By Mor Ajani/ Desa Temuan, Damansara Perdana ( 14 APRIL 2009)
Title : Back to the forest that we love
Desa Temuan located in Damansara Perdana is one of modern development in Temuan Orang Asli community. Eventhough the houses at Desa Temuan, Bukit Lanjan were charming and beautiful, lied a secret beyond this modern Temuan settlement.
At first the Temuan whom living here cherish their new home. Saying that the bungalow house seventy thousand per square feet is the symbol that Orang Asli has enter the mainstream of Malaysia. After a few years inhabiting this concrete home the Temuan began felt unsecured with all the tax and utility bills their had to pay making the Temuan renting their bungalow to the outsider.
The Temuan has rent their home mostly to the kindergarten owner. There’s been about 4 kindergarten were existed in Desa Temuan. Some of them renting their home to a security company for their employee to stay and some of them rent their home to become elders home.
Where is the Temuan of Desa Temuan, Bukit Lanjan go after renting their home? Well the answer is simple. We went back to the forest that we love. Actually it’s not really a forest. The Temuan of Desa Temuan Bukit Lanjan was migrating to Bukit Lagong, Air Kuning,Sungai Buloh, Sungai Kelubi, Serendah and Kuang whom is was another Temuan village.
A lot of Temuan at Desa Temuan cant afford to pay electricity bill so some of the home here are blackout when night has come. If you were visiting Desa Temuan at night, don’t think the Temuan switch off their light here because their their on a campaign to save the earth ( 60 minutes earth day ), but their didn’t afford to pay electric bills.
The outsider thought that the Temuan whom living in Desa Temuan a rich, millionaire and wealthy people. There were wrong. The Temuan here are not rich and average of the Temuan here earned only RM 500 every month from property their rent at low cost terrace house at Damansara Damai and low cost flat a Desa Temuan.
A lot of the Temuan at Desa Temuan not fully educated. Maybe some of them has succeed going to university and college but the majority of the Temuan here are primary school dropped out. Their mostly work as contractor whom cutting grass at nearby city of Bandar Utama and Bandar Sri Damansara. Some of the Temuan here work at the factory whom located at Sunway Damansara Technology Park located beside Desa Temuan.Only a small group of the Temuan over here managed to go to local university or college.
A lot of Temuan elder felt this Desa Temuan environment were hot. Even though at night the concrete bungalow were still hot. The Temuan elder were missed this placed when it was a village before. Their missed the peaceful and cold environment full of green trees whom protected the them from the sunshine.
The high cost of living at the city and the minimum wage the Temuan here earned is the main factor for them to migrate into another Temuan village that are close to forest. Maybe it’s Temuan nature that their cannot be separated from the forest when everything is free and their wont need spend a nickel because everything their need is all provided by Mother Nature.Maybe it’s time to go back to the forest that we love.