KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — As the sun sets over Kampung Orang Asli Sg Relang, a devouring darkness comes with the stretching shadows, swallowing almost all sight and sound.

Here and there, in the ramshackle and spartan homes, the soft glow of solar-powered lamps shines through broken window slats. Sometimes there is the flicker of a television screen, accompanied by the hum of a diesel generator.

Solar lamps are on in the home of Yati Yusof, 25, something she is grateful for. Her family had spent the last two months in darkness, broken only by candles.

“Kena pakai lilin bila malam. Sebab lampu rosak (We have to use candles at night. Because the lamps are broken),” she told a technician from SOLS Foundation earlier.The NGO had supplied the village with solar-powered lamps and battery packs funded by Google in July, and Bernama was accompanying its staff on a follow-up visit to check on the equipment.