GUA MUSANG, June 13 — More than 1,000 Orang Asli families living in Pos Brooke, Pos Hendrop and Pos Tuel in Lojing Highlands are appealing for a secondary school and a fire station to be built near their settlements.
The Pos Tuel Orang Asli Village Development and Safety Committee (JPKKOA) chairman, Atan Alang, said that residents from these three settlements had to send their children up to 60 kilometres (km) away to Sekolah Menengah Panggung Jaya in Kampung Panggung Lalat.
“Residents are completely dependent on the only fire station located in the town of Gua Musang, more than 90km away, in the event of an emergency in their areas,’ he said to reporters in Pos Tuel today.
He added that the population of Orang Asli in Pos Brooke, Pos Hendrop and Pos Tuel is increasing, and children have been exposed to basic education since kindergarten.
Atan said that the residents expressed hope that a secondary school could be built to ensure that there are no school dropouts among Orang Asli children here.
He said the distance to school also affects the level of attendance of Orang Asli children.
“Now that we have electricity, various possibilities need to be considered, including fire incidents,” he said.
Meanwhile, Galas assemblyman, Mohd Syahbuddin Hashim, said that an application was submitted to obtain the amenities for Lojing Highlands residents.
“I am of the view that it is appropriate to build these amenities as soon as possible in Lojing Highlands, as it will provide convenience to the local population,” he said. — Bernama
