Orang Asli villagers in Pos Lenjang, Cameron Highlands are urging the government to quickly rebuild a road that was promised by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak two years ago.
Najib had on Aug 27, 2016, promised to allocate RM15 million for the road from Pos Betau to Pos Lenjang in Sungai Koyan, Pahang.
However, Bah Lai Bongsu, a representative for the villagers said the last update they received on the road was a 2017 letter from the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) which said the allocation to rebuild the 35km road was insufficient, and that the contractor was asking for additional funds.
Currently, there are only two roads to the 14 villages in Pos Lenjang - the main road which is badly damaged, and a secondary logging road.
Cameron Highlands PSM secretary Suresh Kumar (photo), who accompanied the villagers, said the current main road is in such a bad state that vehicles can't pass through, forcing villagers to either walk or use the logging road.
“To reach the logging road, the villagers will have to cross a river at the intersection point between the logging road and Pos Lenjang, then there is a two-hour walk to the paved main road,” Suresh said.
Bah Lai, who is from Kampung Rakoh, said that residents in Kampung Ngening suffered the most as their homes are 4km away from the intersection of the Pos Betau-Pos Lenjang road.
“There is no road but a small pathway to Kampung Ngening from the intersection point,” he said.
Bah Lai said the road conditions have also made it difficult for villagers to access medical care, with women who are eight months pregnant are forced to stay in a transit home near the Pos Betau main road.
Students studying at SK Pos Lenjang are also forced to stay at the school hostel as they could not go back and forth from their homes even though they are near.
Besides this, residents also struggle to bring produce from their small farms or the forest to the Sungai Koyan town to sell at the weekly night market
Bah Lai and the other villagers were met after they submitted a memorandum to Jakoa's office in Kuala Lumpur.
The villagers will also be sending a memorandum to the Public Works Department, Finance Ministry, and the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to urge them to quickly rebuild the road between Pos Betau to Pos Lenjang. -Mkini
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