Kota Kinabalu: Two local organisations have combined their efforts in giving much-needed academic support to the Orang Asli (Indigenous People) community in Pahang, recently.
Their project named “Sekulah Bateq” is an Adopted Community Programme of the Rhythm Foundation, a social impact branch of the QI Group; with the cooperation of the Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Malaysia (Ecomy).
“Sekulah Bateq was established to bridge the educational gap for the Orang Asli through a specially-formulated education programme which can also be used by other indigenous groups in the future,” said Rhythm Foundation head Santhi Periasamy.
Santhi added that it was important for them to start on the right footing now to gain access to education for the Orang Asli kids in Malaysia, as Unicef data showed that children with at least secondary school education will have a brighter future in terms of job opportunities.
She expressed optimism that the joint-project with Ecomy to help the Bateq community will succeed through the Adopted Children programme as they had seen its success in Sabah.
“We hope to be able to achieve the same success with the Bateq kids in Pahang to bring them closer to the world through quality education,” she said.
She added that although public perception towards the Orang Asli is negative, thinking that they are incapable, nomadic, resist change and anti-development, the Bateq community living along the Tembeling River at Kuala Tahan proved to be otherwise.
“This is because they themselves actively seek support from the community and welcome our efforts with high spirit,” she added when Rhythm and Ecomy conducted a Selected Education Progarmme for the Orang Asli community at Kampung Kuala Atok, Pahang, recently.
Meanwhile, the chief of the Bateq community, Tok Batin Hussin said they have requested to be recognised as the Bateq Community officially with the aim to ensure a brighter future.
“Before this, our children had no access to education and most of cannot read or write. This is not going to augur well for their future.
“With education, it is hoped that our children would be able to at least find jobs in the future,” he added.
Most of the Orang Asli children have had little access to education partly due to the remote location of their villages and non-availability of schools, Internet access and so on.
The Sekulah Bateq pioneered by Rhythm and Ecomy is aimed at providing at least basic education to the children so they can at least read, write and calculate.