Over recent decades the Malaysian economy has made remarkable progress, freeing itself from dependence on mineral and agricultural exports – mainly palm oil, natural rubber, tropical timber and tin – and building up flourishing manufacturing and services sectors.

In many ways Malaysia can be regarded as a role model for successful development in the Third World. As an emerging economy determined to attain the status of an industrialized country by 2020, it has succeeded in creating and maintaining stable political conditions over a period of more than 30 years.

There are nevertheless huge differences in levels of prosperity between a city like Kuala Lumpur and the more remote areas in the eastern part of the country. In 2009 the country’s average annual per-capita income was USD 6,634 (approx. EUR 5,300), but in the remote Sabah region of Borneo one can find incomes of a mere USD 1,300 (approx. EUR 1,000) and poverty as severe as anywhere in the third world.

Of all the districts in Borneo, Semporna in the state of Sabah is the poorest. People here earn a living by methods that can hardly be described as sustainable – slash and burn agriculture, “fish bombing” and child labor. Even youngsters are easily lured into these or other illegal activities.

A basic education will provide children of the Bajau Laut tribe with a chance to find a useful role in society. The beautiful coral reefs that sustain an incredibly wide variety of fish life are to be preserved, and scope will be offered for developing tourism in the near future. A good knowledge of English is essential for finding a job in tourism, and learning centers can provide this.

For this reason, Knorr-Bremse Global Care has decided to construct two learning centers in this remote region – one land-based and one built on poles in the sea. It is also funding a boat with classroom facilities for young people who would otherwise have no access to a school. This will mean that all children, however remote their village, will be able to receive a basic education, the aim being to prevent them from exploitation as child laborers or from resorting to fish bombing or other illegal activities.

Children from Semporna district .

Typical pile dwellings in the region.