PRISCA Kajan never considered herself to be a “smart pupil” in the early days of her formal education in a remote primary school in Sg Asap in Belaga.
Sg Asap, about 180 km from the oil and gas town of Bintulu, is the resettlement area for the indigenous people in Belaga who were displaced by the Bakun hydroelectric dam.
The 20-year-old admitted she was not too keen on going to school.
She like most of her peers in remote schools, would rather play in the natural surroundings.
“I didn't know why I had to go to school,” this Kayan girl from Uma Bakah said as clutched her scholarship from Sarawak Energy to enable her to complete her final three years in electrical and electronic engineering course at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).
It took a little coaxing from her mother every day to get her to school, SK Batu Keling – a short drive from the longhouse.
“My mother would often say, “Just go to school. Later when you grow up, you can be better than you are now”.
It failed to sink in because the young Prisca could not fathom what her mother said.
However, one rather unforgettable incident was to change her attitude towards going to school and study.
When some of her neighbours and relatives in the 43-door longhouse found she had a poor exam result, they sneered and belittled her for not being a bright bulb.
“This taught me a lesson. It made me want to study and even harder to silence them.”
That she certainly did and so good she was in her studies from that day on that she breezed past her Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination with distinction to earn her a place in the much sought after Mara Junior Science College, or better known as Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) in Mukah, some 360km from home for her secondary education.
Going to Mukah to continue her study was not a problem for Prisca, who sees herself as a very independent person.
“I was actually quite excited to study in Mukah, far from home.”
She said her father had even encouraged her to “go to school far from home”.
“Once he told me, 'go to Mukah Kuching, Labuan (to study). Don't just stay in Sg Asap.
“See the world and gain as much knowledge as possible.”
She did and after her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam where she scored 6As and 3Bs, she went for her matriculation in Labuan for physical science where she had a CPGA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 3.92 - an outstanding academic achievement on a 4.0 scale.
That 3.92 CPGA earned her a place in Unimas in Samarahan and was also key in her earning the Sarawak Energy scholarship.
Prisca was among the 101 external scholars selected from a total of 1,864 applicants for pre-university, undergraduate, and postgraduate studies.
She was also one of the approximately 30% of recipients who are from communities near Sarawak Energy’s projects and operations, including 32 from Belaga, Bintulu, Dalat, Daro, and Kapit.
As for the future, Prisca has one simple goal.
“To give a better life to my parents.
“So now, I have to study hard, pass and get a good job.” - September 22, 2024
