Artists teach woodcut printing to help stateless kids in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Arts Collective Pangrok Sulap has completed its two-month quest to help stateless children to sustain their alternative schools through arts.

Pangrok Sulap, which comprises Sabah-based artists, musicians and social activists, have been using arts to deliver messages from communities, including marginalised people. The group’s signature work is woodcut prints on posters, t-shirts, banners and other merchandise items. Their woodcuts are not only featured in exhibits in Kuala Lumpur, but it has also at the international level such as in Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and even Paris. One of its founding members Rizo Leong, 37, said the project dubbed as “Do-It-Yourself” workshops were targeting alternative schools in Semporna, Tawau, Sandakan, and here. “We are focusing on these schools to helm them sustain (their expenses) by providing toolkits for them to make merchandise “The kids from the schools, aged between 8 and 14, learn the techniques and work on producing those items to be sold between RM5 and RM35,” he said, adding apart from selling them at public events, the team also promoted them on social media. Leong, was met at the 2-day KeTAMU festival at Tanjung Aru Marine Ecosystem Centre here, with a group of non-governmental organisations Borneo Komrad, Cahaya Society and Iskul Sama Dilaut Omadal known as “KOLEKTIVIS” who were involved in those workshops. The woodprint workshops were also supported by Forever Sabah Civil Society for five schools in the east coast of Sabah.

Leong said providing education to non-Malaysians had been a sensitive topic and often politicised. “Although these children are born without documents, it is not their fault. Despite growing up stateless , these people deserve education as it is a basic right. “Through our arts, we also hope that we can send these messages to the public,” he said, adding teaching them arts is a way for the stateless people to express their ways of thinking. Leong added for the long term plan, the Pangrok Sulap will continue to provide relevant woodcut designs for alternative schools to make merchandise. Apart from that, the group is also working with Lightup Borneo which helps rural folks to get electricity using a mini-hydro system. To date, Pangrok Sulap members have volunteered in six projects.