JAKARTA: The Sekolah Bimbingan Malaysia (SBM), set up in the compounds of the Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia, is an effort to instill love for the nation and a sense of identity among the students even when they live far from their home country. Patron of SBM, Sakhiah Mohd Soom said the students are the children of the embassy staff, aged between three and 12 and are taught subjects like civic and religious studies and have to converse in Bahasa Melayu in the classes which are held twice a week.
“Most of these children study in international schools and communicate in English. We want them to always remember the home country and increase their sense of patriotism,” she said when met at the school which began operations in 1993 here. Sakhiah who is the wife of Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Zainal Abidin Bakar, said the SBM had 48 students and 15 teachers from among members of the Foreign Ministry’s Women’s Association in Jakarta.
The students are divided into three classes according to age, with Level One (three to six years) taught the basics of writing, counting and colouring, Level Two (seven to 9 years) where they are taught to read Bahasa Melayu and Level Three (10 to 12 years) where they learn the techniques of essay writing and language. In conjunction with the celebrations for National Day 2019 tomorrow, several activities have been planned, including singing the national anthem ‘Negaraku’ and patriotic songs, hoisting the Malaysian flag and an oath-taking session by the students in the embassy compounds. – Bernama
