More than 50 percent of Orang Asli, (indigenous minority people of Peninsular Malaysia) are expected to remain below the poverty level or hardcore poo

December 13, 2008 16:20 PM
50 Percent Of Orang Asli Expected To Remain Below Poverty Level Due To Price Hike
KUANTAN, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- More than 50 percent of Orang Asli, (indigenous minority people of Peninsular Malaysia) are expected to remain below the poverty level or hardcore poor due to a surge in the cost of living.Senator Osman Bungsu, who represents the Orang Asli community in the Senate, said 50 percent of the 141,230 Orang Asli are still categorised as hardcore poor or below the poverty level."The percentage is expected to increase due to a surge in the price of essential goods although the price of oil had come down," he told reporters after opening a forum for Orang Asli Dialogue - Integrity Tour 2008 at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) Sultan Ahmad Shah campus here today.The dialogue, organised by Integrity Institute of Malaysia (IIM) and Uniten, themed "Alam Lestari, Integriti Asli" would feature Prof Emeritus Datuk Mohd Hood Salleh, Director of the Academic Heritage Museum, University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Education Ministry's deputy director of curriculum development centre, Dr Sharifah Bee Aboo Bakar, among the panelist.He said a laid back approach and a monotonous attitude towards education would push Orang Asli deeper into the annals of poverty.Osman added that inability in mastering 3M (read, write, count) and the percentage of primary school children advancing to secondary level was relatively very low among Orang Asli."Since Independence 51 years ago, statistics show that there are only four Orang Asli doctors and a professor in the country," he said.He added that in order to see the Orang Asli community progress, there need to be a concerted effort and holistic approach, through advancement in human capital, economy, infrastructure, education and entrepreneur development."Our main objective is to introduce a Ministry to oversee the welfare and development of the Orang Asli community, and if possible appoint an Orang Asli as Minister," he said.-- BERNAMA