Johor govt mulls giving service allowance to Tok Batin

JOHOR BAHRU - The state government is looking into providing service allowances to the Tok Batin (village head) of the Orang Asli community in Johor.

State Agriculture, Agro-Industry and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said currently, the community leaders only received an allowance of RM900 from the federal government and did not receive any allowance from the state government.

"This is one of the things that I think the state government needs to look at. The state government will think about a suitable allowance," he told reporters after launching the Johor Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) Fest 2023 at Aeon Bukit Indah here yesterday.

According to him, there are 60 Orang Asli villages with 46 Tok Batin throughout Johor.

Zahari said this when asked on issues raised during his visit to several Orang Asli villages recently.

He said the visit was to ensure that the community continued to receive education, development and economy in line with the goal of making Johor a developed state by 2030.

Meanwhile, Zahari said the state government allocated RM300,000 to upgrade the community's settlements by making Kampung Orang Asli Putting in Segamat a pilot village for the Kampung Orang Asli Sejahtera Negeri Johor programme. - BERNAMA