TPOA

Telecentre Programme for Orang Asli (TPOA)

Telecentre Programme for Orang Asli (TPOA) West Malaysia is a community-university based initiative in partnership with the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA) is committed to develop community telecentre as a platform to enhance quality of life through mobilizing community, building capacities, identifying programmatic gaps, and impacting social policy. At the same time this community-based programmes is an R & D proposal for researchers from different disciplines and faculties at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak to explore Needs Analysis and Asset Base Community Development (ABCD) approaches in implementing ICT-driven community development programmes amongst Orang Asli in West Malaysia.

TPOA was built from the Needs Analysis in Developing Telecentre among Orang Asli West Malaysia initiative, which was conducted within a one-year period of February 2011 till February 2012. The main goal of Needs Analysis was to conduct preliminary assessment of actual Information Communication Technology (ICT) needs and uses in the communities to be served by these facilities and to provide training to all stakeholders (specifically community mobilisers attached to government and non-governmental agencies) on how to carry out community engagement activities when setting up telecentres for community development.

TPOA Website

PROJECT DETAILS

Project Title: Implementation of Telecenters for Orang Asli Programme
Project Code: UHSB/B-AM2012/75
Year: 2013-2017
Funder: Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli (JAKOA), Kementerian Luar Bandar dan Wilayah (KKLW), Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Prime Minister's Department Malaysia

THE OBJECTIVES

The TPOA programme sought to fulfill several objectives

Create Resource Centres for New "Knowledge" and Skills

Provide Health Related Information to the Villagers

Provide Education through ICT

Drive Rural Development through the Telecentres as Rural Transformation Centres

Provide Training for Local Capacity Building

Facilitate Communication

Provide Access to Information

THE LOCATIONS

Four Orang Asli settlements were selected to participate as respondents for the Needs Analysis

THE SIX COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

TPOA adopted six Community Development Programmes rooted from the Needs Analysis. Each programme was divided among UNIMAS researchers according to the four telecentre sites, and they were given the responsibility to design community development programmes for each site as well as develop local content relevant to the respective communities involved.

Training

Education

Indigenous Knowledge

Health

Tourism

Agribusiness

PROJECT PARTNERS

Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli or known as JAKOA, is the Malaysian government agency entrusted to oversee the affairs of the Orang Asli. This body is under the Malaysian Ministry of Rural Development, and was first set up in 1954.

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The RIDA is an organization established in 1951 with the general objective of providing comfort and elevating the socio-economic status of the rural population with the initial improvement of the infrastructure development and the development of the rural industry.

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The Economic Planning Unit is a major government agency responsible for preparing a national development plan. Established in 1961, it grew from the Economic Secretariat of the Economic Committee of the Malaysian Federal Executive Council.

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