Kampung Orang Asli Chang Lama, Sg Gepai

Kampung Chang Lama, Sungai Gepai, is situated about five km from Bidor, Perak. The name of the aboriginal village was taken from two rivers in the vicinity, Sungai Gepai and Sungai Chang. Kampung Chang Lama is situated in a hilly area at the foot of the Main Range between two other traditional orang asli villages, Kampung Kuala Senta in the North and Kampung Sandin in the South.

There are over 600 residents in Chang Lama at the time of writing. The village comprises rows of mostly wooden houses, some on stilts. Water supply (sourced from the nearby hills) was provided since 1987 by the Waterworks Department while electricity was provided since 1989. In 1987, the government established a kindergarten, Tadika Kemas, for the children of the village. In 1993, a nearby rural school built in 1962, was converted into a hostel for orang asli children from the interior villages to stay while studying in Bidor.

The Orang Asli in the Kampung Chang Lama is from the Semai community and has occupied the area even before Bidor was established as a tin-mining town in 1861. Based on oral history passed down through generations, the community has occupied the area even before the Malay Sultanate was established in the 15th century. The community has applied for legal title to their ancestral land since the 60’s and they are still awaiting approval.

The community of Kampung Chang Lama earn their living through shared farming on the ancestral land. Jungle produce such as petai, durians, bamboo, rattan and wood products are collected and sold in the nearby town markets and represent a major source of income. In the 80’s, the village ventured into oil palm planting with technical and financial assistance from RISDA. Total planted area is about 100 acres. According to them, the assistance from RISDA was recently suspended. As a result, they now have to fend for themselves in managing the oil palm plantings. The village has to resort to relying on credit terms offered by the factory that buys the oil palm produce from them and their own funds (which is already very thin) to manage the plantings. Because of the lack of funds, they are not able to purchase enough fertiliser for the crops which will evidently have adverse effects on oil palm yields.

The village also runs a small provision shop to serve its own community. Also, the village has simple and traditional accommodation for rent by the public. Along with accommodation and food, they also provide four programmes for the visitors to participate in for a fee. The four programmes are fishing, traditional hunting using blowpipes (sumpitan), traditional cooking and a course on traditional herbal plants. This enterprising venture offers another source of income to the village.

Based in Kampung Chang Lama is SPNS (Sinui Pai Nanek Sengik meaning New Life One Heart), a grouping of dedicated orang asli members initiated by Tijak Yok Chopil, now headed by Ridzuan, who is teaching independence and instilling the importance of education to their own community as well as communities from other orang asli villages (see separate listing for SPNS).