Are Rainforest People Really Respected?
One Example of Ecotourism in Malaysia

Visiting Rainforest People: Ecotourism or Eco-Trespassing?

By Rick Gregory

Though they live in the remotest parts of the jungle, rainforest people like the Orang Asli are still not hidden far enough from tourists.

Like an Asian elephant in a field of oil palm seedlings, urban visitors trample on settlements with reckless abandon.

And in both cases the intent is not meant to harm, only to feed a hunger.

Unlike their Bornean counterparts, such as the Iban and Penan, the Orang Asli tribes of Peninsular Malaysia are not as well known or identified by their cultural distinctions.

Although strongly tied with the jungle, they are not seen so much as traditional rainforest people rather than another type of forest animal to gawk at.

Good intentions, materialized by tourists bringing used clothes and candies, do not override good manners. But the current practice of a flotilla of orange-vested holiday goers off-loaded on an Orang Asli settlement shore smacks of an invasion, not a cultural experience.

As part of an outing to the unspoiled surroundings of Temenggor Lake in Perak, Malaysia, thirty of us rode in three boats for almost an hour through forested hills and dozens of hilltop islands, the land remnants left after damming the Perak River over two decades ago.

Along the way we passed hill slopes dotted with thatched roof huts and cassava plants, the mark of indigenous communities who have settled on the embankments of the 15,000 hectares man-made reservoir. We finally rounded a small bay with pencil-like stumps sticking above the waterline to reach Kampung Tebang, a Jahai community of less than 150 people.

Lead by our nature guide, Haji Silah, whose primary instruction was "to respect the culture," we gathered together to await the headman to officially greet us. From the moment I stepped off the boat, I was uncomfortable.

The excitement and anticipation of the tourists were not reciprocated by the Jahai adults or children. Instead, they stayed at a distance squatting in the shade of their simple homes.

For us it was a new experience with a new people; for these people of the rainforest it was routine.

Calvin, the 31 year-old headman dressed in a tee-shirt and short pants, fielded a barrage of questions thrown at him like a diplomat:

• We use the water from the lake.
• Our staple food is tapioca.
• Health care and schooling are provided by the government.
• Yes, we still use blowpipes to hunt small mammals.

His calm voice and polite manner underscored his adeptness as a leader.

After the introduction the real awkwardness kicked in as we walked around giving sweets to shy kids and silent elders, who took the 'goodies' with lagging arms and reticent faces. It looked more like force-feeding than gift giving.

One participant, a Malaysian in her 60s, summed up the entire scene later during a chat session: "I took a spot where I could observe the Orang Asli. At first I was ashamed. It was like going to a zoo. But then I realized that the Orang Asli were also watching us as much as we watched them."

Malaysia culture has a wonderful Open House tradition that accompanies each ethnic or religious holiday. These cultural exchanges to each others homes, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians or others, re-establishes respect for all Malaysians.

In sharp contrast, the visit to the Jahai village produced no exchange of values, nor any respectful outcomes. It was an invasion of privacy.

No one is really at fault. The treatment of the Orang Asli community is just not the same as with other Malaysian cultures. They are as remote from our minds as they are physically distant in the jungle. This circumstance leads to a rather unfortunate fact: many Orang Asli are mostly strangers, not neighbours, to Malaysians.

For Malaysia, it is time to rethink 'ecotourism' visits to Orang Asli villages. Indigenous rainforest people already face difficulties to provide for their families and retain customary practices amid a settled lifestyle.

So it is unrealistic, if not disrespectful, to swarm these small communities with hoards of tourists expecting ritual dancing and blowpipe demonstrations on demand.

Tourists should meet the Orang Asli on their terms, not on a whim.

Cultural survival first depends on improving community conditions while respecting traditions. Many of these tribes of the rainforest struggle to maintain a balance in the non-forest world.

If ecotourism is to survive, then tourists have to be prepared to sacrifice as well. Clothing and candies are short-term remedies that satisfy the visitors more than the recipients.

Perhaps tourists should decide not to visit the Orang Asli. At least not until we are invited.

Then we can join them in celebration of their culture, with dignity in full bloom.

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