Melaka: Melaka has introduced health insurance and death benefit coverage for Orang Asli community leaders as well as schooling aid as part of efforts to protect the wellbeing and welfare of the state’s Orang Asli community, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the health insurance and death benefit coverage will benefit 93 community leaders, including Tok Batin (headman), the Council of Customs, and the Orang Asli Village Management and Development Committee, with an allocation of RM40,000. The schooling aid will benefit 700 students from preschool to secondary levels, with an allocation of RM700,000, as announced by the Chief Minister during the Orang Asli leadership discourse and iftar programme.

Also present at the event were Orang Asli Development Department deputy director-general (Development) Mohd Zambri Mustajap and State Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security Committee chairman Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh. Ab Rauf highlighted that the initiatives are part of the state government’s goal to nurture a prosperous and competitive society by focusing on welfare, education, and economic opportunities.

The Chief Minister emphasized the state’s commitment to ensuring that the Melaka Orang Asli are not left behind in development and can enjoy progress like other communities. He also stressed the importance of preserving the customs, culture, and heritage of the Orang Asli community, which currently numbers 1,986 in Melaka.