DPM chairs emergency meeting on Kuala Koh Orang Asli

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today chaired an emergency meeting on the situation involving the Orang Asli community in Kuala Koh, Gua Musang.

"Matters involving the lives of the people are major issues that need specific attention and thorough action.

"Each agency involved will ensure that the matter is handled as best as possible for the people's wellbeing," she tweeted.

Photographs of the meeting show that those in attendance include Minister in the Prime Minister's Department P Waythamoorthy, Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin, and Bukit Aman CID director Mazlan Mansor.

Also present at the meeting were Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Farid Md Rafik.

The meeting comes following the deaths of 14 villagers in Kuala Koh.

Police have conducted a post-mortem on two of the bodies but have yet to identify the exact cause of death. 

The duo was found to have had an infection and died of pneumonia.

The village has been closed to the outside world pending lab test results to determine what pathogen was involved.

Authorities are still mulling whether to exhume 12 other bodies to run tests on them.

Environmental activists have argued that the community has been living under deteriorating conditions due to logging and mining activities.

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