THE MYSTICAL MT. MURUD.

Mt. Murud is located on the Island of Borneo in the state of Sarawak. At 2,423m (7946 ft) it is the highest mountain in Sarawak and the fourth in Malaysia. It is part of the Kelabit Highlands and not easily accessible but still very attractive to explorers. Mt Murud straddles Sarawak and Kalimantan Borneo.

The only way to ascend this mountain is to walk up! Based on the experiences of people who had made the accent which I have read, it is not easy. This mountain is considered sacred by the people of the Borneo Evangelical Church, mainly the Lun Bawang and Kelabits who resided in the Ba Kelalan and Bario areas. Every year in the month of July the Christians of this faith would make a pilgrimage to the Church Camp located high up in this mountain (some said about 6,000 ft up) for a religious retreat. This church could accommodate 1500 people.

Reportedly this retreat or pilgrimage was started by a Lun Bawang, the late Agung Bangau. It was said that Agung Bangau used to go up Mt Murud to pray and meditate. It is also believed that he performed many miracles after praying and meditating there. This went on for many years in the late 1980s. The annual pilgrimage only started in 1990. The Church Camp was built (according to the adherents of the Borneo Evangelical Church) as an answer to the divine calling of God. Now once every two years the church holds an international revival meeting for adherents all over the world.

The belief that miracles could happen when the devotees pray and meditate at Mt Murud

increases the mystic of this mountain. The allure of Mt Murud made it an attractive destination for climbers. Some climbers made their way to Mt Murud to escape from the hustle and bustle of the hectic city life while some for the challenges it offers. Of course there are also naturalists and zoologists who ventured to Mt. Murud for her varied flora and fauna. The rich specimens made the difficult climb really worthwhile.

The first few attempts undertaken to climb Mt Murud took place in 1914 and 1920 by a Swedish climber who was also the Sarawak museum curator, J.C.Moulton ended in failure. In 1922 his successor, Eric Mjoherg, a zoologist and also a Swedish succeeded in conquering the mountain. He stayed at the peak for six days and marveled at the many different specimens of plants and animals that he saw. Below is an account by Eric Mjoherg in his book “Forest Life and Adventures in the Malay Archipelago (1988);

"The whole of the vast forest was, as it were, illuminated by the newly opened orchids, which produced such a glory of colour that we could not turn our eyes away from all their beauty. Some of the trees were actually turned into pale yellow or mauve under their covering veil of orchids. From the boughs there hung in literal garlands the yard-long clusters of the flowering Coelogyne, and even the ground, which at other times is usually dull and bare, was now gay with the delicate plant-like orchids of the Liparis variety up to the Spathoglottis- and Vanda-like types that grow in bushes almost up to a man’s head."

The enthralling description of the scene then depicts a scenario of unsurpassed natural beauty. I would really like to climb this mountain to see that first hand but I do not think I could make it!!!

Of course for enthusiastic climbers of today the climb would be reasonably easier compared to what Eric had to face when he did his climb in 1922. Today one can start the journey in a 4WD from Lawas or Ba Kelalan along well worn tracks towards Lepo Bunga shelter about 1300m up. This journey will take between 4 to 5 hours from Lawas and about 2 to 3 hours from Ba Kelalan weather and road conditions permitting of course. It will take longer if it rains. The tracks will normally be dusty and as you will be travelling in an open vehicle, it is wise to bring something to cover your nose and eyes with.

Just what is the attraction of climbing Mt Murud? For most of the adherents of the Borneo Evangelical Church it would be a time to get closer to God, a spiritual journey. This retreat or journey would provide one with an opportunity to ask the Lord for a miracle, something that could improve one’s life in areas that only God could help. For someone else, the climb may be regarded as a test of one’s strength and endurance; for another a time to be in unity with nature and to appreciate the rich flora and fauna. Yet for another person it could just be for the love of mountains! For these people the feeling of exhilaration upon conquering the mountain would be pure bliss; a great sense of achievement. Now this feeling I had experienced, I went up Mt Bromo in Surabaya, Indonesia. I went up the easy way but still it was exhilarating!

Now let me share with you what to expect when climbing Mt Murud; not first hand experience okay! Upon reaching Lepo Bunga the rest of the journey has to be done on your own two legs. It would be a very challenging climb; that’s how those who had climbed the mountain described the ascent.

At the lower reaches of the mountain most of the trees are of the dipterocarp variety; big gigantic trees with massive buttress roots. As one gets higher up these trees give way to the montane trees with their lower canopies and abundant epiphytes. There are different types

of the ginger plant species, orchids, fungi and moss. In reality one does not have to be a botanist or zoologist to appreciate the changing flora and fauna inherent in the forest system of Mt Murud. There are also a lot of nepenthes plants. The different species one sees as one got to the different altitude makes climbing this mountain a very enriching experience.

There is an alternative route of getting out of Mt Murud if one does not want to go back the way one comes from, that is from Lawas. One can track to Bario and get a flight by the Twin Otter to Miri. How I wish I am strong enough to make the trip but I have to be realistic. Let me just dream about climbing Mt Murud.