Mitsubishi Donates High-Powered Solar Systems To The Orang Asli Community

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) recently donated high-powered solar systems to the Orang Asli’s shared community space, or known as Rumah Adat. 

Enabling access to solar energy, said donation was done through Global Peace Foundation, a non-profit organization (NGO). 

MMM’s senior vice president, Arba Abd Rahman, expressed, “With high-powered solar systems, we will be providing the Orang Asli community access to affordable and renewable energy that enhances productivity, allowing community projects to continue even after dark, minimizing health and environmental impact from non-renewable energy, lesser environmental pollution, and lastly reducing energy expenditure from buying expensive energy sources that are not sustainable.”

In detail, bonfires are frequently used by the Orang Asli community as the source of light after dark, which is done through burning dried palm fruits.

Notably, this process generates a lot of smoke, in turn causing harm such as cough and watery eyes towards the villagers, particularly children.

On top of that, the houses and community spaces are built from resources in the forest using bamboo wood and additional items such as zinc and PVC. 

Hazardously, some of these materials are highly-flammable, making it dangerous to use fire as the source of light. 

To make matters worse, the community also relies on disposable energy like petrol to run generators and batteries to power more than just lights. 

Thus, as stated, lack of access to grid electricity in Orang Asli’s houses and community spaces brings health risks, expensive energy expenses and environmental impact.

Arba concluded, “This effort is together with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) global CSR program ‘STEP to the future’ which focuses on four main themes, standing for the first letters of Society, Traffic safety, Environment, and People. At MMM, we strive to benefit the society through emphasis on the Environment and People, to create a better society where people can hope for a better future.”