Gov't to cordon off Orang Asli village where 14 deaths occurred

The Orang Asli village in Kuala Koh, Gua Musang will be cordoned off to the public following the deaths of 14 people there, the Kelantan Health Department announced today.

At a press conference with Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, Kelantan Health Department director Dr Zaini Hussin said the move is aimed at preventing the spread of the respiratory disease that is believed to have killed the villagers.

"From the pattern (of the outbreak), we look at it as a respiratory infection and that it would spread fast.

"As such, we don't want the disease to spread widely, so we have to restrict the movement (of people) in the area so they are not exposed to the contagious disease," he said.

No definitive cause of death

After paying a visit to the affected villagers at the Gua Musang Hospital, Dzulkefly said the affected area and patients would be isolated.

He noted that early findings from the Health Ministry show that the Orang Asli from the Bateq tribe were affected by a bacteria, and suffered a secondary viral infection.

The definitive cause of death has not been identified, the minister added.

"As to whether it is pneumonia, there is no definitive (conclusion) yet. It is a lung disease," he said, ruling out tuberculosis and meningitis.

Dzulkefly pointed out that bacterial infections are common, as the immunity of the villagers were compromised due to malnourishment.

There was initially confusion over the number of deaths that occurred in the Kuala Koh Orang Asli village, with NGOs, including Peka Malaysia, putting the toll at 14.

Soon after, local police and the Kelantan Health Department could only confirm two deaths.

After a site visit yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department P Waythamoorty verified through his aide that 14 deaths occurred in the area last month.

The aide clarified that the confusion over the number of deaths was because postmortems were only conducted on two of the 14 bodies.

As Dzulkefly said today, Orang Asli commonly move around to avoid dying in their own village, thereby making it difficult for the government to trace them.

Responding to a question from a reporter, he said that the government would be more than willing to exhume the remaining 12 bodies to carry out postmortems.

"We already conducted two postmortems and that is sufficient to represent the rest.

"But if there is a request, (we) can (exhume the remaining 12 bodies)," he said.

Dzulkefly also noted that a total of 49 Orang Asli are currently being treated in two government hospitals, with another 47 outpatients.

'Incident handled inappropriately'

Meanwhile, human rights watchdog Suaram said that the inconsistent and confusing reports over the death toll drove concerns that the matter was not being handled appropriately by authorities.

According to Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy, this has also created the perception of information being obscured from the public eye.

"What cannot be refuted is that there is an urgent need for the government to provide the necessary assistance and transparency in addressing the emergency," he said in a statement today.

"The endemic problem of inadequate resource and accessibility to basic needs has clearly contributed to the untimely demise of the 14 individuals, and there must be commitments by the government to resolve this matter."

Sevan urged the government to immediately determine the cause of the 14 deaths, and to improve the "appalling" conditions at the Orang Asli village in Kuala Koh.

"Suaram stands in solidarity with the indigenous peoples of Kuala Koh and will closely monitor the developing situation," he said.

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