Mentari Project - education for the urban poor

The following is an exclusive excerpt from ‘Malaysian Son: A progressive’s political journey in the heart of Southeast Asia’, a memoir by PKR vice president and Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

At the end of 2007, having learned more about the Kelana Jaya constituency where I was active in [PKR work], I put a word out on my blog asking for anyone who was interested to work with me on a community project to come forward.

I thought of doing something along the lines of the Kalsom Project, on a small budget but over a longer run. Someone replied in the comments section saying that she was interested.

I met up with the said person, Mawarni Hassan. She was a former teacher who graduated from Canada and served in the examinations syndicate. Having just left government service, she and her children wanted to do something for the community.

We met at a McDonald’s in the city centre to plan further. Along with Mawarni and her children, I gathered a group of my friends who had just graduated. I was fortunate to have Mawarni as she was an experienced educator and manager.

We decided on doing a voluntary tuition project. We charged RM10 per family to get their commitment, as we feared making it free would mean parents not taking it seriously. However, when there were families who could not pay...