One of the starkest contrasts in Malaysian education is between urban and rural, particularly in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). While Kuala Lumpur schools boast smartboards and well-stocked libraries, rural schools in Sabah and Sarawak face shortages of basic infrastructure—clean water, electricity, and paved roads. The Orang Asli (Peninsular Malaysia’s indigenous people) and natives of Sabah and Sarawak (Kadazan-Dusun, Iban, etc.) face immense challenges: language barriers (their mother tongues are not used in school), poverty, long-distance travel (by river, rickety bridges, or dirt roads), and a curriculum that often feels alien to their lived realities.