RM405.00 or below—an income level which the majority of Orang Asli households fall below. Yet at the same time, the department claims there is not enough allocation in the budget (“tiada peruntukan”) whenever Orang Asli parents approach them for the educational assistance grants they have missed out on. Sometimes, there is an allocation for such purposes but bureaucratic processes and less-diligent staff prevent the students from getting their approved assistance in cash or kind. To illustrate this point, I cite the case of a Mah Meri girl from Pulau Carey who entered Lower 6 in 2005. She was already two months into her school term and yet she still had none of the textbooks as promised by the local JHEOA office. In the end, she managed to get some donations and was able to buy the books herself. However, when the JHEOA officer found out about this, he asked for the receipt for the books (totalling RM255.00) saying that he would do the paperwork and reimburse her the amount. It was six months later before the amount was reimbursed. The worry is that if she had not been able to obtain outside financial help, she would have been without textbooks for eight months. In situations where Orang Asli students do not have access to outside financial help, such a non-delivery of educational assistance will result in them falling behind in their schoolwork or, worse, dropping out of school to avoid the shame of not being able to afford the books. The provision of hostel accommodation is also another form of education assistance given to Orang Asli. Such facilities are especially important for Orang Asli students who have to move to the bigger towns in order to attend secondary school. Without assistance in board and lodging, it is inevitable that these students will be forced to drop out of school. I cite the case of an intelligent Semai girl who applied for a place in the JHEOA hostel in Tapah but was told it was full. So too was the regular government hostel (for both Orang Asli and Malay students). As an interim measure, she was forced to stay in a construction site kongsi, where her father had taken 56 ORANG ASLI – RIGHTS, PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS