Dwee Chiew Yen, Chieng Khieng Hie, Norhayatunnisa Nordin, Puteri Aini Megat Yusop, Raihanah Abd Rahim and Abdul Razaq Ahmad
Malaysia is a multiethnic country rich in culture, tradition and heritage. Of its population of about 27 million, 0.5% are the Orang Asli who are indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia. The term ‘Orang Asli’ originates from Malay language and can be literally translated as ‘original people’ or ‘first people’. According to the law, an Orang Asli can be defined as a member of an aboriginal ethnic group (either by blood descent or via adoption) who is able to speak an aboriginal language and who abides by aboriginal customs and beliefs (Aboriginal Peoples Ordinance 1954, revised 1974).
The Orang Asli, are not one homogenous people but divided into three categories namely Negritos, Senoi and Proto-Malays, the Orang Asli. They can be further divided into subgroups, which are all distinguishable, by physical appearance, linguistic ability and cultural practices. In other words, they are a unique group of people with different languages, cultures, beliefs and values.
Of the many issues related to the Orang Asli, education remains the number one concern for the government. Studies done by the JHEOA (Department of Orang Asli Affairs) show that the dropout rate among Orang Asli schoolchildren is much higher than the national average. For every 100 Orang Asli children entering Standard 1, only 6 will be expected to continue their studies up to Form 5. This equates to a 94% dropout rate. This phenomenon is worrying as it can deprive our nation of its precious human resources.
To counter the problem, The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak has recently proposed three components to ensure success in education for the Orang Asli. During a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Orang Asli school at Simpai Village, Pekan, Pahang on the 25th of February this year (Utusan 2011), Najib suggested that firstly, schools should be built close to Orang Asli settlements to ensure easy access. Secondly, there must be teachers who are dedicated and are willing to work at the Orang Asli settlement and lastly, the Orang Asli parents themselves should emphasize on their children’s education.
Pahang state is home to the highest number of Orang Asli in Malaysia, amounting to 54,293 people or 36% of the entire Orang Asli population. Among the sub-ethnic Orang Asli groups which can be found in Pahang are Jahut, Jakun, Semaqberi, Bateq, Semai, Temuan, Chewong, Semelai and Temiar. According to 2010 statistics, there is a total of 14,974 Orang Asli students in Pahang. Of this number, 10,807 Orang Asli children are enrolled in primary school. This article will be focusing on education and career development issues from the perspectives of the parents, teachers and students of SK Runchang located in Kampung Runchang, Pekan, Pahang. Kampung Runchang, which has been developed under the regrouping plan (Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula), is home to 1821 Orang Asli where the majority is from the Jakun group.
Data collection was carried out through a program called EdePAC (Education Development Program for Aboriginal Community) by students taking a course called ‘Life Science’ at the National University of Malaysia (UKM). A qualitative approach through observation, as well as formal and informal interviews carried out with the parents, teachers and students of Kampung Runchang in the Malay language. In this article, the findings from the teachers’, parents’ and students’ perspectives regarding the importance of education and career development based on two themes namely goals and spread will be presented.
Goals
Goals refer to the aim and purpose of education and career development from the respondents’ perspectives.
Parents
From our observation and through the interviews conducted, we found that many of the Orang Asli in Kampung Runchang are well aware of the importance of education. They encourage their children to study hard because they believe it will improve their children’s chances of obtaining a better job and guarantee a better future. Some parents conveyed that they do not want their children to follow their footsteps and lead a life of poverty and hardship. They too, hope their children will have a better future through education.
”If possible I want the children to learn. I don’t want them to suffer like me. If they have education, they can get a better job.” (Ms. Saridah)
Teachers
In general, the teachers from SK Runchang are of the opinion that education is the only way out for the Orang Asli. They think it is very important for Orang Asli children to be literate so that it would be easier for them to secure better jobs in the future. Although the passing rates of the Orang Asli children in Kampung Runchang in the UPSR (Primary School Evaluation Test) exams remain low (40% passing rate in 2010), a student named Juyana managed to do the school proud by scoring an excellent 5 As in 2010. Her achievement has served as an inspiration for the teachers and students of SK Runchang.
One of the teachers who teach remediation classes places high importance on the ability of the students to read and write. From her observation, many Orang Asli children face difficulties in catching up with their studies partly because they are first-generation learners. Many of them do not attend school regularly and cited reasons such as having to help take care of their siblings at home while their parents work. In terms of career, she expresses that many of her students tend to follow their parents’ footsteps.
“Many of them (students) tend to follow what their parents do. For example, if their father plants watermelons, they plan to do the same.“ (Puan Wani, teacher of SK Runchang)
Students
From the informal interviews conducted with 6 standard six female students, it was observed that a majority cited career choices such as teachers and singers. When asked why, they said it was because they wanted to educate the next generation. Another expressed it was because of her aunt’s influence. She has dreams to become a teacher like her aunt so that she can buy a car and provide a better life for her family.
However, it was realised that none of the students talked about the more ‘prestigious’ and high-paying careers such as lawyers, doctors or accountants. Most of the students enjoy coming to school to learn and make friends. They named Mathematics and Bahasa Malaysia as their favourite subjects because they were fun and interesting.
Spread
Spread examines how parents and teachers contribute to the education and career development of the school-going children.
Parents
Although the community of Orang Asli at Kampung Runchang generally have lower standards of living, they place importance on education and enrol their children in kindergarten at the early age of six. This shows the parents’ involvement in encouraging their children to go to school. Due to the fact that most Orang Asli parents have received very little formal education or none at all, it might be impossible for them to assist their children with their studies. Some parents, when asked, expressed that they are not very sure of their children’s achievements or interests at school.
On the other hand, there were a few parents who took the initiative to continue learning to read and write by enrolling for adult classes in the school. This is so that they can become a role model for their own children.
Teachers
According to one of the teachers interviewed, enrichment programs such as motivation programs have been held in SK Runchang to encourage students sitting for public exams. In the past, the school has invited Orang Asli speakers who have succeeded in their careers to give talks in the hope that they would serve as role models to inspire the students to aim high and continue with their education.
However, no career development workshop has been carried out in the school so far. In addition, there were no counsellors in the school to provide advice or career guidance for the students.
Students
In order to find out what are the students’ efforts to improve themselves, they were asked about homework, family background and reading habits. It was found that most of the students do not complete their homework. Many of them help their parents with housework or prefer to play with their friends at home. Furthermore, some of them mentioned that it was also difficult to complete their homework because there was no one at home to provide help. While there are no bookshops in the village, there is a public library where the students can borrow books. From the conversation, they revealed their interest in storybooks and mentioned that they sometimes visit the public library to borrow books to read.
Fieldwork Observation
Through the fieldwork conducted at Kampung Runchang, the writers have gained insights on the lives of the Orang Asli. From our observation, this is what we found:
The Orang Asli school children of SK Runchang are generally very shy and have low self-confidence. During the activities carried out with them however, we observed that these children have the potential to improve their self-confidence.
The Orang Asli children were seen to respond eagerly towards activities, which involve music and dance. Their interest and enthusiasm in group-activities show that active learning works well for Orang Asli children.
Due to minimal exposure to the outside world, the Orang Asli children of Kampung Runchang are not aware of all the education and career choices that are available to them.
The teachers of SK Runchang are still employing traditional pedagogical methods such as ‘chalk and talk’ in classrooms. This may not be very effective for the students’ learning.
Fieldwork Experience
Since we have never had such close contact to the Orang Asli community before, this fieldwork has opened our eyes and changed our perspective towards them. Below are some of our experience and afterthoughts on the EdePAC program:
We used to judge the intelligence of Orang Asli based on their poor academic performance. But seeing their learning and living environment for ourselves, we realised that these children have the potential to excel academically if only they have access to proper resources and academic support.
This course has given us exposure on the methods to carry out fieldwork and research through observation and interviews.
We have also managed to apply theoretical knowledge in education, especially on qualitative research methods to collect data according to the appropriate measures.
During the fieldwork, we have also gained a lot of guidance and useful advice from our supervisor who has assisted us greatly in understanding the procedures of research.
In preparation for this program, we have also learnt how to apply soft skills outside the classroom. To secure sponsorship from private companies, for example, we had to utilise our communication skills in order to convince them about the significance of EdePAC. We believe these skills will benefit us greatly in our future endeavours.
Suggestions
From the data obtained, it is evident that more remains to be done by all parties to improve the education and career development opportunities provided to the Orang Asli children of Kampung Runchang. Teachers play an important role in creating awareness on the importance of education and career options, but this alone is not sufficient. We suggest career talks or workshops to be carried out in schools not just for Orang Asli students, but also for their parents. This is because we think that it is also important for the parents to be given exposure on the possible career paths their children can take and how that can improve their quality of life. This way, they can continue to motivate their children and keep them right on track.
We also think that it will also be beneficial if university students can conduct more community service projects such as education fairs, career talks and English camps in Orang Asli villages so that the Orang Asli children will be more exposed to the outside world and continue to be motivated to pursue their education to a higher level.
Through observations, the writers have also realised that the Orang Asli children love to sing and dance - possibly due to their cultural background. Therefore, we suggest that teachers could incorporate traditional songs and dancing activities into lessons, especially English, to make language learning a more fun and interactive process for the students.
Last but not least, the government should also ensure that school supplies and incentives arrive on time as poverty remains the number one cause for the high dropout rates among Orang Asli children (Kamarulzaman & Osman 2008). Well-equipped computer labs with Internet access should also be provided in every Orang Asli school to ensure that these children have the opportunity to stay in touch with technological advances and keep up with our ever-changing society.
The authors are students of the National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaaan Malaysia - UKM). You can contact them via email:
dweeyen@gmail.com or
razaq@ukm.my
民主行动党上议员拉玛克里斯南（S. Ramakrishnan，右图）表示，设立于1953年的原住民事务局是唯一一个设立以提升原住民的社会经济和生活水平的部门，然而这个拥有庞大权力和原住民社区控制权的部门并没法提供原住民适当和足够的医药护理。
“巫统领导的政府清楚贬低原住民事务。长期看来，惟有巫统领导的政府消灭种族政策和原住民事务局高高在上的态度，原住民社群才能获益。”然而，他认为，巫统必然死性难改。
