Nenggiri: The Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA), together with various government agencies, has launched an outreach expedition to deliver essential services to three remote Orang Asli settlements in the Nenggiri state constituency under the Mesra Rakyat (People-Friendly) programme. JAKOA director-general Datuk Sapiah Mohd Nor said the programme involved strategic collaboration with several government agencies.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the collaboration includes the Social Welfare Department, National Registration Department (NRD), Ministry of Health, National Anti-Drugs Agency, Gua Musang Court, South Kelantan Development Authority, and the Nenggiri state assemblyman’s service centre. The aim is to facilitate direct access to government services for the Orang Asli without requiring them to endure long and difficult journeys to town. Pos Simpor, Pos Pasik, and Kuala Wook were selected as destinations for the two-day expedition, which began yesterday.

Nenggiri assemblyman Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani stated that the initiative received overwhelming support from local residents. They took advantage of the opportunity to engage directly with various government agencies present. The most popular service was the NRD counter, which received about 140 applications for identity card replacements, 10 late birth registration applications, and 145 applications for MyKid. A total of 138 advisory services were also provided regarding documentation and citizenship rights.

For Zulaina Alim, a 30-year-old Temiar woman living in Pos Pasik, the programme marked a turning point. She managed to register the birth of her child, who is now 12 years old. Her child was born at the Kuala Betis resettlement scheme health clinic, but she had to return to her village, over 70 kilometers away from Gua Musang shortly after giving birth, causing the registration delay for more than a decade. ‘I came today solely to apply for the birth certificate and Alhamdulillah, the process went smoothly. My child will finally have a birth certificate,’ she said.