The Orang Asli were a group of revolutionaries operating in Malaysia. Though they took their name from an old term for the aboriginal people, many had very different backgrounds, mostly refugees from Sarawak and Kalimantan who were forcibly resettled in Malaysia by the Indonesian Consortium during the 2130s when the Indonesian Consortium controlled Malaysia. The stated goal of the Orang Asli was to win back their lost homelands.[1]
The Orang Asli eventually became well established and had a good relationship with the Telepath Resistance. In exchange for the occasional service of intelligence gathered by rogue telepaths, the Orang Asli helped move people along the underground railroad in their part of the world. In 2180, after escaping from a Psi Corps internment camp in Kuala Lumpur, Fiona Temple, Matthew Dexter and Stephen Walters linked up with an Orang Asli jungle patrol lead by Helang. They helped the fugitives get up river to a small kampung while using their captured Psi Corps helicopter to divert their pursuers. While at the village Helang checked a link and found the usual connection in Singapore wouldn't fly for another week or so Dexter suggested they take refuge in Brother Justin's monastic sanctuary, located about two hours away.