Nur Syafienaz makes history as first Orang Asli in TESL at IPG Kota Bharu
The Gua Musang native, who hails from Kampung Lambok, Kuala Betis, aims to use education as a tool to transform her family's future.
'Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming a teacher, especially in English, as few in my village master the language,' she said.
She scored 8As in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) last year and immediately applied to IPG.
'Alhamdulillah, my application was accepted,' she shared during a press meet at the IPG Kota Bharu Campus in Pengkalan Chepa.
The eldest of four siblings, she credits her English proficiency to self-learning via TikTok and YouTube, along with teacher support.
'I am grateful to pursue a Bachelor of Teaching (Hons) in TESL for Primary Education here,' she added.
She urged other Orang Asli youth to embrace education and step out of their comfort zones.
Her mother, Siti Norsyakila Kamarzaman, hopes she adapts well and excels in her studies.
IPG Kota Bharu Campus director Dr Narita Mohd Noor confirmed Nur Syafienaz is the first Orang Asli student in the TESL programme.
'This is remarkable, as English is rarely chosen by Orang Asli students, who typically prefer Bahasa Melayu,' she said.
This year, IPG Kota Bharu enrolled 529 new students, a significant increase from just over 200 in 2024. - Bernama
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As a sign of solidarity and faith from U.S. Catholics, the Nagasaki Bell Project raised funds for the casting and installation of the new bell, which rang together with the recovered bell at 11:02 a.m. -- the moment when the atomic bomb exploded over the city in the Peace Memorial Mass at Urakami Cathedral began, Archbishop Nakamura blessed with incense two damaged religious artifacts that had been recovered in the rubble of the original cathedral after the bombing -- the head of a wooden statue of Mary and a wooden crucifix with the figure of Jesus missing his head and two items were displayed near the altar during the Mass, and the archbishop framed his homily around them. He told the story of a church in Germany damaged by bombing during World War II, and the arms of Jesus on its cross were missing. 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In other words, our peace depends on living like Christ. This means thinking, speaking, acting and loving like Christ."For that reason, let us once again begin our true journey by gazing upon Jesus and Mary who survived the bombing, and considering how they became like this out of love for us."During the Mass, Archbishop Francisco Escalante Molina, the Vatican's apostolic nuncio to Japan, noted that people had journeyed together to commemorate the anniversaries of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, "to offer our prayers for those how suffered and those who died, and for lasting peace among all people."He noted that week included interreligious gatherings and meetings with civil authorities, religious leaders, diplomatic representatives and Hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombings, to pray for peace, "a prayer that must never end."Archbishop Molina read a message from Pope Leo XIV, who offered respect to the Hibakusha, as the survivors of the atomic bombings are known. Their "stories of loss and suffering are a timely summons to all of us to build a safer world and foster a climate of peace," he and Nagasaki "remain living reminders of the profound horrors wrought by nuclear weapons. Their streets, schools and homes still bear scars -- both visible and spiritual -- from that fateful August of 1945," the pope words often said by Pope Francis, he said, "War is always a defeat for humanity."Decrying nuclear weapons, Pope Leo said, "True peace demands the courageous laying down of weapons -- especially those with the power to cause an indescribable catastrophe. Nuclear arms offend our shared humanity and also betray the dignity of creation, whose harmony we are called to safeguard."The concelebrants at the Mass included the four US prelates participating in the "Pilgrimage of Peace": Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle, and Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New remarks at the end of the Mass, Cardinal McElroy noted how while visiting Nagasaki three years ago, he had been deeply moved by visiting the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum, the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and Urakami Martyrs Museum honors 26 Japanese Christians who were arrested in 1597 and forced to march barefoot for 30 days to Nagasaki, where they were hung on crosses and martyred on the Nishizaka Hill overlooking the city. Those Christians included St. Paul Miki, who along with those other 25 martyrs of Japan was canonized in McElroy said his visits to those three places in Nagasaki pointed to the foundations for true peace in the world."The Martyrs Museum points to the need for true faith in God, who is the author and prince of peace. The Atomic Bomb Museum speaks to the need to recognize the tragic human failings that produce wars, inflame hatreds and inflict searing wounds. And the rebuilding of this great cathedral points to overwhelming hope, the sustaining star which guides us toward peace even when it seems farthest away," the cardinal the Mass, the pilgrims from the United States and Japanese Catholics marched together from Urakami Cathedral to Nagasaki Peace Park in a torchlight procession symbolizing the light of faith and the hope for a nuclear-free future that united them. On Aug. 10, the Japanese hosts and US pilgrims attended a Mass together at Oura Cathedral in Nagasaki, the oldest standing church in Japan and a national landmark built in 1864 by missionaries who learned that the hidden Christians had been keeping the faith alive there for
