Kampung Kemensah Orang Asli Village

Headed by Tok Batin, Ebak a/l Pulasan, the Temuan village situated about two to three km from Kampung Kemensah, behind Zoo Negara, Kuala Lumpur comprises 13 families. Total population in the village at time of writing is 63 persons of various ages. There are 8 school-going children in the village.

An interview with Tok Batin Ebak revealed that the Temuan has occupied the area since 1963 while the present village built in 1981. A cluster of wooden houses on stilts and 2 concrete houses form the village. Some of houses were provided by the government. The government has also built a small ‘dewan’ or multi-purposes hall in the village. At the time of our visit, rattan material occupied half the floor space in the dewan.

The villages earn their living mostly by selling the fruits from durian, rambutan, and other fruit trees planted by them in the vicinity. They also have some rubber trees planted in the area. They also collect and sell rattan and bamboo shoots. Some of them work in the city as manual labourers. However, on certain occasions, they were not paid their salary for up to three months and therefore had to stop work as they were not able to cover their cost of travelling into the city to continue the work.

A van picks up the children for school in Kampung Pasir, about five to six km from the village.

Electric power to the village is provided by a fuel generator. Although only less than 10 minutes drive from the township of Taman Melawati, they have not had the benefit of electricity supply all this time. The nearest electricity supply stops at Kampung Kemensah. They also receive some assistance from the Welfare Ministry.