Indigenous resilience and the COVID-19 response: a situation report on the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

In this situation report, we discuss the response of the Orang Asli, the aboriginal people of Peninsular Malaysia, to COVID-19, focusing specifically on the community’s actions to protect themselves from the coronavirus during the government-imposed lockdown. Drawing from an Indigenous understanding of illness and health, the Orang Asli took the threat of the pandemic seriously and responded with proactive steps to keep their community safe, which included setting up barricades and checkpoints to control movement into their villages, performing health maintenance rituals and prayers and retreating into the forest. We argue that the Orang Asli’s response mitigated the spread of the virus into their villages. Their adaptation and resilience emphasize the need to respect their traditional knowledge and way of life, as well as the importance of strengthening the Orang Asli’s control over their traditional territories and environment.