LEADERSHIP SYSTEM OF SEMELAI ORANG ASLI IN SUNGAI LUI ORANG ASLI VILLAGE, JEMPOL

Abstract

The Semelai are a proto-Malay Orang Asli tribe settled around Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, Malaysia. Their settlements in Negeri Sembilan are in Sungai Lui Orang Asli Village and Sungai Sampo Orang Asli Village in Jempol. A few of their number also settled in some areas in Bera, Pahang. A majority of this community still adhere to ancestral faiths, although some have converted to Islam since the 1990s. This paper will discuss the leadership system practiced in Semelai society as well as the role and function of leader (called as Tok Batin) in this society. This study uses the qualitative approach through data collection via interviews with key informants in Sungai Lui Orang Asli Village, Jempol. The data are later analysed through a descriptive interpretive method. The research found that the leadership system in this community is a combination of traditional and modern style because it has been inherited from their ancestors and at the same time is also tied to the modern system introduced by the Department of Development of Orang Asli. In this regard, Tok Batin has a great role including being the representative of the Department of Development of Orang Asli in the village administration as well as being a reference and problem solver in matters of community customs and social matters.