KOTA KINABALU, September 14, 2015 - As a boy in the hinterland of Baram, Sarawak, it was
usually on Saturdays at the end of the school holidays that Rendy Ziki, now 30,
would wake up at midnight, pack his meagre possessions and bid his parents
goodbye before making his way into the darkness for the long journey back to school.
For the graduate of PETRONAS’ VISTA programme, in
collaboration with Kolej Yayasan Sabah (KYS), the journey from being a nomad
boy to a welding instructor has been no walk in the park.
Rendy Ziki is seen teaching in his class at KYS Kota Kinabalu
“My father and younger brother took turns to accompany me
on those long journeys. It took us six hours of trekking under the jungle
canopy, up and down the hills to arrive at a pick-up point where I would then
take a ride to Sekolah Kebangsaan Long Seridan,” Rendy said as he recalls his
struggle in his early days.
Now a welding instructor at KYS in Kota Kinabalu, Rendy,
a Penan from Long Lesuan, is thankful that he decided to take up welding at KYS
– a course conducted in collaboration with PETRONAS under the national oil and
gas company’s Vocational Institution Sponsorship & Training Assistance
(VISTA) programme.
Had it not been for his strong desire for education,
Rendy would have never attended school. “I was born into a nomadic family, and
only attended school when we were more or less semi-settled. Life was hard. If
you are talking about income for my parents to send me to school, there was
none. There was nothing to source an income from.
“I was adamant on going to school. Thankfully, I had
teachers at SK Long Seridan, and later at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Marudi,
who helped me out. Some of them took me as their adopted child,” he recalled.
After passing Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM)
in 2007, Rendy, the eldest of four siblings, applied for the post of an
untrained temporary teacher or guru sandaran tidak terlatih in his old school,
SK Long Seridan.
“The school is located in the heart of the nomadic Penan
population. Deep down in my heart, I knew I wanted to make a difference in the
community. So a group of us, including the SK Long Seridan headmaster, himself
a Penan, embarked on an outreach programme ... we went deep into the jungle and
tried to reach out to Penan families and motivate them to send their children
to school.”
It was admittedly difficult, he added. “Some of them did
send their children to school but many decided to drop out after completing
their primary education.”
His sense of purpose in life led him to re-examine his
situation at that time. It was during this period that he came to learn that
several Penan youths were going to Sabah to enroll at KYS and decided to join them.
Rendy was among 20 Penan youths who took up welding at
KYS in 2009 and graduated a year later.
In Sabah, aside from KYS, PETRONAS is also collaborating
with five other skills institutions under the programme.
In Sarawak, PETRONAS is collaborating with Yayasan
Sarawak to carry out the VISTA programme in four skills institutions namely
Centre of Technical Excellence Kuching (CENTEX), Institut Kemahiran Belia
Negara (IKBN) Miri, Insitut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP) Miri and Pusat
Pembangunan Kemahiran Sarawak (PPKS) Kuching.
Through the VISTA programme, these institutions have been
receiving assistance ranging from equipment, learning and training aid as well
as technical support and advisory.
Rendy said the opportunities made available to him had helped
him make a steady progress in life.
“The collaboration between PETRONAS and KYS has opened up
opportunities for Penan youths like me to be skilled,” he said. “It also
ensures the continuity of the training programme for the benefit of youths who
want to venture into this field.”
Upon completion of his training at KYS, Rendy returned to
Sarawak and continued his advocacy to get Penan youths to attend skills
training.
In 2010 he was instrumental in convincing a group of 15
Penan youths from Baram to come to Kuching to attend skills training at the
Kuching Youth Development Centre.
“I’m among the very few Penan in my area who have managed
to break away from nomadic life. I’m grateful for the opportunity and I want to
give back to my people. I’m committed towards the betterment of the new
generation,” said Rendy.
KYS later offered him and 26 other trainees to take up
Level 3 welding training at PERDA-TECH in Penang, further advancing his skills
in the field.
After completing the course in Penang, he returned to
Sarawak and worked as a welder with a local company. But it was not for long.
“The KYS Chief Executive Officer at that time, Dr Dayang
Aminah Ali contacted me asking if I would consider returning to KYS as an
instructor. Wow, it was like
No comments:
Post a Comment