Dam Builders May Triumph After All

Malaysia’s Perak state has decided to go ahead with the construction of a hydropower dam on the Geruntum River, despite the fact that it will harm the lands of a group of Semai villages. The Semai in the town of Gopeng have expressed their opposition to the dam-building project since… Continue reading…

Dam Builders May Triumph After All

Malaysia’s Perak state has decided to go ahead with the construction of a hydropower dam on the Geruntum River, despite the fact that it will harm the lands of a group of Semai villages. The Semai in the town of Gopeng have expressed their opposition to the dam-building project since… Continue reading…

A Semai in Parliament

Ramli Mohd Nor, a Semai man from the Cameron Highlands who won a by-election to the Malaysian parliament in late January, gave his first official speech last week. According to one of the news accounts of his maiden address, Ramli is the first Orang Asli individual elected to the Dewan… Continue reading…

Chini Lake Pollution Getting Worse

Two weeks ago the New Straits Times (NST), a major Malaysian newspaper, published a report about the environmental degradation of Tasik Chini, the second largest lake in Malaysia. The health of the lake and the surrounding forest ecosystem is important to the Orang Asli villages around it—mostly Jakun people but… Continue reading…

Cameron Highlands By-election

On November 30, the Election Court in Malaysia declared the results of the 14th general election last May in the Cameron Highlands district to be void due to corrupt practices. The High Court agreed on December 13 and a by-election was scheduled for January 26. The winner of the Cameron… Continue reading…

Malaysian Politician Visits the Semai

A veteran Malaysian politician was unexpectedly stranded in an isolated Semai community in the Cameron Highlands on New Year’s Eve. The sense of being trapped fostered feelings of sympathy for the poverty of the Orang Asli. According to one news report, Lim Kit Siang, a long-time leader of the Democratic… Continue reading…

Malaysian Politician Visits the Semai

A veteran Malaysian politician was unexpectedly stranded in an isolated Semai community in the Cameron Highlands on New Year’s Eve. The sense of being trapped fostered feelings of sympathy for the poverty of the Orang Asli. According to one news report, Lim Kit Siang, a long-time leader of the Democratic… Continue reading…

Visitors to Orang Asli Villages

A group of 86 students from a pharmaceutical technology program recently visited three different Orang Asli communities in Tapah, Perak state, Malaysia. The communities consist mostly of Temiar and Semai people. According to a news report last week, the government of Perak state in Malaysia plus the Royal College of… Continue reading…

Visitors to Orang Asli Villages

A group of 86 students from a pharmaceutical technology program recently visited three different Orang Asli communities in Tapah, Perak state, Malaysia. The communities consist mostly of Temiar and Semai people. According to a news report last week, the government of Perak state in Malaysia plus the Royal College of… Continue reading…

Children’s Book Features a Semai Folk Tale

A 23-year old Semai graphic designer has written and illustrated a children’s book that shares a folk tale he first heard as a child. He hopes it will help preserve the traditions of his people. The book, written by Saluji Yeok So Alu in Malay and translated into Mandarin, was… Continue reading…