A Malaysian Photo And Travel Blog

At first glance, it look like any other kampung (translation: village) in Malaysia. There is a kindergarten, a school, a sundry shop, a community centre, a clinic and a JHOEA – Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli Office (Aborigines Affairs Office). It doesn’t look like a traditional aboriginal village to me. I walked out from my car and got to see for myself the influence of modern day development on the community. The houses/huts are scattered all over the hill. I followed some narrow trail to reach the aborigines settlement. Halfway, I was surrounded by a group of CUTE and FRIENDLY orang asli kids. The kiddos were asking lots of questions. I was dumbstruck for a moment. They were speaking in Bahasa Asli (translation: aboriginal language). Fortunately, I bumped into an adult orang asli. She translated our conversation back to Bahasa Melayu.

Chatting with that lady breaks the ice between me and the aborigine communities. She was wearing sarong and hanging out some clothes to dry. She asked me lots of questions “Dari mana ni” (Translation: “Where are you from?”), “Nak buat ape dengan kamera?” (Translation: “What are you doing with that camera?”) I assured her that I’m no journalist. I’m stopping over to see or myself the aborigine village.

Later, I met another young lady (perhaps same age as me). An intelligent and pleasant girl. She answered all my queries about the orang asli. The ONE BIG QUESTION I like to ask her was “Cik, orang asli kat Pulau Carey buat kraftangan. Orang asli kat Cameron Highlands ni buat apa?” (Translation: “Miss, the aborigines in Carey Island make crafts. What about the aborigine community over here?”). She told me 60% - 70% are working as civil servants in government departments. Before I bid goodbye to her, she asked me to consult Tok Batin (Village elder) for detailed facts and figures about the community. Tok Batin is the village’s shopkeeper.

Then, I bumped into a group of teenagers. The moment they saw me, the boys and girls were calling me with all sorts of Chinese names. Well, I just ignored them. The name calling stopped after a while. They decided to sneak behind me following my every steps discreetly. I decided to show them pictures I took with my Nikon D60 DSLR camera. They were so excited and invited me to take their portrait pictures. It was a genuine expression of happiness.

I noticed 70% of the aboriginal population has been modernized. The kiddos and teenagers were fast adapting to modern day culture. Only 30% (mostly elders) were still practicing their treasured native culture. Nonetheless, the people still has distinct physical and facial features that resemble typical aborigines in Malaysia.

Overall, it was an insightful trip. The younger generation is getting compulsory formal education. Some of them were even admitted to reputed universities. I believe in less than a decade, Kg. Sg. Ruil will be transformed into a modern day village – no longer an aboriginal village. I don’t know whether wanton modernization is good or bad in the long run. One thing for sure, the traditional values are slowly dying. The community prefers modernization than living on a day-to-day basis (hunt and collect) for their meals.