Punk rockers bringing light to interiors of Sabah

MALAYSIANSKINI | The non-conformist ethos of punk rockers may not be attractive to a consumerist society. However, a Sabah collective of punk musicians is striking a chord with Malaysians as they use art to generate electricity.

Through the sale of woodcut prints that depict the simplicities of village life, Pangrok Sulap raised RM75,000 to generate renewable electricity for 27 households.

Their first project in March helped villagers in Kampung Penulangon, which is nestled in the Trusmadi forest reserve in Ranau, Sabah.

Living up to punk’s do-it-yourself culture, 21 volunteers from the collective were joined by villagers and NGO Lightup Borneo - which brought the know-how on channelling hydroelectricity to homes.

Starting at the water source, they connected a micro-hydroelectric generator and laid cables all the way to the village, powering up each household with free electricity.

Kampung Penulangon was previously fitted with a limited number of cheap solar panels that did not generate enough electricity for the whole village.

Bam Hizal, a member of the Pangrok Sulap collective, said the villagers had to journey all the way from the interiors of Sabah to the closest town for fuel to power their generator, and this was costly to sustain.

“Sabah has so many rivers so we decided to take advantage of this renewable energy.

“We also go back to the village to carry out maintenance work,” he said...