Cover image via themalaysianinsider.comOn 23 August 2015, a nightmarish incident started when seven Orang Asli children went missing from their remote school in Gua Musang, Kelantan
After almost 50 days of extensive search and rescue by the authorities, the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jakoa) and the villagers, only two children were found alive, in terribly emaciated condition, on the verge of death
In the midst of the search, the family members of the missing children claimed that the authorities searched their homes in the middle of the night, accusing the families of hiding their own children.
Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) coordinator, Dr Colin Nicholas, criticised the authorities for only seeking the assistance of the orang asli trekkers 10 days after the search
The rest of the children were declared deceased after their decomposed bodies and skeletal remains were found and identified. Eight-year-old Sasa Sobrie, is the only girl who is yet to be found and is still presumed missing.
While the case has pretty much died down after the two survivors were found, foreign medias have been covering the case extensively, looking at how the Orang Asli families have been faring, following the tragedy that befell them
"Family members bury one of four Orang Asli children who were found dead in the jungles of Malaysia's Kelantan State"
Image via Al Jazeera
Why did the children run away from the school on that fateful day?
The parents of the deceased children have been left heartbroken, having lost their young children in the most unimaginable way and still unsure of what really drove the kids to flee from the very school that was meant to protect them
Allegations of abuse:
Meanwhile, reports have surfaced on how the Orang Asli children have been ill-treated by certain teachers in the local school, with some claiming to have been caned and hit for no particular reason
Image via The Malaysian Insider
Having lost faith in the school, following the unresolved incident, a large group of Orang Asli parents have refused to send their children to school, in fear of losing more of their kids to similar incidents
Since SK Pos Tohoi is the only school around the area and is located almost an hour away from the nearest Orang Asli villages, most of the children are forced to stay at the school's hostel in order to get an education.
"Are the lives of Orang Asli kids less worthy of protection than Malay, Chinese or Indian kids?" asked DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, urging the government to take action against the ones responsible for this tragedy
Image via MNS Hornbill Volunteer Programme
What is the school's response to this incident?
When asked by an Al Jazeera reporter on whether anyone has been reprimanded following the allegations of abuse by the Orang Asli children, a representative from the state education department merely said, "I am not in the position to comment."
The principal of SK Pos Tohoi, on the other hand, thinks that nobody is responsible for this incident, adding that no one wishes for any untoward incidents to happen to anyone.
**"Will you send your own children to this school?" asked the reporter, to which the education ministry representative responded to by laughing.**
Image via The Malaysian Insider
