KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Ahmad Saidin Mohd Idris could not believe his ears when he found out he was the beneficiary of a US$2,766 (RM11,956) crowdfund campaign.
Yes, a stranger who read about teacher Ahmad Saidin’s 135 kilometre-commute on a kapcai to and from the government school where he teaches Orang Asli children started the campaign to raise money to get him a dirt bike.
Ahmad Saidin was deeply moved when told the gift from 77 people around the country and overseas was collected in just two days.
“I was surprised and touched by everyone who contributed,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday.
And while the original goal of the crowdfund campaign initiator, Hazim Nordin, 39, was to “get this teacher a Scrambler” which he estimated to cost about RM10,000, Ahmad Saidin’s immediate thoughts were not on a new motorcycle which would be better suited for the hilly terrain that turns muddy whenever it rains.
Were he not listed as the legal beneficiary on the US-based Indiegogo crowdfunding platform, the science teacher said he would have preferred every sen of the donation to be gifted to the SK Lenjang school in Lipis where 456 students from 17 Orang Asli settlements study.
“The motor that I’ve been using rarely breaks down because I maintain it. There was only that one time when it broke down. It cost me between RM100 to RM200 to repair it then,” Ahmad Saidin said.
The 40-year-old Kuantan-born was posted to SK Lenjang more than three years ago and only fell off his kapcai once while on the uneven road between his home and school.
And while the Orang Asli school does provide quarters for teachers alongside dormitories for students, Ahmad Saidin explained the reason he endured the rough commute.
“I have two children and my wife is in Kampung Kuala Medang. If I don’t commute, there would be no grown man in the house. We have no relatives, only neighbours,” he said.
