GUA MUSANG, Jan 11 — In a clearing besides a river in Kuala Betis here, dozens of Temiars had converged in the morning, young and old. The sight of a helicopter excited them, and they were eager to see it take flight.
Satisfied with the initial checks, Captain Shamsul Md Sapar fired up the helicopter’s engine, and the main rotor sped up as it hovered, sending dust and sand billowing into the crowd who quickly took cover.
Laden with rice and groceries, the helicopter took to the skies in a slow sweep before speeding off, following the river’s curves.
It would be the helicopter’s first of eight flights that day to deliver flood relief to Orang Asli outposts in the rainforest in Gua Musang, Kelantan, cut off from the outside world after the recent heavy floods destroyed dirt roads and washed away bridges.
The flood relief mission, spearheaded by lawyer and activist Siti Kasim, was borne out of the Orang Asli’s frustration with the lack of flood relief effort coming from federal Orang Asli Affairs Department (Jakoa).
Orang Asli residents receive flood relief aid distributed by volunteers at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015. — Pix by Yusof Mat Isa
Orang Asli residents receive flood relief aid distributed by volunteers at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015. — Pix by Yusof Mat Isa
“Jakoa would tell us that it has the aid, but we would need to get it ourselves as they could not spare any vehicles. Since when do people here drive cars?” Mustafa, a 28-year-old activist with the Village Network of Kelantan Orang Asli (JKOAK), told Malay Mail Online.
“We keep asking ourselves. Why is Jakoa’s aid so hard to get when they are so near to us?” said the Temiar from Kg Dakoh, near outpost Pos Balar here.
Since then, the loose coalition of Orang Asli has organised a Flood Action Committee to distribute any available aid themselves, with help from civil society groups and activists. Siti’s mission was the third in two weeks.
During the day Malay Mail Online visited, the helicopter stopped over at outposts such as Pos Sempadit, Pos Belatim, Pos Tuel and Pos Enching to drop supplies, which consisted of 200 kg of rice and 20 bags of goods including sugar, cooking oil, tea, crackers, candles and canned food which was expected to last them one more week.
The group also sent a medical doctor to bigger outposts such as Pos Balar and Pos Bihai.
Orang Asli residents receiving flood relief aid at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015.
Orang Asli residents receiving flood relief aid at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015.
But the task itself was no mean feat, considering that most of the volunteers from Kuala Lumpur were strangers, brought together through word of mouth on Siti’s Facebook page after she posted a plea.
Ming Chua, 35, Magdalene Tang, 36, and Eliana Lee had together with their friends organised relief efforts for flood-stricken Temerloh and Kuantan last year. This year, they decided to help Siti out.
“We had RM4,000 worth of funds left from last year. We thought it would be enough ... Then we realised that the floods this year was four to five times worse,” said Chua, who works in event management.
Despite that, through their network of friends, they said they had raised close to RM66,000 for their mission this year.
The next problem was to deliver 20 tonnes’ worth of goods to Kg Parik in Kuala Betis here, which was chosen as their base of operations. Rights group Pusat Komas helped arrange the logistics, and the Bar Council supplied the funds for the lorries to make the trip.
Siti managed to obtain the sponsorship of financial services firm Allianz for a helicopter from local provider Helistar Resources Sdn Bhd. Despite that, however, she was sorely dissatisfied when the helicopter that turned up was a smaller one than the one promised.
Orang Asli residents receiving flood relief aid at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015.
Orang Asli residents receiving flood relief aid at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015.
“I was promised a Squirrel, which can carry between 350 to 400 kg,” she said, referring to the helicopter. The Eurocopter EC120 “Colibri” that arrived could only carry around 250kg loads at a time.
As for pilot Shamsul, 43, his main challenge was the weather. The foggy morning had worried him, as low clouds would hamper his piloting that relied heavily on eyesight rather than radar assistance.
“Thankfully, the weather is getting better. Otherwise I would have to manoeuvre accordingly to go between the clouds,” he said after making the first trip.
Another challenge for him was to reach the outposts’ location. While most were marked by GPS coordinates, some required him to rely on JKOAK activists to guide him as co-pilots.
Malay Mail Online joined a flight to Pos Enching, where activist Nasir guided the helicopter through Pos Ber, which coordinates were available.
Knowing the lay of the land like the back of his hand, Nasir recognised every outpost passed, and confidently set the course based on the rivers that wind through the fringe of Gua Musang’s rainforests.
Orang Asli residents receiving flood relief aid at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015.
Orang Asli residents receiving flood relief aid at Pos Balar, Gua Musang, Kelantan, January 10, 2015.
Hearing the sound of a helicopter, the children from Pos Enching excitedly ran towards the landing point to catch a glimpse. As soon as it landed, the men quickly formed a line to unload the goods, while some of the younger ones posed in front of the helicopter for photographs on their smartphones.
“It’s not just the Orang Asli who are excited by helicopters. Even city folks do the same thing,” Shamsul said through the helicopter’s communication line when we departed, as quickly as we arrived.
The moment we landed in Kg Parik, the group were taking a lunch break, serving rice with reheated canned chicken curry. Tomorrow, they would do the same thing again, to reach as many outposts as they could.
For the JKOAK activists, it had been a good day. Days ago, they trekked for hours on foot just to get the word out after waters rose. Today, their brethren would never need to do so.
