Bidar Chik, Batin (headman) of Pertak, breathed his last on 6 June 2014 around 10:30 a.m. I dedicate this chapter from TANAH TUJUH ~ Close Encounters with the Temuan Mythos to his fond memory.
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| Bidar Chik was appointed Batin of Kampung Pertak in 1994, the year I took up residence in the High Hut. Initially we had our differences - when he allowed loggers into the area - but we became close allies during the campaign against the Selangor Dam a few years later. My parting gift to him was this garland. |
PULAU BUAH, the
Isle of Fruits, is the Temuan paradise, the Garden of Eden we knew as Home
before the... what? The Fall? The Great Flood? Even Seri Pagi wasn't too sure
what terrible crime we had committed as a species to have warranted banishment
from Pulau Buah. Surely the gods would not introduce sexual reproduction to the
human race only to punish us for it? (No one seemed to have given this any thought. Indah merely told me the tale she probably heard when her first period
arrived: the one about Tuhan finding menstrual stains on the Stairway to Heaven
and deciding to seal it forever to humanity.)
“Sometimes we can still visit Pulau Buah,”
Seri Pagi said, “but only in dreams, or if we're very ill and in a sort of
coma. In the old days, we had dukun (shamans)
who were powerful enough, and pure enough, to travel there without losing their
physical connection to the Earth. Nowadays, we only tell stories about Pulau
Buah.”
Mak Minah said her great-grandmother used to
travel to Pulau Buah in her dreams. “She told us there was a great tree in a
beautiful clearing by a crystalline stream. The tree was laden with ripe
rambutans (a hairy-skinned,
succulent, juicy fruit) - only these were no ordinary rambutans, they were
enormous! And best of all, she could reach up and pluck a fruit from the lowest
branch without any effort. The spirit of the tree told her not to throw away
the peel after she had eaten the fruit. Instead, she had to carefully place the
peel on the ground below the branch where the fruit had been growing. One fruit
was enough to satisfy her, it was so large and so delicious. The next time she
returned to the spot, the same fruit was back on the branch, ready to be
plucked and eaten!”
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| Nadi Empok & his wife Lumoh in 1994 |
Penengah admitted that he had tried to
visit Pulau Buah in his youth, and failed. “Before you can proceed, you must go
to the foot of Gunung Raja and wait for an invitation. If the guardian favors
you, you will somehow find yourself going up the mountain. I've heard the old
folks telling of signs and special spirit guides that can show you the path to
Pulau Buah, which is not in this world. I didn't even get beyond the foot of Gunung
Raja. If the guardian doesn't want you to enter the sacred realm, the mountain
itself will move away, so that you find yourself somewhere else.
Well, that's
what happened. I was there with a few friends. We were certain it was Gunung
Raja. Then there was heavy rain and strong winds and strange sounds that really
frightened us. Of course, it could have been a tiger or leopard, but even if it
was, you can bet it was no ordinary tiger or leopard. When the weather cleared,
we realized we were nowhere near Gunung Raja. We turned around and somehow
found our way back to the village. We were glad to be alive.”
Nadi Pak Empok may have been on that
expedition. Or he may have made a separate attempt to scale Gunung Raja. He
spoke reverently about the very special atmosphere that pervades the Royal
Mountain, even around its base. The beautiful birds and plants he saw along the
way, the mysterious cries of unknown creatures. “We heard the musical voices of
maidens calling to us. It was hard not to obey their call, it was so seductive.
But one of the group suddenly told us to flee for our lives, and we did. I
don't know what would have become of us if we had tried to find the source of
those haunting cries.”
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| Utat Merkol a year before he left for Pulau Buah in 2007 |
Soon after the Selangor Dam project was
announced, I found Utat lying feverish on a mat in Indah’s house. “I dreamt
about Pulau Buah,” he whispered. “I was there, at the peak of Gunung Raja, and
I saw Mamak and Inak Bongsu.” I was all ears. Anoora’s uncle Utat rarely
discussed his dreams, being an exceptionally private and shy man, but he
revealed that he had twice been summoned to the Sacred Mountain by the Temuan’s
tutelary gods - a signal honor for any Temuan.
“How did they appear to you, what did they
look like?” I prompted Utat.
“They were absolutely splendid, more
beautiful and much, much grander than kings and queens. They looked human, but
in a more luminous, far nobler form.” (Lothlorien and the High Elves
immediately came to my mind.)
“What did Mamak and Inak Bongsu have to say
to you?”
Utat was silent for a moment. “They said
they were very concerned about the destruction that is about to take place. The
dam. It makes them angry and they want me to warn people that this desecration
is loathsome to them. They have the capacity to destroy the dam, but they do
not wish to harm anybody.”
“Well, are you going to tell the rest of
the tribe?”
Utat shrugged and was silent. “People won’t
believe me,” he finally said.
“WHEN SOMEONE
DIES,” Penengah said, “their soul wanders around familiar places for a while
before a longing to go home takes them towards Gunung Raja. After a while, they
will find themselves at a fork in the trail. One path leads to Pulau Buah; the
other... well, the other leads nowhere.”
How does one identify the correct path?
Penengah seemed reluctant to reveal the
signs that would indicate the correct path. Then a gleam appeared in his eye
and he whispered: “We don't usually talk about this, but I think you will
understand why. For years people have tried to sway us from our beliefs. They
wanted us to convert to Islam or Christianity or whatever. But our ancestors
warned us about this. They told us there is a black dog guarding the path to
Pulau Buah. If the soul is destined for Pulau Buah, the dog wags its tail and
shows the way. But if the dog growls, it means the soul has accumulated too
much sin (dosa).
What happens if someone takes the wrong
path?
“They find the path easy going at first,
very well maintained and attractive to behold. But at the end of the trail,
they find themselves on an illusory bridge that goes nowhere.”
Can
you describe what happens to someone who tries to cross the bridge?
“Well, they drop into a pit when the bridge collapses. A pit full of
rats and cockroaches, creatures of the dark that devour anything that falls
in.”
Sounds like hell to me. Is this the influence of Muslim and Christian
eschatology on the Temuan belief system? Or is the Heaven-Earth-Hell
configuration a common denominator of all human cosmogony?
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| Bidar (left) officiating at the engagement ceremony of Anoora's pretty niece Halus in 2010 |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF A LETTER FROM BIDAR CHIK (BATIN OF PERTAK) TO ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI (5TH PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA)
Batin Bidar Chik
No. 1 Kg Pertak
Batu 8, Jalan Gap
44000 Kuala Kubu Baru
Ulu Selangor
13 April 2004
Y.A.B. Perdana Menteri Malaysia
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Malaysia
Putrajaya 62502
Sir:
Why do so many Orang Asli lack motivation? Because we feel homeless in our own homeland.
1. We congratulate and welcome you as our new prime minister. It is our hope that with a fresh beginning, a
new era of justice and wise governance will dawn. I am only the humble headman of a small
village of Orang Asli from the Temuan tribe in Ulu Selangor, voicing my
thoughts and feelings. But I have faith
that my voice will be heard by the Honourable Prime Minister.
2. The beauty of the Pertak Forest Reserve where our small village of
43 houses is located has attracted many visitors from far and near. Now that the Selangor Dam is complete, even
more people are coming here to fish from the artificial lake. We are glad that people appreciate the beauty
of our ancestral homeground, birthplace of the Temuan tribe, indeed, our “pusat
negri.”
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| The High Hut at Lata Puntung where I lived from April 1994 till October 1999 |
3. When we were resettled by the dam project, the Jabatan Hal Ehwal
Orang Asli (JHEOA) assured us that each family would be issued an individual
grant for our new houses, along with some dusun land. However, nothing was said about the 400 acres
approved for gazetting in 1965 as Orang Asli Reserve Land. After 39 years, the status of this land
remains uncertain. We would like this
matter clarified in writing.
4. In February 2004, we were informed that our new houses stand on
State land for which we have been granted a 99-year lease. We received a letter from the Land Office
asking us to pay an assessment of RM540 by 11 May, 2004, or our land and houses
will be forfeit.
5. There are few families in Kg Pertak that can afford to pay this
amount in three months, or even six. I
cannot imagine what will happen to my sister-in-law, a widow who receives a
monthly cash subsidy of RM70 from the Welfare Department. How will she pay the assessment?
6. The JHEOA told us not to worry about it. They said Splash Sdn Bhd, the dam operator,
has offered to pay on our behalf. As
nothing is in writing we have only their verbal promise. Nearly a year ago the JHEOA organised a 3-day
workshop on Fraser’s Hill for a group of villagers. Each participant will receive RM50, they
said. Those who went are still waiting
to be paid.
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| Bidar Chik came into his own as tribal chief during the 1999 campaign against the Selangor Dam |
7. Our ancestors have dwelt here from the dawn of time. Nobody knows how long the Temuan have been
here, but it is safe to say we have been here for a thousand generations. Now we are told the land is on a 99-year
lease, and we must pay an annual rent to live here. When my great-granddaughter’s children reach
a ripe old age, the lease will expire, and the tribe’s future will be decided
by the Land Office. If they choose not
to extend the lease, our community will die out, for the life and identity of
the Orang Asli are tied to our ancestral lands.
8. The Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli has existed for 50 years since the
Emergency. Their duty is to look after
Orang Asli interests, not to belittle us.
To be honest, we Orang Asli do not have much trust in the JHEOA. They seem set on destroying our way of life
and our beliefs. In the past they have
joined forces with loggers to exploit our forests and pollute our streams. Now they have turned us into rent-paying
tenants on land we have inhabited for thousands of years. We are not happy about this. The JHEOA have had 50 years in which to rob
us of our dignity, pride, confidence, and self-reliance - not to mention the
ground beneath our feet. For Orang Asli,
the Emergency is not over yet.
9. Honourable Prime Minister, we humbly request that you intervene to
save us from the JHEOA, which treats Orang Asli like unwanted
stepchildren. They never listen to us
and they do not understand or respect us.
They tell us to let loggers clear our beautiful jungle so we can
cultivate cash crops. In the 1960s we
were told to plant rubber trees but when they matured there was no demand for
latex. Now they talk about oil palm, but
we do not understand the business, and do not wish to be at the mercy of
middlemen and unstable market prices.
Most importantly, the forest must be preserved, not only for Orang Asli,
but for all who value God’s creation.
10. We would rather be given the Reserve Land promised us 39 years ago
so we can hunt and harvest fruit as we have always done. We can also start small-scale
ecotourism-related projects that will preserve the forest, and that will give
us a chance to be our own bosses.
Younger Orang Asli who wish to seek their fortune elsewhere are
encouraged to do so. But as long as we
have our ancestral lands, they at least have something to return to.
11. We urge that you investigate the unresolved issue of the 400 acres
approved for gazetting in 1965 as Orang Asli Reserve Land, and instruct the
Land Office to issue a communal title deed.
This is surely not too much to ask, as our ancestors originally roamed
the whole of Pahang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan. But without the sense of permanency granted
by official recognition of our customary lands, our people will be in despair
and lack direction. Grant us the land
our ancestors left us as their legacy, and free us from the heavy-handed
control of the JHEOA. This is how we can
regain our self-esteem, our spirit of independence, and our ability to prosper
from the fruits of our own initiative.
12. The rest of the nation won its independence from colonial rule 47
years ago. We feel it is time we Orang
Asli, too, are allowed to taste the dignity and joy of freedom.
13. A copy of this letter will be handed to Persatuan Orang Asli
Semenanjung Malaysia (POASM) to be shared with my fellow Batins.
Yours faithfully,
Bidar Chik
Batin Kg Pertak
Ulu Selangor
[First posted 6 June 2014, reposted 6 June 2019]
