These "Perfectly Normal" Orang Asli Kids Are Being Labelled As OKU By Their School
"This is one of the tragedies that is happening inside our Orang Asli government schools."
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 21 Sep 2016, 05:53 PM
Despite being the natives of the country, the Orang Asli community in Malaysia have suffered a great deal of injustice over the years
The Orang Asli community in Malaysia is a minority group with about 150,000 people out of Malaysia's 30 million population. They are regarded as the original and oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia and are divided by three main ethnic groups; Negrito, Senoi, and Proto-Malay.
Most of the Orang Asli people still live in or close to forests and in coastal villages, making a living out of agriculture and fishing. Their love for the nature and living alongside it has been manipulated and exploited to the point that to date they have little to none economical or political power in the country.
While the Malaysian government has been trying to "integrate" the Orang Asli people with the urban community, they still remain largely isolated and forgotten
Their biggest problem comes in the form of land usage and ownership. One would assume that they would own the very lands that they have been living in for centuries but here's the thing - they are still considered tenants and most don't have customary ownership of their ancestral lands. According to Minority Rights Group International, less than 20% of Orang Asli villages in Peninsular Malaysia are gazetted as Orang Asli Reserves.
Making matters worse, the stereotypes attached to the Orang Asli community leads to many of them being shunned and looked at as just a bunch of uneducated people who live in jungles. Education is hardly accessible with schools located far away from their remote villages and the condition of the hostels aren't very promising either.
Parents of these children have complained that is it impractical for them to send their children to live away from home at such young ages, making it even more difficult for the younger generation in the community to get formal education which further separates them from people living in urban areas.
Just yesterday, 20 September, prominent lawyer and activist, Siti Kasim revealed an unsavoury truth about the lives of Orang Asli school children in Pos Bala, Kelantan
In a Facebook post yesterday evening, Siti Kasim highlighted how the Orang Asli school children are being treated at a government school in Pos Bala, Gua Musang.
During a recent visit to the village of Pos Bala, Siti was apparently approached by an Orang Asli parent who raised concerns about how his daughter, Saffira, has been declared an OKU (orang kurang upaya).
"He thinks his daughter is perfectly normal and wants to know why his daughter was being labelled as one(OKU)," read the post by Siti.
According to Safira's father, Ahmadi Jalil, his daughter isn't the only one who has been classified as an OKU. It was brought to Siti's attention that there are many other young students who have been labelled as OKUs in the same primary school.
The medical report by Saffira's school that says the 9-year-old is 'mild retardation'.
Image via Facebook/Siti KasimCurious to see these children that have allegedly been said to be "handicapped" and "retarded", Siti decided to meet the kids in person.
"I was shocked to see them as they were perfectly normal kids. Since then, I have spoken to many other villages and they told me the same story," read the post.
What's worse is that these children have been taken to the local hospital to be tested for mental health without the consent or knowledge of their parents
Saffira's father, Ahmadi claims that his signature has been forged in the consent form for the medical test.
Image via Facebook/Siti KasimNot only were the children put through medical test at the local hospital without the consent of their parents, but Ahmadi also found out that his signature has been forged on the medical report.
"Saffira's father showed me the report by the hospital that diagnosed his daughter as 'mildly retarded'," explained Siti in the post.
Baffled at how these children that seem completely normal and show no obvious signs of being mentally disturbed or handicapped, Siti decided to take matters into her own hands by taking them for a medical test
A few months ago, the outspoken and caring lawyer took Saffira and two other children to the Universiti of Malaya Medical Centre's pediatrics department for a medical test.
Based on the clinical assessment, the doctor declared that Saffira does not have any intellectual disability, contrary to the report brandished by Saffira's school.
One Dr Subashini Jayanath of the pediatrics department of Universiti Malaya Medical Center, explained that Saffira does, however have learning difficulties with numeracy and literacy. The doctor opined that these disabilities might have stemmed from environmental issues such as lack of academic stimulation.
It was also mentioned that remedial classes in mainstream school will help improve her learning difficulties.
Having found out about this disturbing situation that is clearly affecting the lives of these Orang Asli children, Siti raised a few questions on the matter, namely:
Eager to put an end to this, Siti advised the parents to lodge an official complaint to the authorities about the unauthorised medical test conducted on their children
The parents have recently lodged official complaints about the matter to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM). No details of the complaint was mentioned in the Facebook post.
Siti's post as of 21 September, 4.30pm has been shared for more 771 times with over 1000 likes.