In a state of uncertainty
We need health and education amenities too, say Pajau folk
Stateless children in Pulau Berhala, Sabah, showing off a ship they made with recycled bottles, cigarette butts, straws and sand. Besides financial constraints, Bajau kids with no nationality are the fishing folk’s concern as the Sandakan by-election looms.
PULAU BERHALA (Sandakan): Across the beach strewn with rotting plastic and decaying wooden planks, lies multiple rows of dilapidated huts tightly built next to each other behind the island’s jetty.
It was a Tuesday morning, but many ethnic Bajau children, clad in unkempt clothes, were seen playing in the under-developed village, situated a mere 15-minutes boat ride away from Sandakan.
The children, many of whom were without any identification document (ID), were playing with makeshift toys, as they cobble together plastic bottle refuse, soil and discarded cigarette butts, putting them together into a toy boat.
It was a stark contrast from the norms of a regular urban kid in Sandakan, also known as the “Little Hong Kong” of Sabah, who would download apps into their smartphones for entertainment.
An island of about 5,000 dwellers, the women were seen washing clothes with their bare hands and preparing food while the men were fixing boats and fishing.
These villagers of Bajau descent, also known as “sea gypsies”, were mostly fishermen who survived on merely RM600 through their fishing activities and they had lived on the island for generations.
There are no schools around but only an education centre ran by the Armed Forces, teaching the stateless children from the age of four to 17 the basics of 3M – Mengira, Menulis, Membaca (counting, reading and writing).
Only two teachers from the military were assigned to teach some 200 children daily across four sessions, said Sjn Mohd Amran Jaafar, a member of the General Education
Services Unit Corps.
Education is an issue on this island, as even hopeful students with an ID had to endure a half-anhour boat ride which cost RM1.50 for a two-way trip to access public schools Sandakan.
Kosmawati Tiri, 27, a mother of two lamented the lack of schools in the village, saying that the issue should be addressed once the by-election concludes on May 11.
“I hope there are more schools here. It is very hard for our children to access education.
“One day, I hope my children will be able to secure a decent job and get out of this place,” she added.
Pulau Berhala, about 5ha in size, was formerly used as a quarantine station for labourers from China and the Philippines, as well as home to a leper colony prior to
World War II.
There are about 4,300 registered voters in the island and some 1,800 or 42% are the Bajau.
Sarimah Pirimu, an elderly woman who have been living here since the 60s, was among other Bajaus who were the receiving end of being stateless.
As The Star approached her, the first question was “is there any financial assistance coming for us?”
“My son-in-law earns RM600 from a fishing job and that sum supports the three of us – me, him and my daughter.
“We are locals and we have lived here for generations.
“Yet, we find it so difficult to get our children and families the MyKad,” she added.
Sarimah is also hoping for the government to provide decent
health and education amenities, as well as resolving their stateless issues.
Amir Hussin, 24, another a stateless man who was formerly a student at the 3M education centre said he could not attend school because he did not have any ID.
The unemployed man who helps out around the village as a handyman, said other issues in the village include having access to electricity, healthcare, and clean water.
Residents on the island used generators for electricity and dug well for water.
There is only one clinic and when a pregnant woman is due to give birth, she has to take a boat ride to Sandakan.
“Fortunately, none of the women delivered in the boats, yet,” said Amir.