News of the tragic deaths of 14 Bateq villagers since early May in Kampung Kuala Koh, Gua Musang comes as no surprise to longtime activist Colin Nicholas.
"The problem here is not medical, but a direct result of what happens when people’s rights to their customary lands are not recognized and that land is destroyed. Just seven to 10 years ago, if you visited them they were perfectly healthy and psychologically happy. "But their land has been taken away, in this case by the Kelantan state government. And their resource base has been destroyed", he said.
Nicholas, the executive director of the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), said that the villagers used to have a system that enabled them to live off the land.
"At any one time, half the villagers would be hunting in the forest, and they would take turns. What has happened now is that without access to their traditional way of life, they become malnourished and underweight. With their resistance being low, many diseases – whether it's pneumonia or tuberculosis, or even diarrhoea – can be fatal. The root cause is that their environment has been taken away,' said Nicholas, who last visited the village about a year ago."
Nicholas added that the Kuala Koh Orang Asli village had been facing water contamination issues dating back to the massive 2014 floods in Kelantan. One of the most depressing parts is also a lack of understanding from the public.
"Prejudice still exists at the lowest level," he said, citing a case of an Orang Asli friend from a completely different location who was asked not to come to work for fear she might spread the disease.
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