Melalap railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Melalap) is a former

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the

Western Sabah Railway Line The Western Sabah Railway Line ( ms, Laluan Keretapi Barat Sabah) in Sabah, Malaysia is the name given to rail services that operate from Tanjung Aru until Tenom in the West Coast and Interior divisions under the management of Sabah State Rail ...

located in Melalap,

Tenom Tenom ( ms, Pekan Tenom, ) is the capital of the Tenom District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 5,148 in 2010. It is located about 176 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and 128 kilometres n ...

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

, Malaysia.

History

In 1900s, like most areas in the

West Coast Division West Coast Division ( ms, Bahagian Pantai Barat) is an administrative division of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory. It also has approxi ...

; vast area of Melalap was once planted with

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...

trees. A railway extension line to Melalap was then constructed by English engineer Arthur J. West using labourers from China comprising mostly

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

people. The line was completed in 1906 to transport the produce of North Borneo as well for people to travel to major towns. The line was opened along with other lines on 1 August 1914. Following the rail service termination due to economic changes in the areas around Melalap, the station was eventually abandoned and fully closed between 1970–1971. The station began to deteriorate and covered with bush since then as nothing been done despite some attempts by certain quarters to save it due to lack in financial funding and support.

Preservation and government gazetted as historical sites

In 2016, following efforts by volunteer Richard Ker who is the founder of North Borneo Historical Society, the station area have been cleared out and renovated who then launch the #SaveMelalapStation campaign as part of the group efforts to preserve all Sabah historical structures. This was added with the help of funding from bigger companies and other parties who also contribute to the fundraising to save the station. On 9 March 2017, the station was gazetted as part of the historical sites of the modern state of Sabah by the state government. Deputy Chief Minister

Joseph Pairin Kitingan Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan (born 17 August 1940) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Sabah from April 1985 to March 1994 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Keningau from August 1986 to May ...

said on 20 March 2017 that the old station building would also be preserved as a National Heritage. On 23 February 2018, it is one of 24 heritage sites in the state that were gazetted by Sabah's State Heritage Council under new enactment of "State Heritage Enactment 2017".

Collapsed

The building suddenly collapsed on 22 April 2018 as no reinforcement work had been undertaken to stabilise the structure despite had been gazetted a month before.

References

External links

* Railway stations opened in 1914 Railway stations closed in 1971 Railway stations in Sabah Defunct railway stations in Malaysia {{Malaysia-rail-transport-stub