'Highlands in Kemabong feel like Kundasang'
Published on: Thursday, November 14, 2019
By: Yayasan Dalimpos
TENOM: Persatuan Belia Pekan Nabawan Chairman, Severinus Lindung said being in Rundum Highlands in Kemabong feels almost like being in Kundasang or Kinabalu Park.
He said the tropical rainforest and breeze provides one with an unforgettable experience, apart from the cool and refreshing air, despite an unusually cold weather.
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“The visit to Rundum Highland is part of the Persatuan Belia Nabawan’s activity in conjunction with the patriotism and national programme,” he said, adding that it gave the 20 members a breath of fresh air.
He said the purpose of the tour was also to see for themselves the challenges and environment in Rundum Highlands, instead of just hearing from others.
He noted tourist attractions in Rundum Highlands such as Umit Waterfall, British Fort, horse range, traditional craft exhibition, traditional dance, Rabbit Farm, and Cultural Centre, among others.
He said Rundum’s friendly community is also an attraction itself where the youths are respectful, hospitable and welcoming.
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“Although the journey to get there can be quite challenging as we have to go through steep hilly terrain, it is worth the journey once you arrive at the peak of Rundum Highlands,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nabawan Officer, Madius Ansagu, of the Youth and Sports Ministry, said that the youth programme is to provide exposure and encouragement to communicate and build relationships among youths in the interior.
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He said such programmes could expose, foster ties and provide motivation to the youths to appreciate nature and enjoy the fresh air in Rundum Highlands.
“It is part of the core programme implemented by the Ministry’s Youth Association, which encourages youth participation in useful programmes to keep away from social ills,” he said.
Kampung Rundum village head, Daud @ Anggerik Ungga, 50, said the village which was founded in the 1980s is isolated and that access to the city can be quite difficult.
He said the origin of Kg Rundum was taken from a large tree overlooking the village. It was said that villagers chopped down the tree to get a better view of the area and every time they do that, the tree will grow back again the next day.
This continued until one night when a villager had a dream in which it was revealed to him that to stop the tree from growing again and again, they must get a hedgehog’s spike and pierce it into the tree.
The villagers did just that and the tree stopped growing.
He said Kg Rundum has about 280 villagers, most of whom depended on agricultural produce and livestock farming but that tourism development has brought about many changes and improvement to the population.
He said this was all largely due to the numerous efforts carried out by Kemabong Assemblyman Jamawi Jaafar in developing tourism in Rundum Highlands.
On another note, he hoped the current government would build a 13-kilometre road from the area to Pekan Kemabong including a health clinic and power supply, which are important to Rundum Highlands.
Meanwhile, Ansuku Limar, 49, from Kg Rundum Village Community Management Council, said farming activities carried out by villagers include coffee, vegetables and paddy.
He said there are many tourism packages that the visitors can choose from in Rundum Highlands.
He said that Kg Rundum came into existence after villagers from a previous village decided to migrate to the current area to cultivate crops.
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