RANAU: Sabah’s long-serving mountain porter Abbie Intang, widely known as “Badang Kinabalu”, died at 4.39am on Saturday at the age of 68, marking the quiet passing of one of Mount Kinabalu’s most enduring figures.
A native of Kampung Pinausok, Kundasang, Abbie spent decades as part of the unseen workforce that sustained high-altitude life on the mountain, carrying supplies so others could climb, rest and return safely.
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While climbers counted success in time and altitude, Abbie measured his days by the weight on his back, completing repeated ascents without fanfare, complaint or expectation of recognition.
He briefly came into public view in 2005 when a photograph of him, then 48, climbing from Timpohon Gate to Laban Rata with an improbably heavy load strapped to his back circulated widely.
Behind the image was a daily routine that included hauling 33-kilogramme water containers, returning the same day with two gas cylinders weighing a combined 64 kilograms, and once transporting an 80-kilogram car battery on mountain terrain.
His strength earned him the nickname “Badang Kinabalu”, while fellow porters also fondly called him “M Nasir Kinabalu” for his resemblance to the Malaysian singer, a comparison he accepted with quiet humour.
Abbie, who never saw himself as a legend, is remembered by family, colleagues and climbers as a symbol of the Sabahan spirit, whose labour made countless journeys possible without his name ever needing to be known.
