Indigenous Children's Literacy and Schooling: A Case Study of A Contemporary Orang Asli Community in Malaysia

The Orang Asli or literally translated as ‘Original People’ are the Indigenous minority community of Peninsular Malaysia. This paper is based on the findings of an ongoing research project that is aimed at investigating literacy and social practices among the Orang Asli children. Orang Asli have been reported to remain as one of the poorest community in Malaysia. About 50% of the total population (149,723) of Orang Asli is categorized as hardcore poor or below the poverty level. A good education is believed to be the key in improving the lives of the Orang Asli community. However, Orang Asli children have been reported to have the highest dropout rate and poor educational achievements in schools. In this paper taking a qualitative perspective, I explore various issues related to literacy, schooling and education as experienced in the everyday social practices of a contemporary Semai community. The Semai are the largest Orang Asli community in Peninsular Malaysia.