Gone but not forgotten: Blogger's photos preserve Bongawan's lost heritage
KIMANIS: A travel content creator never imagined that his personal documentation of the nearly century-old shophouses in Bongawan, near here, would one day become a valuable keepsake.
Sixteen years ago, Murphy Ng took photographs and wrote a blog post about the small town located about 70km from the Sabah capital.
"I wasn't aware of this building until my Bongawan friend showed it to me in 2009. I was really impressed by this piece of heritage in a rustic town.
"The buildings were in good shape back then.
"We toured around, took some photos, and mingled with the friendly locals.
"One of them even showed me inside the shoplots.
"Everything - the windows, the well, the toilet, and the cold coffee in a bottle - brought back memories, as it looked exactly like my late grandparents' old house in Tamparuli.
"I wished these could be preserved, but in my heart, I knew they wouldn't last forever," he told the New Straits Times, adding that at the time, he had hoped the government would step in to conserve them.
Despite one of the buildings bearing the inscription "1939," Ng was informed by a local elder that the 10-unit structure was a blend of shophouses built in 1922 and 1939, later joined together.
Yesterday morning, a fire razed three rows of the two-storey wooden shophouses and ten cars.
However, no casualties were reported.
"I was really upset when I found out that all the old shoplots were gone.
"We didn't just lose a valuable legacy; we lost the memories and nostalgic feelings tied to them.
"They're gone forever, and money can't bring them back.
"I'm really glad I wrote about it. Though the buildings are gone, at least we still have the photographs."
His new Facebook post featuring old pictures of the shoplots has since gone viral following the fire.
Earlier, Membakut assemblyman Datuk Mohd Ariffin Mohd Arif and former Kimanis member of parliament Tan Sri Anifah Aman visited the affected property owners.
Mohd Ariffin, who is also the Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, said he would raise the matter at the next cabinet meeting to seek assistance for those affected.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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