Current Events
Food From The Sky:
United Sikhs Delivers Aid To Remote Flooded Villages In Malaysia
PATRICK LEE
Kuala Betis, Kelantan, Malaysia
The quiet of the Kelantan countryside broke as a blue helicopter circled over the tiny orang asli (indigenous people) village of Pos Ber.
Dozens of Temiars rushed out of their homes, curious at the first visitor to their stranded village, cut off from the world for two weeks.
Village chief Bidi Beronggeng, 35, smiled as the helicopter’s doors opened to reveal goods brought in by the aid group, United Sikhs.
“I didn’t think anyone was coming. You’re the first people we’ve seen here since the floods,” he said, as his people took the goods.
Bidi said the roads leading into his village had been cut off by landslides. With no running water and electricity, they were left to forage for food.
“We grew vegetables, but the floods destroyed them all. We had to look for tongkat ali, tapioca and bananas,” he said.
Pos Ber was one of some 30 orang asli villages west of Gua Musang that were stranded and without help after massive floods swept through the state. Logging roads were buried under mud and bridges swept away, turning four-hour car rides into three-day treks.
Many villages couldn’t call for help, with wireless sets left in disrepair. Some had to write on pieces of paper, carried by hand to the towns.
Even so, aid was not quick with at least 5,000 orang asli here left to fend for their own.
United Sikhs’ Rishiwant Singh, also known as radio deejay Flying Singh, organised a special aid mission to help the orang asli.
He teamed up with private helicopter pilot and friend Capt Bagawan Singh, flying from Subang airport on Jan 3 and 7, 2015 here.
Making Kuala Betis their base, they delivered 4,500 kg of goods to 19 villages on these two days.
Believing the aid mission to be a blessing from God, Rishiwant said it was no small feat to transport the goods, driven to Kuala Betis by car.
Sometimes, they had to brave bad weather.
“On one trip, we couldn’t find a place to land, and we had to do it in the rain,” he said.
Orang asli Mustapha Along, 28, said official aid pleas went unheard.
He said a Department of Orang Asli Development (JKOA) officer told him the agency had no transport to send aid.
“We were told they had the aid, but didn’t have the transport. We had to go and take it for ourselves,” he said.
“In my village, there are four families who have run out of food for the past three days,” he added.
For more information on how to help the orang asli, please call Rishiwant Singh at 012-2224242.
[Courtesy: The Star]
January 9, 2015