Every child’s right

By ALYCIA LIM

EMI Eriza Jasut, 16, and Faezlan Angah Mohammad Zaini, 13, may look like any other school-going children.

But speaking to them, it was realised that they were the lucky few orang asli children who have the privilege to attend school since Year One.

Emi said that at the school she attends – SMK Sungai Pusu, Gombak – there were just over 50 orang asli students, about eight of them per class.

When she meets her friends who do not have the opportunity to attend school, Emi said that she would sometimes teach them how to read and write.

From left: Ragunath, Youssouf, Faezlan, Marina, Dr Siti Hasmah, Emi and Dr Zulkurnain at the launch of Unicef’s ‘State of the World’s Children’ special anniversary report.

“In the village, there is no exposure at all. Even if the children there want to go out or attend school, they cannot do so due to the lack of finances.”

She added with a smile, “I would also buy my friends from the village lunch sometimes when I have the time and money.”

Fortunately for Emi, her family realises the importance of education, and her father, who works as an assistant in a government department, always encourages her to read at home.

“I want to be a model for all the other children in my village, because with all the exposure and education I am getting, I hope that I would be able to encourage them not to give up.”

Faezlan said, “When I went back to my hometown, a rural area in Perak, I asked some of the children which school they went to, but they did not answer. One of them told me they did not go to school.”

When he asked his father why, he was told that many of them had to go out to look for food in the jungle, and the eldest child had to stay home to take care of their younger siblings.

Faezlan then voiced his concerns, “What will these children do when they grow up? I hope their parents would change their minds and be aware of the importance of education.”

Emi and Faezlan presented a copy of the United Nation Children’s Fund (Unicef)’s ‘State of the World’s Children’ special anniversary report to former prime minister’s wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who later launched the report in Malaysia.

In her speech, Dr Siti Hasmah said: “Instead of being in school, many children remain in the shadows of disparities and discrimination.”

“If there is even one child left behind, it is one child too many.

“For every child we leave behind, we leave generations more vulnerable to poverty, exploitation and lost opportunities,” she added.

Malaysian Bar president K. Ragunath said that Malaysia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, which should be enjoyed by all children, and not just the privileged few.

“Today, many children in Malaysia face difficulties in accessing education.

“This robs them of achieving their full potential,” he said.

Video clips were also presented during the launch ceremony, showing the voices of children from different backgrounds.

One of the videos depicted 13-year-old Linda, a refugee from Myanmar, who told her story of not having access to government schools because she did not have a birth certificate.

“I want to go to a government school because you study longer and you can take exams. Then I would know whether I got an ‘A’ or not.

“But for now, at least some knowledge is better than none,” she said.

The ceremony was held in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Also present at the event were Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Unicef representative to Malaysia Youssouf Oomar, and Education Ministry secretary general Tan Sri Dr Zulkurnain Awang.