While there has been some closure for the case of the missing Orang Asli students, the same cannot be said for the woes of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Tohoi, which is experiencing a sharp decline in the attendance of Orang Asli students.

Only two of the seven who went missing were found alive almost 50 days later and the tragedy appears to have deeply affected the Orang Asli community around the Pos Tohoi settlement in Gua Musang.

The Kelantan Education Director Ab Aziz Abdullah noted that the drop in attendance at the school started right after the incident, which started on Aug 23.

SK Tohoi had 223 students as of Aug 2 and recorded 85 percent attendance prior to the incident.

"However, the attendance initially declined to 78 percent by the fourth week after the seven went missing, and a week later, only half of the students turned up for school.

"The figures went up a bit on the seventh and eighth week with the attendance rate reaching 67 percent. Nonetheless, after the mid-term break from 20 Sept to 27 Sept, the attendance again declined drastically to 41 percent," he said when met after the joint meeting between the department and the Orang Asli welfare department (Jakoa) at his office here, recently.

Elaborating further, Ab Aziz said the sharp fall in the number of students attending SK Tohoi after the mid-term break was because the pupils and parents were deeply affected by the incident.

Another reason was that pupils whose homes were deep in the interior might have had difficulties in returning to the hostel.

However, this was less likely because transportation had been provided for them to return to the hostel.

Ab Aziz also noted the possibility that it was the parents who were keeping their children at home, for fear that their children might also run away from their hostel and suffer the same fate as the missing children.

Trying to convince community

Realising the problem, the department enlisted 32 counselors to advise the community on the importance of sending their children back to school. The counselors were assisted by 13 Jakoa officers.

Another 20 volunteers from the Kelantan Orang Asli Association and the Malaysian Orang Asli Foundation joined hands to complement the efforts of the department and Jakoa.

"Thank God, since we took this approach, the attendance improved from 41 percent on the eighth week (after the mid term break) to 47 percent (in the ninth week) and 55 percent in the tenth week (up to Oct 15).

"Admittedly, it has been difficult to convince the community as they were deeply affected by the tragedy," he said adding that the attendance figures were still low.

When pressed further on the transportation problem, Ab Aziz admitted that transportation was a major issue because two of the villages, Kampung Gawin and Kampung Penad, were located some 50 kilometres away from Pos Tohoi and only accessible through logging trails.

It would take at least three hours to ferry the students from Kampung Gawin to school by four-wheel drive.

"So that is why these children are only allowed to go back home during the long breaks. If they are allowed to go back for the weekend, they will only have a day to spend with their families due to the long commute.

"Nonetheless, we are working on several remedies, such as going the other way around by bringing the parents to the schools to see their children," he said.

Life after the ordeal

The seven students who went missing were Miksudiar Aluj, 11; Norieen Yaacob, 10; Ika Ayel, nine; Sasa Sobrie, eight; Haikal Yaacob, eight; Linda Rosli, eight, and Juvina David, seven. All of them were from Kampung Gawin and Kampung Penad.

The students had fled into the jungle in the fringes of Pos Tohoi in fear of punishment (after their older siblings were disciplined) for bathing in the river without the teacher's permission.

A massive search and rescue effort was launched, with their ordeal continuing for almost 50 days before the first student's body was found.

Those found dead were Ika, Haikal, Linda, and Juvina. Another student - Sasa - has yet to be found.

The two who survived the ordeal, Miksudiar and Norieen, were found emaciated and dehydrated. Both are still recovering at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kota Baru.

- Bernama