Bingkor Raw Water Intake, Keningau - An Unplanned Journey Back in Time

After our visit to the Keningau Oath Stone, we continued our drive to another much-publicized accommodation in Keningau - Taman Bandukan Riverside Resort. Its advertisements had been so impressive that I had even considered staying there, had its location been closer to Keningau town.

However, a brief chat with the resort reception after arrival and a stroll around the compound turned out to be a letdown. The fleet of bicycles for rent and the boats for hire on their lake were all in various states of disrepair.

The Bingkor River nearby is certainly pleasant enough, with its calm, scenic surroundings, but it, too, falls short of being a compelling reason to spend an entire day there.

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On our way back after visiting Kampong Bandukan, just as the car rounded a bend, my wife suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, I just saw the Bingkor Water Intake!”

I instinctively made a U-turn and pulled over to take a closer look. In an instant, a flood of memories came rushing back - this was one of the very sites I had visited while working for Antah Biwater back in 1988, some thirty-seven years ago.

At that time, my task was to inspect the location and assess its suitability for the construction of a raw water intake. The visit was part of a series of site inspections and evaluations of potential sites for numerous schemes under a federal rural water supply project in Sabah. I eventually left Antah Biwater before the intake’s construction was completed, but standing there again after all these years felt like unexpectedly turning a page back in my own professional history.

Raw water intake.

Bingkor River, a short distance upstream of the intake.

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Back in 1988, Malaysia was emerging from the severe 1985-1986 economic recession. I had just left Permodalan Bumiputra Sabah Berhad, a government-linked company that, like many others, was grappling with financial difficulties. Soon after, I joined Antah-Biwater as a Senior Engineer.

An old photo taken at the office of Antah-Biwater in 1988.

Simon Chin, a fresh graduate engineer also worked for Antah-Biwater.
He later joined our consultancy practice for a few years as an
Assistant Resident Engineer for a major KK Water Supply
Extension Project.

At the time, Antah-Biwater had secured a massive RM1.4 billion Design-and-Build contract to implement rural water supply schemes across Malaysia. Ten locations in Sabah were identified under this programme: Kota Marudu, Beluran, Keningau, Kota Belud, Tambunan, Telupid, Beaufort, Tungku, Kuala Penyu, and Sipitang.

The rural schemes were spread across the state - reaching the northern stretches of the Kudat Division, the eastern reaches of the Sandakan Division, the southeast in Tawau Division, as well as the West Coast and the Interior. With a company vehicle at my disposal, I spent countless hours travelling through winding roads, remote villages, and river crossings. My duties included securing permits to enter sites for the construction of intakes, treatment plants, reservoirs, and pipelines. Along the way, I built professional ties with many engineers and officers from the PWD, DID, local authorities, and the Lands & Surveys Department.

On the home front, life was equally demanding. My three children - then aged seven, five, and three - were in the care of our stay-home maid. Whenever I was away and couldn’t fetch my daughter from school, my wife, who was then the principal of SM St. Mary in Tuaran, had to make the long rush back to do it herself.

Those were indeed challenging times - a constant balancing act between career demands and family life. My tenure with Antah-Biwater lasted just over a year. By mid-1989, I decided to leave the company and move into engineering consultancy practice, opening a new chapter in my professional journey.