Three-day walk to attend school, says Minister

KUCHING: Works Minister Baru Bian paid tribute to his former teachers for having helped to inspire him mentally and spiritually as a school boy in Long Semadoh, Sarawak.

Wishing teachers nationwide a “Happy Teachers’ Day 2019” today, he urged students to treasure their teachers and for teachers to encourage their charges.

“We had good teachers who not only educated our minds but also encouraged our souls,” Baru, who is also Selangau MP and Ba’ kelalan assemblyman, said in his latest posting on his Facebook account.

Baru said when he was a young boy, his siblings and him had to walk three days from their home at Long Semadoh to school in Lawas.

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“We had to also carry our own beras (rice) for the boarding house. Life was very hard but we persevered,” he said, thankful to the good teachers who taught him.

Meanwhile, retired headmaster and former Sarawak Teachers’ Union president Michael Ranyed Jackson said he was happy to note that the sacrifices and contributions of teachers were being recognised with May 16 set by the government to honour the teaching profession.

Compared to 60 years ago, when he graduated from Batu Lintang Teachers Training College here and was assigned to teach in a remote rural school in Padawan, Sarawak, the welfare of teachers, including salary schemes, had certainly improved, he told Bernama here.

He was also happy that many of his former students had done well in their respective professions despite having to face harsh conditions in terms of school facilities, especially in the 1960s and 1970s.

In GEORGE TOWN, Zulkernai Fauzi, the principal of Sekolah Bimbingan dan Jalinan Kasih (SBJK), Chow Kit, here, has been honoured for outstanding dedication in conjunction with Teachers’ Day.

With the help of several NGOs, the principal went the “extra mile” to get 155 children of homeless people to attend classes.

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Zulkernai said that almost each day he would venture out to cajole these children to come to school because of the importance of education.

“Our students are aged four to 19 and they are guided to be of strong character to face the future,” he told reporters after receiving a Special Education Award for the state of Penang. – Bernama

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