Sabah Villagers Take Matters Into Their Own Hands After Waiting 15 Years For A Road
After being ignored for over a decade, the villagers in Kampung Dowokon decided to take the initiative into their own hand to connect to the nearest town and villages. However, there's more to be done.
Cover image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoadAbout 230km from KK, in the Kudat Division of Sabah, lies a small town called Pitas, with a population of about 38,000 people
Pitas district, according to the World Bank in 2010, is one of the poorest and most undeveloped areas in Malaysia. A 42-year-old farmer Maklin Masiau calls Kampung Dowokon, a remote village in the Pitas district, the "Lost World" because not many people have visited it as it is inaccessible by road.
In 1999, a road linking 7 villages in the region was approved under the Seventh Malaysia Plan. But it was abandoned after only a few kilometres of construction. No reason was given for the stop order.
Since then, 15 years passed, and the villagers kept waiting for the government to fulfill its promises. They kept knocking on the doors of politicians, civil servants, and ministers to appeal to them to complete the last 11km of the project. Their standard response: "We will look into the matter and consider it."
Back when it was reported that the government would build a Pitas Pandan Pinapak road, it had brought a hope of change in the remote region.
"When I read that a road would be built to connect my village to Pitas town, I thought it was a turning point for Kampung Dowokon," said Maklin, adding, "I thought the villagers' difficulties and sufferings would end and their quality of life would improve."
The irony here was that the district Public Works Department had already erected a signboard — Jalan Pandan Meliau Pinapak — proclaiming that the road had been completed.
**The road, however, did not exist!**
The villagers there do not want much
"Actually, we do not expect a highway to our villages, just a stretch that is safe and comfortable to all users," Janting Madisa, a fomer village head, said while speaking to The Rakyat Post.
So last year, the villagers gave up on waiting for the promised infrastructure and decided to build a 7.4km timber road themselves
Image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoad
Image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoad
Raising their own funds and borrowing machinery to help in its construction, the 8km road took about four months to complete.
Although it may not be a finished tarred road like the one that was initially promised to them, the villagers are still counting their blessings.
Image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoad
It now only takes an hour for students to get to school instead of three
Image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoad
Image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoad
However, the existing road is still impassable when it rains
The villagers, however, say "we still have faith in the government," and believe they would receive better facilities and infrastructure in the future
Image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoad
Meanwhile, the road linking the villages in the area has saved farmers' lives as they are able to transport their products faster now
Image via Pitas Road Project #PitasRoad
