S'wak kids deserve better, says emotional Maszlee
Education Minister Maszlee Malik became emotional during a meeting at the Bintulu district education office in Sarawak while recalling his visit to two local primary schools, SK Sungai Selad and SK Sungai Setiam, that had been in a dilapidated condition.
"These kids deserve better, they should have books at home too," Maszlee said, choking up...
Education Minister Maszlee Malik became emotional during a meeting at the Bintulu district education office as he recalled his visit to two dilapidated local primary schools, SK Sungai Selad and SK Sungai Setiam.
"These kids deserve better, they should have books at home too," Maszlee said, choking up.
The minister had been attending a meeting with representatives of Petronas and Pan Borneo Highway.
The two GLCs had briefed the minister about their corporate social responsibility projects in Bintulu.
"Studies have shown that children will perform better in their studies and future career when they have access to books at home or a mini library.
"When I was young, I stayed with my grandfather. We were poor and I had a small collection of books at home," he said.
During his childhood days in Skudai Kiri, Maszlee said, he would usually borrow books from his friends and some of his classmates even gave books to him.
"Books are very important to these children, be it storybooks or science fiction, it builds the dreams within the kids' heart."
'Ministry will change this'
Maszlee touched upon the issue of dilapidated schools in the state and pointed out that some of the schools were in similarly poor condition when he was growing up, nearly four decades ago.
"When I visited SK Sungai Selad yesterday, the school was in such poor condition and it was very similar when I was growing up in Skudai Kiri by the sea.
"There were houses and small bridges built with wood. I was disappointed because I faced that situation during the 70s and 80s," he said.
"In this era after more than 40 years, things are much better back in my hometown, but not in Sarawak.
"I'm sad to see this in Sarawak. The ministry will try to do our best to change that. I think Sarawakians deserve better than this," he said.
'Unsung heroes'
Maszlee also recounted to members of the press that he met many highly motivated educators on his two-day visit to Sarawak.
"They deserve to be known. They deserve to be acknowledged and they are the true, unsung heroes of our nation," he said.
These teachers – who he called "hero teachers among us" – were both from Sarawak, or had been stationed there from the peninsula.
Maszlee brought up the case of one teacher in particular, who has taught in a rural school in the state for over 30 years.
"One of the teachers I met has been serving in Sarawak for the past three decades and came from the peninsula.
"The teacher stayed on in Sarawak and taught in a rural school for years, despite being away from his family back home.
"Why did teachers like him stay on to teach? This is because these teachers want to make sure no child in Sarawak is left behind, and they feel that that is their responsibility," he said, lamenting that such heroes are rarely lauded in the media.
Maszlee added that Sarawakians deserve better than what they have now.
"In this 'New Malaysia', we will make sure that Sarawakians will enjoy a better future, especially in the field of education."
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