LAHAD DATU: Rayyan Gapur is counting the days when he return to school, because despite having all the time now to indulge in his favourite game football the 12-year-old is worried he might not be able to catch up on his interrupted studies.
Rayyan, who goes to Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjung Labian, will be sitting for the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in September this year. He is among the 670 people who had to put up at the Dewan Embara Budi, a temporary evacuation centre, after a group of armed men from Sulu were spotted in the vicinity of their village seeking refuge and fleeing from the advancing Malaysian security forces.
“It was all in a rush and I did not even have enough time to pack. I only managed to grab a few pieces of shirts and pants, and my mathematics textbook.
“Mathematics is my favourite subject. I love counting … it is sad that I have to stay out of school, away from my friends and teachers, especially with the exam approaching,” said Rayyan.
His schoolmates, Syahirah Abdul Rahman and Norhaniza Aslan, both nine, also wished they could go back to school soon.
“If we are allowed to go back to school tomorrow, I would definitely go,” said Syahirah, who aspires to be a teacher, with Norhaniza nodding in agreement with her classmate’s statement.
The children, according to the community leader for the Labian Zone, Assaffal Alian, represents one-third of the overall population now temporarily squatting at Dewan Embara Budi, some 15 kilometres from the three villages — Tanduo, Tanjung Batu and Tanjung Labian — which have been labeled as the ‘red zone’ area for about a week.
He said they had to adapt to the situation in the hall, having to cramp in with other families and deal with shortage of water supply. Assaffal said, apart from a tank storing about 800 litres of water sent by Felda Sahabat, their only alternative supply would be those piped to the hall, available from 11 am to 7 pm daily.
“But what we need most, for now, is medical attention. They promised to station a mobile clinic here but it has yet to be done,” he said.
For now, they had to rely on the Civil Defence Department (JPAM) for medical attention.