Sabah rubber tapper borrows $35 to take taxi to watch daughter receive honours at education ceremony
Sign up now: Get insights on the biggest stories in Malaysia
Ms Arnie (right) was among 75 students in the Borneoan state being honoured for acing the pre-university exam.
PHOTO: BERNAMA
A rubber tapper in Sabah borrowed RM120 (S$35) just to make the 45km journey to attend a ceremony honouring his 20-year-old daughter’s education achievement.
Mr Jaliusih Madakol, 63, from a village in the small town of Tamparuli, borrowed the money from his neighbours so that he and his wife Malian Bangkulat, 53, could afford the return taxi fare to see their daughter Arnie being honoured by the state education department.
Ms Arnie scored a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average for her Malaysian Higher School Certificate (STPM) examination.
STPM is equivalent to Singapore’s A-level examination.
Ms Arnie was among 75 students in the East Malaysian state being honoured for acing the pre-university exam.
Mr Jaliusih said his monthly income is only between RM200 and RM300, and his two vehicles – a battered motorcycle and a 30-year-old Proton Saga car – “always break down”.
“The farthest it can go is up to Tamparuli town, about 30 minutes from our home,” he told English daily New Straits Times, adding that they had to hire a taxi from the town to the ceremony’s venue.
“I had no other choice but to borrow money from several villagers just to ensure we managed to get here. It is a joyous occasion.”
Ms Arnie, who hopes to become a teacher, told reporters she studied hard as she wanted to help lift her family out of poverty.
