PUTRAJAYA: The Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA) has refuted claims made by a resident of Kampung Orang Asli (KOA) Pertak in Kuala Kubu Bharu that there have been no allocations for road repairs in the village. In a statement, JAKOA clarified that based on its records for the Hulu Selangor district since 2017, there have been no requests to upgrade the road from KOA Pertak to the cemetery as alleged by the concerned resident. According to JAKOA, on February 9, 2022, the Hulu Selangor JAKOA visited the mentioned area and proposed to upgrade the road. 'However, at that time, several villagers operating campsites and owning smallholdings in the area disagreed with JAKOA's proposal. 'This was because the residents were concerned that the area would be accessed by outsiders using 4x4 vehicles that could damage the road. Due to the lack of consensus, the proposed upgrade work could not be carried out,' the department clarified. A local portal reported yesterday that the Village Development and Secur ity Committee (JPKK) chairman, Zahidi Kising, claimed that the villagers have been carrying corpses on a three-kilometer-long steep and rocky road to reach the cemetery. He also claimed to have made requests to various parties since 2017 but received no response due to a lack of allocations. Responding to this, JAKOA stated that a dialogue session was conducted with KOA Pertak residents for road upgrading, and after several meetings, an agreement was reached on March 9 to proceed with the road repair. 'JAKOA is currently implementing the agreed-upon maintenance and upgrade works,' the department said further. Source: BERNAMA News Agency
