Lintang’s family was like the epitome of poverty for Malay and Indonesian traditional fishermen. They carried that misery in their hearts from generation to generation. They swallowed the bitterness of empty expectations for the future and their doubts about their children’s education. This misery, of the have-nots, couldn’t be heard by anyone’s ears, not the haves’ nor the state’s. But today the misery briefly disappeared for one family, covered by the near-endless marks of ten in the report card of their extraordinary young son.
