Empowering the livelihood and development of indigenous communities is integral to the national sustainability agenda being discussed at the two-day Indigenous Community in Malaysia: Reframing the National Sustainability Initiative Convention.
Head of the "Raise Yourself To Help Mankind' (RYTHM) Foundation P. Santhi said the elements of education, health, livelihood and statelessness of indigenous communities in Malaysia are the four main strands to be addressed at the two-day convention.
She said the foundation is looking to making significant strides in ensuring access to quality education that respects and integrates indigenous knowledge systems and languages.
"We can empower indigenous youth and foster intergenerational continuity, while also combating discrimination and promoting cultural diversity," she said in her speech during the convention at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) here today.
Santhi said indigenous communities often face difficulty acquiring healthcare services due to barriers such as geographical isolation, language barriers as well as limited transportation, and they are in dire need to improve their access to healthcare services.
Speaking about livelihood, she said indigenous communities require support in diversifying their livelihood options to reduce dependency on a single income source.
"Statelessness, we need to raise awareness among indigenous communities about their rights, citizenship, and the importance of legal identity.
"We need to assist in streamlining the process for indigenous individuals to acquire citizenship, reducing bureaucratic hurdles and addressing documentation challenges they may face," she said.
Santhi said indigenous communities across the globe have borne the burden of historical injustices, cultural marginalisation, and social inequalities where their struggles, resilience and wisdom have often been overlooked or overshadowed.
At the event, a Letter of Intent was signed between UKM and RYTHM Foundation to further empower the livelihood of indigenous communities by creating awareness about the need to do programmes with indigenous communities and assisting them with documentation with the help of research and findings done by UKM.
Meanwhile, Fellow of Malaysian Sciences Academy Datuk Dr Madeline Berma said before focusing on income-centric solutions for the said communities, there are four areas that should be understood beforehand.
She said the risks that indigenous people face, including COVID-19 and flood-borne diseases, must be fully understood before measures can be taken.
Other than focusing on education advancement, their livelihood assets such as human, physical, financial, social and political capital should be developed.
"Human capital is education, health, and skills, we must develop; physical capital, such as fishermen, do they have boats? Padi farmers, do they have lands?; Financial capital, money; social capital, their networking; and finally is political capital, they can voice out, have political awareness," she said.
Moreover, government rules should also be revised to determine whether they support or hinder the development of indigenous communities as they might influence the overall success of the aforementioned areas in the communities.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
