An Orang Asli man passes by an area that has been cleared of a landslide as he walks home to his village. There are claims that orang asli women are being sexually exploited by workers when they crossed paths in orang asli settlements here. ― File pic
CAMERON HIGHLANDS. Relationships between orang asli women and illegal foreign workers are consensual.
The Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) district officer Wan Khairul Wan Mohamad Rozali admitted there were cases of sexual relationships between women and foreign workers in Pos Terisu near Kuala Terla, but stressed they were isolated and consensual.
He said relationships happened when workers entered areas where they were employed on farms or construction projects near settlements.
“The workers cross paths with villagers. This often leads to relationships. Some turn physical but it is not prostitution,” he said at the Cameron Highlands district Jakoa office.
“To our understanding, the relationships are consensual and there is no criminal element as the girls are not underaged. It is very much a suka sama suka (mutual attraction) relationship.”
He said this following claims the women were being sexually exploited by workers when they crossed paths in orang asli settlements here.
A media report recently claimed that labourers gave money to the women as a token of appreciation after having sex with them.
Wan Khairul said he heard instances of money being exchanged between the couples, but explained these handouts were not business transactions.
“The workers give money to the women just like a husband would take care of his wife,” he said.
“In fact, I was told some families approve of the relationship, so no one wants to meddle as it is the family's personal business.”
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He said he had not received any complaints of rape or sexual crime cases from the orang asli community since taking over the position two years ago.
Despite the consensual nature of relationships, Wan Khairul admitted there were negative consequences from such unions.
“When we ask the women if they are married to the foreign workers, they say 'yes' but the marriages are not registered because the workers do not have permits,” he said.
“The risk is that any children born to these couples might face registration problems, because their fathers might not be around and we cannot get information about them.
“There is always a chance the father might also return to his home country, which creates bigger problems for the mother.”
He revealed the department had been advising villagers against engaging in these relationships by conducting seminars and speaking to the village heads.
“This problem will probably continue until the illegal worker problem is solved,” he said.
Kampung Sungai Telimau village head Tok Batin Yusof Hamid, 56, said he had not heard of complaints from his fellow villagers about such activities in Pos Terisu since he became chief in 2002.
“There are foreign workers in the Pos Terisu settlement but no one reported any cases of girls becoming sexual victims to my knowledge,” he said.
“If we hear any news of such cases, there is no way we would stay silent.”
Cameron Highlands OCPD Deputy Supt Wan Zahari Wan Busu said there was no criminality involved so long as the relationships resulted in marriages approved by the women's families.
- Source: Malay Mail
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