Nisa, my girl
A fortnight ago I received an
sms message written in its normal lingo which took me a bit of time to decipher
and understand. After some editing here goes the message:
“ Salaam Pakcik. Ini Nisa.
Nisa hendak minta duit sedikit daripada Pakcik. Nisa kekurangan wang . Susah
hendak beli buku. Nisa harap Pakcik boleh bantu Nisa. Keluarga Nisa pun susah.
Sekarang hendak tanggung abang hendak masuk koleg. Adik sekolah SBP. Lagipun
Nisa tidak dapat biasiswa. Tidak tahu siapa Nisa hendak minta tolong. Kalau
boleh Nisa hendak minta pertolongan Pakcik. Bila Nisa berjaya dan dapat kerja
Nisa akan bayar balik duit Pakcik. Nisa minta ampun maaf kalau ada buat salah
dan silap dengan Pakcik. Maaf lah Nisa kerana buat muka tidak malu minta pinjam
duit Pakcik. Maaf Nisa, Pakcik.”
[ Salaam to Pakcik. This is
Nisa. Nisa intend to ask for some money from Pakcik. Nisa am short of money;
difficult to buy books. I hope Pakcik could assist Nisa. My family is poor. Now
they have to support my elder brother who is joining a college. My younger
sister is studying in an SBP ( full residential school). Furthermore I do not have a scholarship. I do
not know whom I can seek help from. If it is possible I would like to get
Pakcik’s help. When Nisa succeed and have a job, Nisa will repay Pakcik’s
money. Nusa seek forgiveness for whatever mistakes and wrongdoings towards
Pakcik. Forgive Nisa, without shame, seek a loan from you. Forgive Nisa,
Pakcik.]
________________________
That was a kind of SOS
message from Nisa, a girl I began to know in early 2009 when she was one of 20
odd children in Std 6 of a primary school in a rural area about 20 km from my
house. The school never had a good result in a UPSR examination, its standard 6
children failing to get satisfactory score in English and/or Mathematics. The
school had just seen the arrival of a new deputy headmaster, a lady, who knew
of Almanar tuition classes. One of her children was once a student there for
three years. On her request Pakcik agreed to help the school. A concerted
effort by class teachers resulted in a record-breaking UPSR examination results
in which three children scored the elusive A grade in all subjects.
As I expected, the three
girls, coming from a rural school with average-to-poor background, were offered
places in two MARA colleges. Unfortunately, Nisa was not one of them. She
returned to live with her family about 70m km further away from me and joined a
secondary school
Standard 6 - UPSR 2009
As a reflection of the general
living standard of the parents in that area, I was greatly surprised when I
came to learn that parents of the three successful children were about to turn
down the offers. They were assured, no doubt, that their children’s needs would
be funded by scholarship, but, initially, each child had to be adequately
equipped and certain fees had to be paid on registration. Families of these
children were not in the position to foot the initial expenditure. After all, a
school nearer home was as good as a boarding school which they had no knowledge
of. Fortunately, this was sadly related to me in good time, giving Almanar
Trust the opportunity to come to their rescue.
_________________________
As for Nisa, after completing
her PMR examination she joined a vocational college where she is today. She
stays in a hostel where she has to pay for food and lodging. The incentive for
her and family is her likely opportunity to find employment immediately after
completing her vocational course.
From the time Nisa left her
primary school, she has not stopped being in touch with Pakcik, sending me
occasional SMS to say hello.
Nisa has an elder brother who
did well in his SPM (Form 5) examination, as a result of which he has been
offered a scholarship to study at a new MARA college called KKTP ( Koleg
Kemahiran Tinggi Mara – MARA higher vocational college ) in Kemaman. The
four-year course at this college is designed to produce skilled candidates for
the oil and gas industry around Kemaman/Kerteh. Like Nisa this brother has an
eye on a fast track to study and get employed soonest possible. But life is not
without problems for these people. Before joining the college in a couple of
months’ time , his family have to find, by hook or by crook, a few hundred
ringgits to enable him to buy all the necessities and to pay the registration
fee on enrolment.
Nisa has a younger sister who
did well at primary school, scoring A+ in all subjects. She was offered a
scholarship to a an SBP (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh - full boarding school) not very far from their home.
For reasons best known to the school, her bank account book(BSN a/c book) is kept by the school. She would only get the
book on certain dates when fees are due to be paid to the school, denying her from
obtaining cash to spend on her personal needs, including her transport to and
from her hostel. So she is not altogether one without being a burden to the
family.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As soon as I received Nisa’s
distress message I called her. It was hard for this young girl to disclose her
need for a couple of hundred ringgits to pay for the school fees and her
expenses to last this year. She could
not see how her parents would get hold of so much cash when they are facing the
immediate need for the brother to be enrolled at KKTM.
“Tolong lah saya, Pakcik.
Saya akan cuba bayar balik pda Pakcik satu hari!” ( Please help me. I will try
to pay you back one day!). She was not asking me to help her siblings, but just
herself alone. She could not speak for her brother’s bigger problem.
Do I have to look for more
needy case to extend help? That friendly tie she has kept with Pakcik over the
years is reason enough. Willingly I credited into her bank account what she
needed plus a little more. No sooner had she seen her account than her mother’s
soft voice came over the line, almost in tears. She found it hard to believe
what Nisa had unashamedly done. She poured out her untold worry over the
family’s current predicament. The family’s bread earner is a small village
carpenter, doing odd repair work in the village, at times going with nothing.
The mother, out of need, does rubber tapping. “Kadang kadang saya dapat 7
ringgit sehari menorah getah. Apa nak buat?
Terima kasih Pakcik” ( Sometimes I get seven ringgits a day tapping
rubber. What can I do? Thank you, Pakcik.)
_____________________
Deep in my heart I wonder
where the much publicised BR1M money been channeled to, and, above all, where
are the highly honoured and respected YBs ? I can just heave a deep sigh,
whilst these people are facing helplessness. Panda dihutan diberi susu kucing
dirumah dicampak tepi pagar.
Berkhidmat
kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan
