The Belum Temenggor rainforest is situated in the state of Perak, Malaysia, and it has an ancient history of more than 130 million years. Located at the northern part of the Peninsula, the rainforest is believed to be much older than the jungles of Amazon and Congo. The rainforest is reserved and is currently being protected by the Malaysian government.
At the same time, outsiders will also be fascinated by the gorgeous view of the lake, which was formed after the flooding of the rainforest, due to the impact of building the electric dam. The lake is now called the Temenggor Lake. Tragically, the massive flooding has left the nomadic tribes that lived there to wonder homelessly and totally being cut off from the political agendas. My heart goes out for these people whom have regarded the forest as their mother land.
These days it is so hard to reach these tribes. As a matter of fact, it took the researchers from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) of Malaysia and me, almost a week to get the permissions from the State Park Department, the local police force and the Border Regiments’, just to visit this place by boat. The boat ride from the mainland was about an hour. The ride was thrilling and I can feel the cool breeze of air on my face. After that we managed to reach the settlements of the Indigenous People’s Village in Kg Sungai Tiang. The estimated population was about 60 households.
The people there are called the Jahais. The Jahais are currently semi-nomadic, without much shifting activities these days. However it is sad to admit that the Jahais have lost part of their traditions from their ancestors. This is because they did not inherit their cultivating crafts skills. Most of the adults do not cultivate crops anymore, and their younger generations have no interest in making crafts from bamboo and vines. The fact is only one or two of them can still make blow pipes. Most of them still hunt and collect natural resources for their livelihood. The Jahais are also very different from the people that I have met in Borneo. They are mostly shy and marginalized.
On the first day, when I walked into the village, the children ran into their huts and slammed the door behind them upon seeing me, while the ladies pulled up their sarongs’ and moved towards the back of the hut. My task here was to interview and collect information from these people about the development and exploitation of wildlife and forest goods. The Indigenous people possess the rights to explore the forest and hunt under the National Enactment. However those privileges have been misused by some bogus business men and illegal hunters. They made huge profits out of the forest. In my opinion, the Indigenous people’s rights to access and use these natural resources should be formally recognized and acknowledged to a greater extend and not to be taken advantage by the others.
