards money? This study
was conducted using a qualitative method and data were collected through observations and interviews with seven respondents. Their selection was organised using
the purposive sampling approach, which consisted of three merchants and the
remainder being Orang Asli villagers. The findings indicated that the Orang Asli
spent most of their income on food, with the balance going to transport, bills, educaN. Ab Manaf (*)
Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (Bio-D Tropika),
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
e-mail: yati.manaf@umt.edu.my
R. Abdullah
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin,
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Research and Publishing Centre, National Academy of Arts Culture and Heritage,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J. Saputra
Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Studies, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT),
Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
N. F. Noor Azizan
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin,
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
M. T. Abdullah et al. (eds.), Resource Use and Sustainability of Orang Asli,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64961-6_4
Spending Habits of the Orang Asli
in Kampung Sungai Berua, Hulu
Terengganu, Malaysia
Norhayati Ab Manaf, Ramle Abdullah, Jumadil Saputra,
and Nurul Faezah Noor Azizan
Abstract Poverty eradication is an important agenda in developing countries like
Malaysia. Although the government has implemented various development programmes, the indigenous community of wellbeing level is still low compared to
other communities in Malaysia. The Orang Asli community in Kampung Sungai
Berua, Hulu Terengganu, rely on forest resources as their income, which is unstable
and plunges them into poverty. They have to struggle to gather resources just to feed
their family for the day, and the concept of saving money is almost non-existent.
This study aims to identify the patterns of Orang Asli expenditure. It is based on
three questions; (i) what do the Orang Asli spend on? (ii) what are their daily expenditures? and, (iii) how is the attitude of the Orang Asli towards money? This study
was conducted using a qualitative method and data were collected through observations and interviews with seven respondents. Their selection was organised using
the purposive sampling approach, which consisted of three merchants and the
remainder being Orang Asli villagers. The findings indicated that the Orang Asli
spent most of their income on food, with the balance going to transport, bills, educaN. Ab Manaf (*)
Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (Bio-D Tropika),
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
e-mail: yati.manaf@umt.edu.my
R. Abdullah
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin,
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Research and Publishing Centre, National Academy of Arts Culture and Heritage,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J. Saputra
Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Studies, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT),
Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
N. F. Noor Azizan
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin,
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia