Time to Respect the Original Peoples
By Regina Hoo
August 2017 FEATURE
The Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia have been manipulated long enough.The term “Orang Asli”, or “original people”, is a collective appellation for the 18 ethnic tribes “officially classified for administrative purposes under Negrito, Senoi and Aboriginal Malay”.1 It was coined by the British colonial government when the administration realised “a more correct and positive term” was vital to win the indigenous community’s support against communist insurgents during the Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960. (Derogatory terms such as “jakun” and “sakai” were...
Regina Hoo
is the deputy editor of Penang Monthly.
