Malaysia’s Runaway Children

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2015

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The deaths of five school children in Malaysia have provoked an anguished debate about education and what it means to be Malay. The children ran away from their boarding school in Kelantan State and died of starvation in the jungle. They were afraid of harsh punishment from their teachers. Two girls survived eating grass and wild fruits but were found emaciated and close to death 47 days later. The children came from the Orang Asli community, one of the poorest and most marginalised in the country. For Assignment, Lucy Ash travels to the remote region where the children came from and talks to their bereaved parents. Many families are now refusing to send their children to school and campaigners accuse the government of not doing enough to protect rights of the Orang Asli community. Jane Beresford producing.

Produced by Jane Beresford

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a BBC podcast. You can get all our podcasts and our terms of use at BBCworldservice.com
0:06.8	slash podcasts.
0:08.8	You got a favorite color? Like brown? Is that okay? And that are going to make some nice gold earrings? Very messy hair because I don't like brushing my hair.
0:26.0	Welcome to assignment on the BBC World Service with me Lucy Ash. I'm doing a self-portrait lying on the floor of a bamboo hut,
0:34.0	drawing with crayons and felt tips surrounded by a group of small children.
0:39.0	They're telling me all about the school they used to go to
0:42.0	and about one of their teachers.
0:44.0	Not good.
0:46.0	Why not good?
0:48.0	They didn't like him because he liked to punish them even if they didn't do anything wrong
0:54.4	like making them stand outside in the sun holding their desks on their head.
0:59.8	Was it heavy?
1:00.6	You...
1:01.6	They're brat,, me jadu.
1:04.6	Heavy.
1:05.3	Very heavy.
1:06.3	Can you show me?
1:07.3	That's how he told them to do it.
1:11.9	What, to bend their knees as well?
1:13.6	If you did it like he said, then that would be okay.
1:16.4	But if you drop the table or if you fell,
1:18.6	then he would ask you to do it for a longer time.
	...

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