Sabah’s ‘rotting’ heritage

Sabah, according to local activist Richard Nelson Sokial, has little appreciation for its architecturally rich buildings which date back to the 1890s.

KOTA KINABALU: In Sabah the word ‘heritage’ has little value. Here buildings with distinctive historical architecture are left to rot because the government has failed to allocate funds to maintain them.

Describing these structures as ‘untapped tourism resource’, architect Richard Nelson Sokial believes that there is a vital need to preserve these building and protect the state’s heritage from commercial development.

Sokial said he was shocked to find many buildings with distinct characteristics linked to the colonial times which were on the verge of being destroyed.

“These buildings can be restored with the attention of the state government and the right funding and expertise,” he said.

Sokial, who is also a social activitist, is currently researching historical townships along the west coast of the state.

He said townships such as Beaufort, Bongawan, Membakut, Papar, Kimanis, Kinarut and Weston had historical links with the North Borneo Charted Company administration which date back to 1896.

“All these towns share a link – they were all founded along the route of the North Borneo railway that was built in 1896 and are still serviced by Sabah Railways.

“Many young Sabahans do not even know that these towns have their own history.

“For instance, the town of Weston was named after Arthur J. West, the railroad engineer who built the first rail from Bukau to Beaufort township between 1896–1900.

“Therefore, the town of Weston can trace its history back to 115 years ago.

“Sadly, nothing architecturally significant from that era exists today, except for the old jetty which is estimated to be more than 100 years old, ” he said.

Colonial influence

Sokial added that the local communities in these town have lost a lot of their architectural heritage.

“One of the corner shophouses in Bongawan, for instance, has a window ornamentation with the date ‘1939’ on its gable.

“The style is distinctively Chinese with influences of British Colonial influence.

“Many of these townships flourished between the 1920-1930s because of the rubber boom of that era.

“Another architectural feature is the use of decorated bargeboards on the roof ends of the shophouses.

“These timber bargeboards are a distinctive feature of British Victorian architecture,” added Sokial, who studied architecture at University Malaya.

Sokial believes that with the cooperation of the state government and Sabah Railways, a heritage tour package could be arranged which could give these distant townships a new lease in economic-life.

“For the budget backpackers, travelling along the Sabah Railway would be a viable option to exploring the heartland of Sabah.

“They could stop and stay at the various townships that still retain their historical shophouses like Kinarut, Bongawan and Membakut.

“To my knowledge, many of these shops are now rented out to sub-tenants with some of the upper floors left vacant.

“With proper supervision, repairs and initiative, these vacant lots can be turned into budget backpackers accommodation.

“A heritage town loses all meaning and identity if its historical buildings are destroyed in the name of commercial development.

“However, it is still possible to develop a township for the modern needs of the local community and still retain some heritage character of the old buildings,” he said.

Preserve Papar

Another town, Papar, which is about an hour’s drive from Kota Kinabalu has also caught the attention of conservationists.

The Environmental Action Centre (EAC) has urged the state government to recognise Papar as a heritage town.

According to its Management Group and Steering Committee member, Nilakrisna James, Papar town was exemplary for its heritage buildings and shoplots which can be capitalised as a tourist product for the state.

“Papar has huge potential for tourism and should be marketed as a premier award-winning heritage town, as long as it remains clean and indiscriminate graffiti removed from public view,” she reportedly told a local daily.

She added that the state government and local authority should properly plan and monitor the development of the town to avoid it from being filled with ‘ugly concrete block’.

The authorities should retain Papar’s architectural similarities to the past, she said.