Atika (left) and her assistant Norita engage the pupils during a learning session at Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong.
LIDIANA ROBIN, 5, could not hide her excitement when a group of journalists visited her kindergarten – Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong, Baram – on a Tuesday morning in early October.
Known as the ‘little helper’ because she is the most active among the children in helping their teacher with basic chores at the kindergarten, Lidiana and her six classmates greeted us with a loud “Selamat Datang” as we made our way into the brand-new school building that sits on a gentle slope above the 30-door Long Jenalong longhouse, a Penan village situated deep in the interior of Baram District.
Class leader Lidiana shows her writing and drawing skills.
The village is accessible by road from Miri City, but half of the five-hour journey was a bumpy ride on a treacherous dirt road from the 100-year-old old Long Lama bazaar which sits at the confluence of the mighty Baram River.
Lidiana and her classmates – Adeline Saran,4, Elizabeth Budi,6, Janet, 4, Maxtyson Dungau,5, Bryan Garvin,6, and 4-year-old Dannyfius Sem – were eager to show us their world by singing the national anthem Negaraku, reading the alphabets, counting and colouring.
Known as the ‘little helper’ of the class, Lidiana (centre) helps a classmate during a wooden block-building activity.
Like most children her age, Lidiana blushed and fidgeted when her teacher asked her to introduce herself to the visitors. Instead of coming forward, she quickly grabbed a pencil and copied the spelling of her name, which the teacher had pasted together with her photograph on her desk.
Once she was at ease again, I approached her and started making small conversation by asking in simple Malay language what she had for breakfast that morning.
“Bread and Milo,” she replied sweetly.
Besides breakfast, Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong provides lunch for the children.
I continued our conversation by asking her what she would like to be when she grows up, to which she replied, with a little twinkle in her eyes: “A doctor.”
The case of Lidiana and her classmates exemplify how early childhood education can transform shy personalities into confident individuals; and how it can shape children’s development, nurturing their basic reading, counting and writing skills, as well as their cognitive, social-emotional and physical growth.
For the Penan community, especially the parents, the kindergarten in their village has become a beacon of hope – a place where early education takes place for their children, and a promise of a brighter future for all.
Investing in future Penan generations
Since 2016, Petronas started investing in the education of the Penan community. The national energy company constructed five preschools in the Penan settlements along the in the Tutoh/Apoh area of Ulu Baram. The five-year project costing a total of RM2.75 million was completed in 2020.
Construction of Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong by Petronas was completed in 2019.
The pre-schools, located at Kampung Long Kawa, Kampung Long Jenalong, Kampung Long Leng, Kampung Long Kerangan and Kampung Ba Selulong, are now run by Sedidik Sdn Bhd, an agency under the Sarawak Ministry of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development.
Petronas Sarawak head of media communications Johannes Ridu (centre), Kampung Long Jenalong chief Ugat (left), and SSGP Sabah Assets head (Operation Support) Muhammad Shamad Ahmad (back row, right), with the teachers, pupils and parents at Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong.
Nine media practitioners from the print and electronic media outlets based in Sarawak recently had an opportunity to visit the project and gained valuable insights into the progress of early childhood education for Penan children. Besides Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong, we also visited Tadika Sedidik Long Kerangan.
Solar panels supply electricity to Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong.
Empowering rural minds through early education
At Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong, we spoke to Lidiana’s teacher Atika Fazila Wallpan and her assistant Norita Simon.
Atika, 23, started her teaching career at the kindergarten in 2020. A granddaughter of Kampung Long Jenalong’s chief, she takes pride in teaching at the preschool in her village. With scholarship from her employee Sedidik Sdn Bhd, the former SMK Marudi student is currently pursuing her Diploma in Early Childhood Education at Open University Malaysia (OUM).
Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong children have fun with their teachers Atika (right) and Norita in singing the national anthem in sign language.
“Online learning is not a problem anymore because the broadband internet connection is now available in my village,” said Atika who is currently in her fourth semester of her studies.
Before the kindergarten was built, Atika said classes were conducted at one of the units in the longhouse. “We are fortunate that Petronas has built this kindergarten for us, as it requires a high budget. We truly appreciate the contribution from Petronas and the Sarawak Government towards education for the Penan people,” she said.
With the five new kindergartens, Atika said Penan children will be able to stay in their respective villages with their families. “We do not need to send our children to boarding schools which are far from our homes to get early childhood education,” she said.
“Many of the parents in our village are farmers. They cannot afford to pay for the fares to send their children to far-away preschools. In addition, the children are too young to be living on their own at the boarding house and this makes their parents worried and stressed,” she related.
Atika said, the pre-school education gives a strong foundation for children to continue their studies at Primary school. “I never had the opportunity to study at pre-school level. So, when I entered Primary school, I experienced learning problems because I did not have the foundation of an early education,” said Atika.
Tadika Sedidik Long Jenalong is also equipped with a playground facility.
Before the kindergarten was completed, the children in the Penan villages spent their early years just playing with each other. “Now, our preschoolers learn to manage themselves independently, and are taught to read, recognise the alphabet, and explore things around them. I really want to help them to progress. I’m happy that the student’s parents are also very receptive that their children are going to school, and all this is why I’m still teaching here,” she said.
According to Atika, in the past, parents that lived in the village may not have been as exposed to or understood the importance of early childhood education; for many of them, it was enough to just enroll their children starting from primary school.
For Suraya Suleman, 29, a native of Kampung Long Kerangan, the new kindergarten had eased the burden of parents to send their children to study at a pre-school in Long Latik, a 30-minute treacherous journey using timber road.
Tadika Sedidik Long Kerangan teacher Suraya Sulaiman said the kindergarten built by Petronas has made it easier for parents living in her village to send their children for early education.
“The transportation costs also meant that many parents cannot afford to send their children to preschool. Hence, we were overjoyed when Petronas took the initiative to build us a beautiful kindergarten in our village,” said Suraya, who started her career as a kindergarten teacher in 2015.
She said 17 children have benefitted from preschool education programme at her village. “Ten of them have left and continued their primary education while seven are still studying here,” she added.
Embracing change
The nomadic Penan are believed to have settled at Long Jenalong deep in the jungle of Baram in the 1960s. The man who brought his people there is Ugat Kong. Now 67-years-old, Ugat is still the chief of the village he founded. Today, the village population has grown to about 200 people from less than 20 people initially.
“Our village is very remote. It is not easy to travel from one place to another. After we settled here, life remained very difficult. We had to learn to do new things like farming. We were also told to send our children to school. This is a challenge to us all because we are all farmers and have no money to pay for the fare to send our children to Long Bedian and other villages with primary school in Baram.
Atika with her grandfather Ugat.
“When I heard Petronas and Sarawak Government wanted to build this pre-school, I was so happy. We are glad to see our children getting early education which will prepare them for primary school,” he said.
“Parents should take the opportunity to send their children to school so that they can get good education and have a better future. I hope the Penan community will continue to encourage their children to go to school. This is because we as a community are still lagging in terms of development compared to other races in Sarawak.”
Meanwhile, Long Kerangan village chief Ajang Pen, 66, hope that with early childhood education, more children from his village will excel in their educational pursuits.
“To date, my village has produced the first Penan PhD holder — Dr Benard Upieh, and we also have one who had graduated with a degree,” he said proudly.
Kampung Long Kerangan chief Ajang Pen hopes that with the benefit of having early education, more children from his village would go on to pursue higher studies.