By Khalid Shaikh
Kuala Lumpur, 30 January 2025 – Malaysia often speaks confidently about its development journey. Urban growth, digitalisation and regional competitiveness have positioned the country as a modern and forward-looking economy. These accomplishments are quite significant and the result of decades of work in both public and commercial sectors.
However, a contradiction remains that is harder to reconcile. Over half of Malaysia’s Orang Asli villages still lack consistent access to potable water. This poses a fundamental question: if the original inhabitants of this land still struggle to meet one of the most basic human requirements, can development really be assessed by growth metrics alone?
Encouragingly, there are already efforts underway to address this gap through long-term, context-specific approaches. Programmes that combine engineering expertise with community participation demonstrate that water access in remote Orang Asli villages is solvable when solutions are designed for durability rather than short-term fixes.
A reality that hides in plain sight
In Gua Musang, Kelantan, for example, around 70 per cent of Orang Asli communities do not have access to safe, treated water. Many families gather water from rivers or makeshift sources as part of their daily activities. Children frequently assist with getting water before or after school. Rivers that are increasingly impacted by activity upstream are used by families for bathing. Bottled water supplies are a common source of drinking water, costing households hundreds of ringgit a month. This is an unaffordable expense for communities that already have low incomes.
This situation is not limited to a single state or district. The Orang Asli settlements in Pahang, Perak and Johor continue to experience similar circumstances. Tens of thousands of people are affected nationwide, many of whom are already economically marginalised. Importantly, this is not a fleeting disruption brought on by a single incident. In these communities, water insecurity is persistent, recurrent and intricately woven into daily existence.
The consequences go far beyond inconvenience. Prolonged exposure to contaminated water raises health concerns, especially for children and the elderly. This will eventually lead to skin infections, gastrointestinal disorders and long-term consequences. Students who skip school because of illness or time spent assisting their families in obtaining water also have an impact on their education. Over time, these difficulties subtly undercut more general national objectives in the areas of human capital development, healthcare and poverty alleviation.
Why does this problem persist?
Although the causes of these persistent issues are complicated, they are known. One important factor is geography. Many Orang Asli villages are located in remote, hilly or forested areas where traditional water infrastructure is difficult to maintain and expensive to build. Since they were created decades ago without considering long-term sustainability, deployed systems are increasingly ageing. If they are damaged or decayed, they are frequently not fixed.
These difficulties have been made worse by climate forces. Landslides, floods and droughts are increasingly contaminating water sources and disrupting fragile systems. Rivers, which are frequently used as primary sources of water, are now hazardous for everyday usage due to upstream contamination from mining, logging and agricultural runoff.
Governance gaps also play a role here. Responsibility for water provision and maintenance is often fragmented across federal, state and local authorities. Upkeep worsens when accountability is ambiguous. Systems deteriorate over time, leaving communities without viable solutions.
It’s critical to understand that obtaining clean water is more than just an engineering problem. It has to do with public health, equity and education. If water insecurity is not addressed, national measures to improve healthcare outcomes, reduce poverty or enhance human capital will not be fully successful. Progress in other areas becomes precarious and unequal in the absence of consistent availability of clean water.
What actually works
Despite the scale of the challenge, solutions do exist, particularly when they are designed with local context in mind rather than relying on one-size-fits-all models. One such long-term approach is Atlas Copco’s Water for All initiative, implemented in partnership with the Global Peace Foundation, which was designed specifically to address water access challenges in remote and underserved communities.
Their strategy prioritises long-term functionality over temporary solutions. By tapping into natural terrain, gravity-fed piping systems lessen the need for intricate mechanical infrastructure. Solar-powered pumps lower operational costs and function reliably in remote areas, and filtration systems are not built with industrial-scale assumptions in mind, but rather with home demands in mind.
Participation in the community is equally vital. Over time, solutions become more robust and sustainable when locals are trained to take part in basic maintenance and system management. These pilots are not experimental. They are already working in actual communities, improving the quality and accessibility of water in quantifiable ways. More importantly, these systems are designed to remain operational over time, reflecting a sustained commitment to water access rather than a one-off intervention.
A test of development credibility
In order to alleviate water insecurity among Orang Asli communities, Malaysia possesses the technical expertise, resources and tested models already being deployed on the ground. Now, accountability and urgency are required. Policymakers should focus on the installation of new infrastructure and the long-term upkeep and clear governance. They should also encourage stronger public-private-community cooperation.
Access to clean water should be recognised as foundational to Malaysia’s development credibility. Progress cannot be measured solely by skylines, rankings or digital adoption. It must also be reflected in whether every community, especially the most marginalised, can meet its most basic needs.
The question now is whether we are prepared to act on the solutions that exist.
Khalid Shaikh is the General Manager of Atlas Copco Malaysia
