ROMPIN: A video showing ten-year-old Armin Jamaludin deftly steering his father's boat in Kampung Salang, Pulau Tioman, while dressed in his school uniform has captivated netizens.
Armin's father, Jamaludin Musa, posted the video on TikTok initially for entertainment, but it also sheds light on the daily life of island children.
Jamaludin spoke of his desire for his children to have a deep understanding of the sea.
"I've been teaching my son to handle the boat for quite some time now. He's recently started steering it on his own, but I always supervise him," Jamaludin said.
My children participate in sports at school, including water-based sports.
"As a father, I want my children to pursue other careers, but as islanders, I also want them to have maritime knowledge, such as knowing how to steer a boat. My children attend SK Tekek, Pulau Tioman," he added.
Jamaludin said that boats are essential for transportation in their village, particularly for reaching school due to the absence of suitable land roads.
He added that the video was taken recently while he was on his way to drop Armin and his sister, Aida Izabella,7, to school.
" Every day, we ride a motorcycle from our house to the jetty, then take the boat, and lastly take them for a ride to school.
"Our village and two other villages require boats to get to school. There are no land routes; you can go through the forest, but it will take four hours," he said.
Moreover, he said that while dormitories were provided for students from Pulau Tioman, he and his wife, Rozalia Bodi, 42, who hails from Budapest, Hungary, prefer that their two children live with them so they can observe their studies and activities.
Depending on weather conditions, the boat ride from their home to the school takes about 10 minutes under good conditions and up to 30 minutes when weather is adverse. Jamaludin, who is also a scuba diver and instructor, uses a larger boat during bad weather.