‘It’s about economic survival’

Volunteers needed: Buoyed by the positive progress among SJK(T) Seaport, Selangor, students, Projek BacaBaca is expanding across the Klang Valley.

Growing up in Kuantan, Pahang, in the 90s, books were my world. As a small-town kid, I didn’t have the means to travel, but through the pages of Nancy Drew, I chased clues across America. Through Enid Blyton, I explored the English countryside.

Reading wasn’t just a pastime – it was a passport to places I had never seen, a glimpse into lives beyond mine. That passport eventually took me beyond fiction. It led me to Oxford, then to Cambridge, where I pursued my studies and deepened my understanding of the world. I had access to books, teachers who encouraged reading, and the right support at the right time.