One man’s journey to empower the Orang Asli community through education

Samuel Isaiah, 35, is best known for empowering the Orang Asli community through education, and his commitment to improving teacher quality. He was the first Malaysian teacher to be recognised as the Global Teacher Prize Top 10 Best Teachers in the world in 2020 – the equivalent of the Nobel Prize of teaching.

While serving in the Orang Asli school, Samuel explored various innovative methods of teaching and learning to bridge the substantial education gap that plagues the community. This includes using nature and indigenous pedagogy, technology, music and arts, as well as experiential and meaningful learning approaches.

Throughout his teaching journey, Samuel made sure to retain and preserve the identity and voices of the Orang Asli students when educating them. He also led localized community initiatives and qualitative research to help the indigenous students develop confidence, self-belief in their abilities or a positive mindset shift.

The combination of innovative classroom practices, school infrastructure development, community empowerment initiatives, and active collaboration, resulted in significantly improved test scores and academic achievement among his Orang Asli students.

Currently, as the Programme Director of PEMIMPIN GSL, he is leveraging the experience he gained from his teaching years to improve school leadership in Malaysia.

In an inspiring conversation with #biztechasia Samuel shares his triumphs and challenges of working with the Orang Asli community and how his efforts brings them closer to receiving proper education.

He also speaks about:

His work at Pemimpin GSL and his efforts in leading a team that will work with 30 Orang Asli schools in Perak over the next two years
Some of his best memories throughout his career
How organizations can make an positive impact on the rural community through education
His role models and what keeps his passion burning for the work that he does
What winning the Anugerah Harapan Merdeka Award means to him
What’s next in his career and life
How organizations can support Pemimpin GSL’s initiatives

This show is part of our media partnership with the Merdeka Award.