IT’S out of the ordinary. Who would imagine that a school under the Education Ministry’s development programme for the very poor (Program Pembangunan Rakyat Termiskin) in rural Kedah, is quietly churning out taekwondo champions.
Sekolah Kebangsaan Paya Terendam, located in the remote Kampung Siam, about 15km from Sik, has been doing just that in the past five years, making their presence felt at state and national level.
Oblivious to the politicking and infighting among national taekwondo bodies in recent years, the folk at SK Paya Terendam, built near oil palm and fruit trees, have only been focusing on their sport.
But unlike the better off taekwondo kids at popular martial arts clubs in urban areas, it has always been a struggle for the SK Paya Terendam boys and girls despite their successes.
Of the school’s 300 students, most of them are children of rubber tappers or odd job workers from Kampung Siam (where there is a Thai community), of whom about 100 of them took up taekwondo.
The school’s adviser-cum-coach, Mohamad Nabzham Mohd Nayan said: “The students are very poor, below the B40 Group (Bottom 40 of Malaysian households earning below RM2,000).
Many of the students find it hard to even afford taekwondo uniforms, and some of them attend training classes by wearing normal T-shirts.
And they have to train with broken down equipment due to the school’s shortage of funds. But all this has not dampened their fighting spirits.
“The school charges only RM5 per month for those staying at the hostel, while the others pay RM3 for each training session.
“The children can’t even afford to buy attire, let alone equipment. So the school buys the taekwondo attire and the necessary gear and loan them to the students for competitions,” added Nabzham.
Despite the adversities and obstacles, SK Paya Terendam has somehow thrived in the sport. Their success is mainly due to a simple principle — all students staying at the school’s hostel are required to participate in taekwondo.
The school’s hostel warden, Ahmad Che Dris said although SK Paya Terendam was active in taekwondo years before, the sport has become compulsory for those at the hostel since 2014, and this added more punch to their set-up.
Under the Education Ministry’s Five-Star Hostel Programme, where one hostel has one sport, SK Paya Terendam was selected to be the smart school for taekwondo.
According to Nabzham, there are 78 pupils (boys and girls) at the hostel, and it is compulsory for them to be involved in taekwondo.
Nabzham, together with another teacher, Norliza Osman, have been diligently training the exponents.
He said due to financial constraints, whenever the students go for competitions, the teachers contribute money, and also volunteer to transport the exponents to the venues.
It’s remarkable that a school from a rural area deep in Sik, can still succeed despite financial problems and lack of training facilities.
Much of it is due to the dedication and hard work of the teachers who have sacrificed their time, given their commitment and offered their own money.
Nabzham and the teachers would take their students across the country to venues for competitions. And they feel rewarded if they see the happy faces of their charges when they win medals.
Apart from taekwondo, SK Paya Terendam has also excelled in rugby, which was initiated in the school in 2016 with a qualified coach.
And their rugby players are mostly from the school’s hostel. Among their achievements are winning the Baling-Sik District inter-schools competition for three consecutive years.
Off the field, SK Paya Terendam students have done creditably well in studies. The passing percentage of their UPSR examination is 65 per cent full passes in the past three years.
It has not been easy for the SK Paya Terendam kids, and the road ahead is still challenging.
Nabhzam is appealing to Malaysians to contribute to the school keep them going, or perhaps help them buy proper taekwondo uniforms or new equipment for those from the B40 group.
Those who wish to donate can contact Kelab Taekwondo MJ Sik (WTF), No: 147, Taman Seroja, Mukim Sik, 08020 Sik, Kedah. Account no: Bank Rakyat 11-384-100143-1