A teacher’s tale.
Long ago, when my friends and I were waiting to receive news of our first posting, we spoke of the word pendalaman with a strange mixture of awe and dread. On the one hand, it held the promise or potential for adventure. In the other, it seemed to promise a form of separation from all that we are used to: the comforts of modern society. Pendalaman meant lack of electricity, modern toilet facilities, riding in sampans to get to the school, untarred roads and other such things. Unfortunately, fortunately depending on how you choose to look at the situation, I was sent to a school in a small town. I have since learnt that pendalaman schools may not be as we had envisioned them back then. Some of these schools that I have been to since then have proven to be quite impressive. They had comfortable classrooms, some had impressively kept gardens and large well-manicured fields around the schools.
Still however, there are places out there that fit into the stereotype we had of pendalaman schools. The term became an interesting one recently when the ministry of education announced that it was making learning opportunities more available to teachers teaching at pendalaman schools. On the very day that was announced I found myself with a few colleagues and a school teacher having some snacks and a drinks at the Kota Kinabalu airport. We spoke of pendalaman schools; about the reports we heard about people saying that they had to drive for hours in 4 wheel drive vehicles. The teacher, whose name is best left unmentioned, told us of a school he went to once in the Penampang district of Sabah.
His opportunity to go to the school came when it was time to run the UPSR examinations. The local teachers, he said, preferred not to go to the school which intrigued him so he volunteered. A few days later he found himself taking an earth road heading inland. They came to a point where the vehicles could no longer go. From there, the loaded the backpacks and headed up the hill along a narrow footpath. The path wound its way under the jungle canopy and up the hills. High up on the hillside, he found himself walking with dense jungle on one side and a sheer drop to the other. Along the path, he encountered massive snake holes and signs of other dangerous wild animals. He was also told that they were heading into less law-abiding territories where homemade shotguns are aplenty. The trek took a full twelve hours.
The school was a relatively pleasant but it was little more than a jungle hut. He was given accommodation by the locals. When time came for the examination, the students sat in their assigned places and eagerly looked on while he distributed the papers. He told them to start but they still looked on silently. Finally when he asked why they do not start writing, they said they had no pencils or pens. Luckily, he had brought pencils. So the examination went normally. The trek back took another twelve hours.
He was told that the state or district education officers have yet to find their way to the school. The closest one came to visiting them was an hour along the path when he declared the place unreachable and turned back. Researchers from other places like
He did however find something heartwarming on the visit. He found that the teacher teaching at this school was a local boy who had gone away for teacher training and now returned to serve his people. Here, he said, was a teacher that other teachers should see because he gave the term dedication true meaning.
As I heard this teacher’s account, I thought back to the criticisms of the education system and the teachers who serve in the system. Perhaps there are many things that we still lack but as long as there are teachers like these, I believe the future of our young is in good hands.
Comments
We are really lucky, the citizens of Malaysia. We have the NEP, albeit it has flaws, major flaws with its implementation,we still struggle to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. Still, we can do better. We can implement the NEP in such a way, with sincerity required by all religion, to really help the poor, regardless of race, religion and whatever the hell is it that prevents humanity from materializing.
We cannot allow poor people to exist, it is just inhuman and irresponsible. We need to not just give fish to the poor, but teach the poor how to fish. The poor will form a backward society. They have nothing to loose. Remember, a society who have nothing to loose, is a dangerous lot. What goes around, comes around
This is a noble and respected move.
Once, the general problem of the Bumis being brought on par with the other communities we can then concentrate on eliminating poverty across the board regardless of race or religion.
However, it is a sad fact that the NEP has been hijacked to provide wealth and power to a selected few without benefiting the masses and the people that deserves it. It is another sad fact that the NEP is going to be a Never Ending Policy to be conducted in perpetuity and to allow the powerful few to continue to rob the country of its riches.
I really hope my bumis friends and fellow citizens can see these facts and to take the initiative to do whatever is necessary.
The Msian Chinese population in Malaysia has been decimated by migration and low birth rates until it no longer has the necessary numbers to make an impact in politics. The Indians are still plagued by chronic poverty, alcoholism and elitism among its ranks that it can be easily bought over during elections.
The only one left with the proper capability and vision to make a change for the better are educated professional Bumis or Malays. People that know what needs to be done and yet can be received and accepted by the ignorant masses.
I don't want to be political but it saddens me to see Malaysia lagging behind despite being rich in resources and talented citizens.