Deprived of the dignity of being human beings

The orang asli of Malaysia, despite being the first/original citizens of this land have been deprived of their dignity of being human beings despite being the true BUMIPUTERAS. Many face all kinds of challenges especially in obtaining their basic nececities ( water, electricity, shelter, education , freedom from fear,basic medical facilities ect ect). As for religious freedom, suppression continues. They are requested to convert into a certain religion in order to recieve the above mentioned facilities.Those who do so are given brick houses ( with extra facilities)located just a few meters away from those who refuse to be bought by religious propaganda.Imagine the anger and frustration caused by this injustice! Yet life goes on for this simple folk.

There is also a confusion of recognition in the identity of orang asli as bumiputeras where "certain people" say that "all bumiputeras are of religion x and all of religion x are bumiputeras".This is obviously not true since there are many bumiputeras/orang asli whom are not of religion x and vice versa.

Anyway, there is an argument that the orang asli are in this condition due to "faith/Karma/Gods will". This perception is baseless and flawed since we , as Malaysians and human beings hold on to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights .We should also reject any religious doctrines which marginalize and segregate in anyform.

As mentioned below in Article 1 of the declaration:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Another lame argument is that the orang asli should not remain in their jungles and come to the city ( sometimes, they are forced to!) in order to stay abreast with modern times,cultures and technologies and ect ect. This shows that people fail to recognize the importance of "culture" and the "rights" to maintain it. The inculturation of Western Cultures into Malaysia is a prove of what can happen if we do not take our own cultures seriously and preserve them for future generations. Same effect applies in the case of the orang asli.

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

The only reason why they are in their current condition is due to the greedy,non-cultured,barbaric ,pro-globalization,pro-capitalist,religiously fanatical,supressing, leaders( some, not all) of today. I do not mean to generalize or stereotyp our leaders but this is the reality.And it is sad that they are not empower by knowledge of their own rights. This is one reason why our education system will never teach us about HUman Rights ;due to the nature of it's empowerment.Besides that, human rights education can not be taught due to it clashing with the ideology of "legalised apetheid" practised in Malaysia.

The rights of the orang asli should be respected and they should be given equal rights and oppertunities to live within their dignity as human beings,just like u and me. Take time to visit a local orang asli village near by in order to see the realities with your own eyes. You will be amazed to see how they are supressed and marginalized by society.

I urge everyone to support the rights of the orang asli. Give them the space and basic nececities to live as human beings, within their dignity, with equal rights as all Malaysians.

Student Missionaries into the Villages of Sabah

“We wish to see Jesus!” That was the theme of the recently held Institusi Pengajian Tinggi , Belia Masuk Kampung 2004 (IPT-BMK) program in Keningau,Sabah . During this 10 day program (19-29 April),32 university students on semester break got the opportunity to explore deep into the villages of Sabah as Catholic missionaries. Being the brainchild of Bishop Cornelius Piong of Keningau Diocese, the programs objective was to enable students to see Jesus in the life of the village folk and also to the be the light and the salt of the villagers’ spiritual growth. On a more down to earth purpose, the program actually exposed students to the actual living conditions in the villages and gave us a first hand experience in solving social problems. As for me, being one of the only three participants from Peninsular Malaysia, it was indeed a challenge both spiritually and psychologically. The IPT-BMK 2004 was the longest and most demanding program I had ever participated since my involvement with the Catholic Students Society.

The village that I visited was Kampung Pensiangan, which was a Murut Village. To get there, our journey began from Keningau to Nabawan, which took us 2 hours by car. We then transferred into 4-wheel drives for another 2-hour journey, which took us to a riverside jetty. We then got onto sampans and after a 4 hour journey under the scorching sun, we finally arrived at the village. At the village, we realized that the conditions in the kampung were much better than we expected, but still way below standards. In order not the make a rash judgment, human rights becomes the yardstick to measure the standard of living. Shelter, water , electricity, and food were not an issue since the villagers built their own houses, have their own plantations, hunt for food, and have received generators and pumps from the authorities. Besides guiding them in prayer, we joined the villagers in their daily routine, which included fishing, cooking, planting, and carpentry. We also visited the primary schools to motivate the students and teachers. What caught my attention most was the intelligence of the Murut people. They are very organized and posses a certain high level of management knowledge and skills visible especially in their leadership.

Personally, being a human rights advocate, ensuring that the citizens received the basic medical and education facilities was a priority. It was indeed sad too see how unbalanced the development of Malaysia is. While multi billion dollar projects are mushrooming everywhere ,thousands of villagers lack the necessity of decent health and educational infrastructure. Being created in Christ image, many villagers were not living within their dignity as human beings. Even sad is they are not aware of their own dignity. The student’s suggestions and recommendations were passed on to the organizers for further action by the diocese of Keningau.

However, despite all the hardships faced, the villagers portrayed the image of the “Smiling Christ” at all times. It was in this simplicity and humbleness that I saw Christ. Being in poverty has not stopped them from learning about Christ and emulating Him through their daily life, which is full of compassion and love towards their neighbours.This love is most strongly expressed during the social gatherings held quite often, where the whole village gathers to enjoy traditional food, tapai, karaoke and dancing the Sumazau dance. It was during one of the gatherings where the Wedding of Cana actually came alive and a strong presence of Christ was felt. I guess the catechist ,trained by the diocese of Keningau have done a good job in educating the villagers to be true Catholics and human beings.

I certainly hope that more students and other Catholic/non Catholic intellectuals will venture into the villages of Sabah to experience, analyze, and improve the social and economic standards. This applies especially to the students who originate from Sabah it self. Since they are familiar and knowledgeable about the cultures and practices of the villagers, it would definitely be in Gods plan for them to return to their roots and strive to uphold the dignity of the society. Of course, the peninsular Catholics must be there to lend a helping hand. I also hope more students from peninsular Malaysia will participate in future IPT-BMKs to build a virtual link between peninsular and east Malaysia. Let not the South China Sea stop us from being one in Christ. Aramaitei!

Adrian Anthony Pereira