A MOTHER’S TEARS Like their parents or grandparents, the offspring of these migrants have no legal status to work, live, marry or buy a house on Sabah land. And for Khairul and Hassan’s mother, who only wanted to be known as Asmida, she is constantly reminded that she cannot give her children a better future. This for her, is a source of regret. Ms Asmida’s husband, Mr Suhidin, works as a fisherman and he earns around RM500 (US$119.28) a month, which is less than half the minimum wage of RM1,100 set by the government. Her two sons spend their afternoons collecting waste to be sold in Sandakan in case the family’s food situation gets desperate. “I never wanted them to be rubbish collectors. I wanted them to go to school, get a good job in the city and live in proper houses,” she said, holding her youngest daughter Bulan in her lap. Ms Asmida holding her daughter Bulan outside their home on Pulau Berhala. Bulan’s friends regularly visit her house to play with her toys. (Photo: Amir Yusof) Bulan spends her time playing with makeshift toys, cobbled together by plastic bottle caps and discarded cigarette butts her brothers have brought home. “For Bulan, I want her to be a doctor. But I can’t even promise that I will send her to a proper school. Have I failed her as a mother?” added the 30-year-old as she struggled to hold back tears. PULAU BERHALA’S ONLY SCHOOL: TWO TEACHERS, 236 STUDENTS In two years’ time, Bulan will attend the village’s only educational institution, Sekolah 3M. The school was set up by the Malaysian military, which has a strategic base at the island to patrol the waters and protect Sabah from militants coming from southern Philippines. The school aims to equip stateless children with the basic educational skills of reading, writing and counting, but it does not offer its students the opportunity to take national examinations or to graduate with any certificate that will help them apply for a job. This small building accomodates more than 200 students from the age of four to 17 on weekday mornings. (Photo: Amir Yusof) The school, built in 2010, is attended by students aged four to 17, and is located next to the Pulau Berhala army camp. One of the school’s two teachers is Sergeant Muhd Amran Jaafar, who told CNA that his objective was to give the village children just a rudimentary level of education. Sergeant Muhd Amran Jaafar has taught the children at Pulau Berhala’s 3M school for five years. He was trained as a soldier but has now become a full-time teacher. (Photo: Amir Yusof) 73