Since 1971, only around 3,900 Orang Asli obtained a tertiary education, over a 43 year period. There is only one Teacher Training Institution exclusively for Orang Asli in the whole country. However numbers have picked up in recent years, with over 1,500 OA students currently studying at tertiary level, including 28 post graduate students. Still, why is there a lack of graduates from this group, despite millions of ringgit being allocated for Orang Asli affairs yearly? We explore the problems faced by Orang Asli graduates, why they rarely return to contribute to the rural community, the role of the Orang Asli Department (JAKOA) and best practices Malaysia can learn from other countries, in educating their indigenous people.


This is a report by Jason Lim.

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Tags:  Orang Asli,  tertiary education,  Teacher Training Institution,  educating,  indigenous people