65-year-old rain trees to make way for road expansion in Penampang

 

The road next to the five rain trees is to be expanded to four lanes under the road project in Donggongon, Penampang.

KOTA KINABALU: Just outside Donggongon, a township in Penampang, is Kasigui square, a remnant of what used to be a bustling town and a tamu (marketplace) for the Penampang folk.

Today, the wooden two-storey shop lots are long gone and with them the people as they flock to the new Donggongon town, 4km away.

While the rest of the surroundings have changed over the years, there is one constant. The five Samanea saman, also known as rain trees, that line what used to be the main road of the former town.

But that may not be for long as the district council has sealed their fate.

These trees, planted when Sabah was known as North Borneo, will be chopped down before next July to make way for road expansion, including a flyover.

And residents are at odds over the decision.

The old Kasigui town where the five rain trees were prominent.

“These trees are at least 65 years old,” Penampang district officer Francis Chong told FMT.

“The district council is in discussion with the public works department. We want to check if the trees are healthy. There is no point protecting these trees because they will die anyway in a few years.”

A rain tree has a lifespan of 80 to 100 years on average. It is wide-canopied with a large symmetrical umbrella-shaped crown. The leaves fold in rainy weather and in the evening, hence the name rain tree and five o’clock tree (“pukul lima” in Malay).

Resident Venitha Lojuti recalled fondly her childhood memory of the trees.

“It was our main ‘bus station’. It was where we disembarked to go to school in the 1970s. Even to go to church, we would take the bus from there.

“The trees provided shade from the sun. I have so many memories of the area,” she said.

According to Lojuti, the tree is also known as “puun badi” in the local Kadazan dialect.

“Before the term ‘pergi tamu’ (go to tamu) existed, the people in Penampang would say ‘moi badi’, which means ‘go to badi’.

“People from the interior would sell tobacco leaves, bambangan, vegetables, sigup, salted fish and many other products in the shade of these trees. This is why the place is called ‘Moi Badi’,” she said.

Another local, Benjamin Golimbi, said it has become quite the norm for the Penampang district council to chop down rain trees.

“Several years ago, the council chopped down five big rain trees, maybe more than 60 years old, in the old Penampang tamu ground in Inobong.

“Until today, the ground is vacant. They must feel great chopping down the trees,” he remarked sarcastically.

A survey of locals near the Kasigui market however revealed the majority were agreeable to the idea of having the trees chopped down as long as the road could be expanded.

They said they had grown tired of the traffic jam due to the narrow road.

Moyog assemblyman Darell Leiking urged the district council to consider preserving the remaining greenery in Penampang in future.

“I hope some historical consideration can be given to avoid chopping down such old huge trees.

“I am not against development. However, we should not chop down such trees until all other avenues to save them are exhausted.” - FMT