Incident still fresh in the minds of folks
Published on: Tuesday, June 07, 2016
Kundasang: It was 8am Sunday with the writer's eyes straying on and off towards Mount Kinabalu's peak at a distance from the town of Kundasang, located 95 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu.The locals went about their routines, with many getting ready to start their business as there is a day market or 'tamu' that takes place in the town on the weekends.However, this writer's excitement is not over the visit to the 'tamu' or the view of the idyllic district's panorama against the sunny sky. It is the chance to met the people who were ready to share their experience during a calamity that occurred exactly a year ago.
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"I'm Junaydie Sihan," said a well built man who introduced himself to the writer.Junaydie appeared casual yet sporty, right from his cap to his shoes. Only his sling bag denoted the hallmark of the Kinabalu mountain guides who emerged as the unsung heroes in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, on Friday, June 5, 2015. "The earthquake in Mount Kinabalu is still fresh in my mind and I keep recalling the incident on and off," he said when starting the conversation with the writer at the Kundasang Driving Range, a golfing spot near the town.Junaydie, 39, feels downcast each time he passes through the areas where the climbers and mountain guides were killed by falling rocks.
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"Each time I pass the place I feel sad," he said recollecting the tragic event.The earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 at the Richter Scale struck Ranau, killing 18 people, including 4 mountain guides and Singaporean schoolchildren on expedition. The earthquake that struck at 7.15 am is of the highest magnitude in the country, with the last one in Lahad Datu in 1976 measuring 5.8.
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In the aftermath Junaydie, who was not on the mountain when the earthquake struck, rounded up his colleagues and joined the authorities in the search and rescue operations (SAR). Their way up to look for the victims and those stranded on the mountain was treacherous, often slowed down by the after shocks. Junaydie even feared for his own life. "But I told myself that I had to do it. I wanted to help bring down the victims as soon as possible as it was dangerous to stay up there for long."When we reached there, I heard people crying and there were bodies covered up by the survivors," he said of the first sight that greeted him when he arrived at the affected part of the mountain.Junaydie and his colleagues went up there on their own volition and they knew that they were the best people to help the SAR team as they were familiar with the Kinabalu terrain."Tough we were not called, we volunteered," he stressed.Junaydie learnt a lot by joining the SAR team especially in working together as a group to ensure their own safety and the success of the SAR efforts.The earthquake had destroyed parts of the Timpohon Trail and the Mesilau Trail to Laban Rata prompting the closure of climbing activities until December 2015.This affected Junaydie and his colleagues who were making a living from the climbing activities on Mount Kinabalu.However, their good deeds were rewarded when many parties provided assistance while awaiting the climbing activities to resume.However, for Junaydie and his colleagues, the biggest help provided by the state government is the immediate allocation to clear up the rubbles and open up the routes to the summit."This enabled climbing activities to resume and provided us the opportunity to earn. This is what is important to us," he said.Another mountain guide met by the writer in Kundasang, Hairi Rainin, 32, was on his way up with some climbers when the earthquake struck. It was both frightening and an unforgettable experience, but his love for the mountain made him continue as a mountain guide. "Each time before we start climbing, I will remind the climbers on what they can and cannot do. It is all for their own safety."We have to respect the dos and don'ts where ever we are," said Hairi who is now a member of the Mountain Search and Rescue (MOSAR) team.Just days before the earthquake a group of 10 foreigners is said to have shown disrespect to the sacred Mount Kinabalu by posing naked at the peak. The locals believe this had angered the mountain spirit, hence unleashing the earthquake. Meanwhile, Kinabalu Park Manager Yassin Miki is happy to note that both the number of daily visitors or those who stay overnight at the Kinabalu Park is back to normal except in Mesilau which has been cut off after the roads were badly damaged. "Climbing activities on Mount Kinabalu is slowly returning to normal," he said.Based on the statistics, Yassin said up tO May 31, 17,274 visitors have been recorded since climbing activities resumed on Dec 1, 2015. Out of this figure 9,550 were foreigners and 7,724 locals.Ranau District officer Faimin Kamin noted that life is slowly getting back to normal here with damaged buildings and roads restored.A vegetable seller in Kundasang town, Ainurrizawani Mairin, 22, noted that traders were back in business unlike in the aftermath when their business was badly affected as visitors kept away from Kundasang.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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