RANTAU PANJANG: Only five Malaysian students living in Thailand cross the Malaysia-Thailand border daily to attend schools around Padang Besar in Perlis.
Most of these students are enrolled at SMK Padang Besar (Utara) and SJKC Padang Besar (Utara).
Perlis State Education Department director Rose Aza Che Arifin said data shows all these students are Malaysian citizens residing in Padang Besar, Thailand.
She said three of them, comprising two girls and one boy, are in Forms One, Three, and Four at SMK Padang Besar (Utara).
"Meanwhile, the other two are siblings in Year One and Year Six, attending SJKC Padang Besar (Utara).
"Unlike other states, no Thai nationals have been detected studying in schools in Perlis.
"Instead, only Malaysians living in Thailand continue their schooling in this country," she said when contacted today.
She said these students living in Padang Besar, Thailand, likely have parents who are either Thai nationals or have businesses in Thailand, leading to their residence there while continuing education in Malaysia.
She said the students commute daily using authorised routes at the Immigration, Customs, Security, and Quarantine Complex (ICQs) in Padang Besar along the Malaysia-Thailand border, entering the country as early as 6am.
"In Perlis, there are no river routes.
"Instead, the Malaysia-Thailand border in Perlis is separated by land routes through forests, hills, and seas.
"Therefore, most parents of these students use legal routes to send their children to school," she said.
Berita Harian reported that 500 students from Thailand cross the Golok River along the Malaysia-Thailand border in Kelantan daily to attend school in Malaysia.
Additionally, many use illegal jetties scattered across the river basin to unlawfully enter the country for schooling.