Eiyra Maisarah is the first in her family to attend university and says she feels pressured by financial concerns on top of her desire to succeed and provide a better future for her family. — Photo provided
TWO cousins, born less than one month apart to two families with different financial situations. One lives in a comfortable suburb in the city and the other on the outskirts of a small town.
At just nine years old, the difference between the two girls is stark.
One has weekly singing and piano lessons, is on the dance team in school, totes around a tablet on which she plays games and watches videos, wins youth competitions, is fluent in a few languages and is, in general, a very confident, effervescent child.
The other girl is quiet, shy, and spends her days playing with her younger sister at grandma’s house.
Meanwhile, her older sister, who is almost finishing secondary school, intends to start working immediately.
“[The oldest] is not good with her studies anyway. It is better for her to earn money fast. She can get her driving licence soon, so she can help out with fetching her younger sisters also,” says their mother, 41- year-old Jessica (not her real name).
It’s not like Jessica did not try to ensure her girls are provided opportunities and education, but the reality is that as a single mother with three kids, she needs the practical help her oldest can provide.
On the other hand, Jessica’s sister Michelle (not her real name) has grand ambitions for her already overachieving nine-year-old daughter, and she fortunately has better conditions to pave the path for her girl.
This is a clear example of how gaps in access early on in life can affect opportunities for social mobility later.
Those who come from impoverished backgrounds tend to have a harder time climbing out of their social class because they start off with fewer opportunities in life.
Gaps in access early on in life can affect opportunities for social mobility later. — 123rf
As former Economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli recounted his experience in the run-up to the launch of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) in July, it was support from government that enabled him to receive a quality secondary education that broadened his perspective and opened his eyes to new possibilities for his future.
“My parents left school at 12. I benefited from an early government intervention – I was sent to a boarding school. If I had not had that opportunity, I would have been confined to the rural area and seen only what my parents had seen.
“A poor person at the bottom of the rung who sees no opportunity for rising up will lose more than just money. The person will suffer a loss of self-reliance, self-confidence and self- belief. But early intervention – and the opportunities that came with it – allowed people like me of the previous generation to understand that you can escape [low income],” he said.
And this is the challenge the government hopes to address with the 13MP (2026-2030) – to extend social mobility opportunities to more Malaysians amid the currently more challenging fiscal and economic situation.
Still, though access to education has been made compulsory in Malaysia, it may not be enough to address the issues poorer or more rural households may face in their daily lives. Even if they later gain access to higher education, these youths often have more on their plate to worry about than just trying to graduate with honours.
As the first in her family to attend university, 19-year-old Eiyra Maisarah Mohd Reduwan says her parents always told her education is the key to a better future.
“They may not have had the chance to study very far, but they always reminded me that knowledge is something no one can take away.
“That really motivated me to pursue higher education not just for myself, but also to make them proud,” she says.
But coming from what she describes as a “simple family”, the university student says not only does she have to balance her assignments, examinations, and personal responsibilities, she also worries about how to cover her university fees and daily living expenses.
“It often feels like there isn’t enough time for everything and that creates emotional pressure too,” laments Eiyra, who is based in Alor Setar.
Someone else in the same boat as Eiyra is a 21-year-old from Kuala Nerang, Kedah, who only wants to be known as Fiyyah.
She is the oldest of four siblings in her family, which makes her feel like she has to try her best to lighten her parents’ financial burden even as she herself is trying to kickstart her own life.
“I’m the first one, so I need to do my best to succeed and make my parents proud of me. I want to get good work one day to help my family,” she says.
Even with her university fees, Fiyyah says she tries not to ask her parents for money if she can because “they have many things to pay for, like my siblings’ school fees and utilities.”
So she says she tries her best to live within her monthly allowance.
With their families’ high hopes placed on them, Eiyra and Fiyyah both feel the pressure to succeed and to make their families’ dreams come true.
“I hope I will be very successful in the future. I hope I can buy anything my family wants. I hope my family never have to worry about money,” says Fiyyah.
Shareen (not her real name), 19, meanwhile is waiting anxiously for good news about her appeal to attend a public university in Penang.
“I know my STPM results were not excellent and it is really competitive. But if I don’t get this, I’m not sure what else I can do.
“I want to get a better life for myself and my family,” says the e-hailing driver’s daughter as she gets ready for her part-time job at a coffee shop.
