Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the school’s most feared figure: Puan Salina, the Senior Assistant of Student Affairs. She was a small woman with glasses thick as a kacang putih bowl, but her stare could silence a riot.

At 3:00 p.m., the gates open. The teksi sekolah (school vans) roar to life, packed with students scrolling TikTok or cramming for a kuiz (quiz) the next day.

: According to the Ipsos Malaysia Education Monitor 2025 , roughly one-third of Malaysians view unequal access to education as the primary obstacle in the system.