KOTA KINABALU – Ropes have become a literal lifeline for a group of primary school students in the interior district of Nabawan, where villagers have set up a zipline to help ferry young students across a river every day just so they can get to school.
The smaller of the 27 primary school students would sit in a makeshift carrier fashioned out of a basket and secured by rope to be pulled across, while the bigger children would ride across in a cloth harness and no safety gear.
Orang lain di Malaysia hantar anak ke sekolah guna kereta.. Kita di Sabah hantar anak guna Cable Car.. Sabah Maju Jaya!
— Adrian Lasimbang (@lasimbang) April 28, 2022
Kanak2 ini pergi ke sekolah di SK Nangkawangan, Sook Pensiangan. Ada seorang Menteri Penuh Sabah dan Timbalan Menteri Persekutuan. pic.twitter.com/sTdk3Zekqt
That has been their only means of access to and from school every day since the suspension bridge connecting their village, Kg Nangkawangan, to their school at SK Nangkawangan, was destroyed by a major flood on March 5.
Zazila Roslan, a volunteer who has been helping villagers in the remote district in Sabah’s interior region, said the flood left five villages disconnected from Nabawan town after it also destroyed four other bridges that served as their only means to connect with the outside world.
She said the villages, which do not have any phone coverage or electricity supply, have not received any help until now despite getting some attention from Pensiangan MP and Deputy Works Minister Datuk Arthur Kurup.
“I hope that help will come soon because the villagers here are desperate for help. The adults can walk 18 hours. But the children risking their lives like that to school, it is simply unacceptable,” Zazila told The Vibes when contacted.
Zazila said the villagers have never experienced floods of such magnitude that destroyed public infrastructure and are concerned that it may have been caused by rampant logging activities.
The villagers had come across logs washed downstream by the flood, but Zazila said there was not enough evidence to prove that logging activities had contributed to the incident.
Arthur said he had secured approval from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for emergency funds to rebuild the bridges.
The deputy minister said he had also requested for a study to be done on possible new infrastructure in the area that are more flood proof.
Asked about the possibility of logging activities contributing to the flood, Arthur said he was aware of the situation and that it was premature to say if there was any link between the two.
“I plead that proper environmental impact assessments are conducted before approving any logging permits, and that strict environmental procedures are followed to minimise risk and damage to the environment. Ultimately it will be the villagers that suffer,” he said. – The Vibes, April 29, 2022
