RANAU: Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching (pic) described conquering Mount Kinabalu for the second time as a “wonderful experience.”
Teo said she first reached the summit of Mount Kinabalu in 2008 when she was 27 years old.
“Yes, it was a wonderful experience to reach the summit of Mount Kinabalu for the second time. I didn’t feel as strong as I did during my first climb. I began the hike from Timpohon Gate at 8.30am yesterday (Tuesday) with 50 other climbers.
“I reached the camp at Laban Rata within five hours and 20 minutes. I began the climb at 2.30am, reached Mount Kinabalu summit in three hours, before making my way back down to Timpohon Gate, arriving at 3.25pm,” she told reporters at Kinabalu Park, near here.
Mount Kinabalu or Aki Nabalu (ancestor’s mountain) in the Kadazandusun language stands at 4,095.2 metres and is located in the Ranau district, about 90km east of Kota Kinabalu.
Teo said she climbed the mountain to inspect the work to upgrade the post box at the summit.
“This post box has been around for the past 10 years…which was officiated by the then Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Jailani Johari.
“So, as the Deputy Communications Minister, I agreed to join the climb to inspect the post box on the invitation of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Pos Malaysia,” she said.
Pos Malaysia launched its first mailbox on Mount Kinabalu in 2015, earning a spot in the Malaysia Book of Records as the highest-altitude post box in the country, located at 3,289 metres above sea level.
