Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia Helps Orang Asli Community
Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) did its bit to help out the Orang Asli community recently. The company had donated high-powered solar systems via Global Peace Foundation, a non-profit organisation with a mission to build resilient and cohesive Orang Asli communities.
The solar systems will enable access to electricity in the Orang Asli’s shared community space, commonly known as the Rumah Adat. Lack of access to grid electricity in Orang Asli’s houses and community spaces brings health risks, expensive energy expenses, and environmental impact. To have light after dark, the Orang Asli typically set bonfires by burning dried palm fruits. This generates a lot of smoke that causes cough and watery eyes and other ill health effects among the villagers, especially children.
Additionally, houses and community spaces are built from resources found in the forest such as bamboo and wood, and additional items such as zinc and PVC. Some of these materials are flammable, making it dangerous to use fire as a source of light.
Though some Orang Asli families also rely on disposable energy such as petrol to run generators and batteries to power more than just lights, these can be costly and not easy to obtain.
“As part of Malaysian society, we want to see Malaysians even the indigenous community live a better life. With high-power solar systems, we will be providing the Orang Asli community access to affordable and renewable energy that enhances productivity- allowing community projects to continue even after dark, minimizing health and environmental impact from non-renewable energy, lesser environmental pollution, and lastly reducing energy expenditure from buying expensive energy sources that are not sustainable,” said Arba Rahman, Senior Vice President of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia.
“This effort is together with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) global CSR program ‘STEP to the future’ which focuses on four main themes, standing for the first letters of Society, Traffic safety, Environment, and People. At MMM, we focused to benefit the society through emphasis on the Environment and People, to create a better society where people can hope for a better future,” he added.
