By Chris Bishop
KUCHING, Oct 31: Cikgu Emmet Faizal, known for sharing stories about his students in Sarawak on his blog, had a heartwarming reunion with his former student, Lisyana Mauh, who attended SK Melugu in Sri Aman.
Cikgu Emmet shared a photo on his Facebook page, showing him posing with several students, including Lisyana, on Oct 31.
“It’s fun to be able to meet with my former students of SK Melugu. They still remember me; they are now in Form 4 and 5. The one in red is Lisyana. They have all grown up. I hope they will continue to grow and become successful,” he wrote.
According to Cikgu Emmet’s blog in 2014, Lisyana was an only child who hails from Nyelam, Sri Aman, and she was known for her phrase, “Cikgu, kemaya ari lima?” (Teacher, when’s Friday?)
The Iban girl, who was 7 at the time, was already in a boarding school due to the fact that the distance between her home and the school was 60km apart.
Thus, Lisyana usually returned home to her parents every Friday evening and would attend school on Sunday evenings.
“I still remember when I was teaching her class in January, Lisyana was always teary eyed but she never howls or asks to go home.
“When I went past her table, she would pull my hand and ask, ‘Cikgu, kemaya ari lima?’ (Teacher, when’s Friday?)
“I would pat her head and say ‘Three more days’. Following this, she would purse her lips and wipe her tears on her torso,” Cikgu Emmet wrote.
In the blog, Cikgu Emmet pointed out that Lisyana had started boarding school at a young age for the sole purpose of obtaining education.
“Such a young child has been taught to be independent and separated from their parents for the sake of learning.
“Lisyana has already started learning to make her own bed in the dormitory, washing her own clothes in a bucket in the bathroom, and hanging and folding her own clothes.
“This small child has already started being taught the meaning of sacrifice,” he added in the 2014 blog post. – DayakDaily
