By Olivia Miwil - June 16, 2025 @ 4:39pm
KOTA KINABALU: Community Learning Centres (CLCs) established across oil palm plantations in Sabah have played a vital role in safeguarding the rights of Indonesian migrant workers' children, helping prevent child labour and ensuring access to education.
Minister Counsellor for Information and Social-Cultural Affairs at the Indonesian Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu, Machdaniar Nisfah, said the initiative was introduced in response to the growing number of Indonesian children living in remote plantations without access to formal schooling.
Discussions on setting up CLCs began in 2009 and were formalised through a joint statement between then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister the late Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The initiative was later reaffirmed in 2011 through another joint declaration between Susilo and then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The Malaysian government officially approved the establishment of CLCs in Sabah on Nov 25, 2011, enabling the centres to deliver education to Indonesian children living on plantations.
"This programme not only supports children's rights but also helps Malaysia address a pressing social issue. It gives Indonesian families hope for a better future for their children."
"The right to education is a universal human right. It cannot be limited by documentation status. Just because a child is undocumented doesn't mean they lose that right," she said in a recent interview with the New Straits Times.
Before the formal agreement, Indonesian children on plantations could only access basic literacy education through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Humana and Etania.
"Those NGOs only taught up to Grade 6. After that, the children were stuck. They couldn't return to Indonesia for further studies because they didn't follow the Indonesian syllabus," she said.
With the CLC system now in place, children are taught using the Indonesian national curriculum, enabling them to re-enter the formal education system in Indonesia.
Upon completing their primary education—typically by age 12 or 13—students are repatriated to Indonesia, where they continue secondary school under fully funded government placements.
Others may remain in Malaysia until completing Form 3 (age 15) before returning.
"Since 2013, over 4,036 children have been repatriated after completing their education in CLCs.
They are enrolled in Indonesian junior high schools at no cost to their families. It's essentially a scholarship programme."
Some of these students have gone on to attend universities in countries such as the United States, France, South Korea, and Australia.
However, she acknowledged that the CLC programme faces significant implementation challenges.
Of the 229 CLCs currently operating across Sabah, only 97 have been officially issued permits by the Malaysian Education Ministry.
"The permit application process is long and complex. It involves plantation companies submitting paperwork to the consulate, which then endorses and forwards it to the State Education Department and eventually to Putrajaya.
"The same applies to working visa applications in Sabah for teachers from the Indonesian government," she said, adding that there are now about 150 Indonesian teachers stationed at CLCs across the state.
The consulate also operates Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu in Sepanggar, a formal Indonesian government school established in 2008 for the children of consulate staff and expatriates.
Due to increasing demand, it now also accepts children of migrant workers—but its capacity of 1,200 students is far from sufficient.
"There are about 20,000 children currently attending Community Learning Centres, but only a small number can continue their education at Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu. That is why the repatriation pathway is essential," Machdaniar added.
Another critical role of the consulate is helping to identify undocumented children.
"We routinely visit plantations to check for children without birth certificates. We issue the Surat Bukti Pencatatan Kelahiran (SBPK), which serves as proof of identity. From there, we assist them in obtaining Indonesian passports."
Despite the limited slots and bureaucratic hurdles, she emphasised that the Community Learning Centres are a cornerstone of child protection for migrant families in Sabah and beyond.
"We are dealing with real lives. These are children who would otherwise end up working on plantations.
"Instead, they get to study, to grow, and to dream. That is the real success of the Community Learning Centre programme."
This interview was conducted as part of the Tuai Cerita fellowship programme, which is designed to amplify the voices of Sabah's most vulnerable children.
Through the power of storytelling and ethical journalism, we aim to highlight the deprivation of child rights contributing to child labour in and around oil palm plantations in Sabah.
The programme is driven by local partners ANAK and Global Shepherds, and implemented by Project Liber8. It is conducted in partnership with the European Union, the International Labour Organization, and UNICEF.
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