Penan students preparing to return to their village on a ‘kereta sapu’.
Retired politician ‘adopts’ 9 Penan students who may have to stop schooling as their parents are too poor
MIRI: The plight of a group of Penan students who have to travel some 300km from the deep interior of Baram to a government boarding school in Marudi for their education has caught the attention of former Deputy Education Minister Datuk Hon Choon Kim.
Going to school for these students entailed days of walking through jungle trails, bumpy rides in vans that have been converted into private taxis and ride down river in a passenger boat.
However, there is one insurmountable obstacle standing between them and schooling – money.
Their parents could just scrounge enough money to send them to the boarding school where they are well-taken care of with comfortable beds and warm blankets, three meals a day and daily classes.
However, their problems arise during semester breaks when boarders have to go back to their homes.
Going back to their villages and coming back to school for the new term is too heavy a financial burden for their parents to bear.
As a result many of them never came back to school after returning to their villages.
Moved by the Penan students’ predicament, Hon decided to ‘adopt’ nine of them.
“Despite learning facilities, accommodation and meals as well as pocket money provided to the students at school, there are still some who failed to return because they do not have the extra money to pay their return trip to school,” Hon told The Borneo Post recently.
He pointed out that the biggest problem faced by these students from the interior is transportation.
“Those who have to pursue education in town have to travel more than 200 kilometres which involves long hours of walking, car and boat rides just to arrive at their destination.
“For a car ride in what locals call ‘kereta sapu’, a one-way ride could reach up to RM600 per car, which is usually shared evenly among the passengers.”
Hon is no stranger to the Penans as he first visited a Penan settlement back in 2010 in his capacity as deputy education minister.
“When I was a deputy minister, work visits were usually made to much better facilitated resettlement villages. However after retirement, my first trip with a friend Tan Wei Kheng (a local artist) to a more remote village was indeed an eye-opening one.”
The 66-year-old retiree, who is an avid photographer, said he had a shock of his life upon arriving at one of the settlements.
“Several of my photography friends who also experienced such culture shock couldn’t take in another trip back,” he said.
The heart wrenching experience prompted Hon to adopt the students as he believed education was the key to a better life for them.
He donates about RM10,000 for transportation fares and pocket money to the nine Penan students he had adopted.
“It is impossible to help the families, but on the education part, I am glad that the kids are well-taken care of. Since the situation of the Penans is closely monitored by Tan Wei Kheng who frequently visits the villagers and the kids, I can get first hand information easily.”
Discussing the problems faced by the Penan community, Hon reiterated that a single government department could not alleviate their plight.
“All the related departments should cooperate and work together to identify the root of the problems.
“Welfare Department, Education Department, National Registration Department and District Office as well as Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, state Agriculture Department and so on are some of the important government bodies who can actually assist the people.”
Hon commended the teachers who took up the challenge to teach in government schools in the interior.
“Teachers who serve in the interior deserve more than a pat on the shoulders. They have to be very patient to deal with the shy and low self-esteemed students.”
Hon is committed to helping the Penan children as long as he could.
“I wish to one day witness at least one of them enter university, earn a degree and get a decent job that could change his family.”
Since 2010, Hon who lives in Peninsular Malaysia has travelled to more than 10 Penan settlements, including Long Wing, Ba Puak, Long Sian, Long Gawat, Long Ajang and Long Ludin.
Hon (second left), former federal deputy education minister who is now an avid photographer, often travels to the rural villages with friends including local artist Wei Kheng (second right).
Upon arriving at the government boarding school in Marudi, students are well-taken care of under an environment conducive to learning, with good accommodation and regular meals.
The nine Penan students sponsored by Hon.
Happy faces of the children studying at SK Long Seridan.
For children who study in primary school, their parents tend to move nearby, setting up temporary huts while waiting for their children. The family would only return to their village during school holidays as it is usually far from the school.