In Kg Terbak, volunteer teachers at Wat Phikulthong keep Siamese heritage alive, observed by UTAR researcher Kenneth Lee (centre).
TUMPAT: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) researcher Kenneth Lee Tze Wui found himself in a different kind of classroom in Kg Terbak, where children chanted lessons in Thai, their voices carrying through the temple grounds as parents waited under the shade of a 300-year-old Phikul tree.
The temple anchors daily life in a village that, at first glance, looks like any other in Kelantan: single-storey houses line narrow roads, children cycle past paddy fields and life unfolds quietly, giving little hint of the distinct ethnic identity of its residents.
