ONE of the most respected institutions in Kuala Sangga is SRJK (C) Poay Chee, the local primary school.

While much of the village seems dilapidated, the school is incredibly well-equipped. It’s one of the few fully concrete structures in the village, it has its own power generators and water catchment system, and the library, standing alone above the water, even has air-conditioning.

The small school only runs six classes – one class per grade, and the teachers stay within the school compound from Mon-Fri. During the weekends, they head back to the mainland.

That just shows how much emphasis the people of Kuala Sangga, a simple fishing village, place on education.

When the BRATs visited Kuala Sangga, the school was closed for the holidays. Luckily for us, we bumped into Lim Ah Lai.

“The principal entrusted me with the keys. She has gone back to her hometown in Taiping for the holidays,” said Lim, 48, who then offered to show us around the school.

The teachers at Poay Chee are mostly from other states like Kedah, Perlis and Sabah. They stay in quarters within the school compound, and they only leave the village for nearby towns during weekends.

According to Lim, the community has always chipped in to keep the school in good condition – with help from government and corporate sponsors, of course.

“The school used to have power outages all the time. But a German company sponsored us some of its electric generators, so now, the school has electricity 24 hours a day,” he said.

“But when it comes to minor repairs to the building, we usually do it ourselves. We buy the materials, bring them over in our boats, and work together on the repairs.”

The library opposite the school is open to public, which Lim said is great because it encourages everyone in the village to read and learn more.

This focus on education exists in Kuala Sangga – especially among those of Lim’s age – even though it is one of the main reasons their way of life is slowly dying.

Many who complete primary school will then move to the mainland to attend secondary school, as there isn’t room for one in Kuala Sangga. Many of them return, but many never come back either.

“Of course it’s great the young people are improving themselves,” said Lim. “Young people don’t want to stay here anymore, and it’s okay. They can have more comfortable lives and better jobs away from here.”

Lim himself relocated his family to the mainland years ago, as some of his children attend secondary school there.

Fortunately, his eldest son, now 25, is still helping him in the fishing trade. They commute to Kuala Sangga by boat daily.

“I’ll keep fishing here for as long as I can, but it’s a dying industry. Young people don’t want such jobs,” said Lim.

Nevertheless, Lim believes SRJK (C) Poay Chee has an important role to play in the futures of the children of Kuala Sangga – whether or not they end up staying in the village.