Mount Kinabalu’s longest serving porter Abbie Intang dies at 68 after decades of aweing climbers with feats of strength
by Malay Mail · Borneo Post OnlineKOTA KINABALU (Dec 28): Sabah is mourning the loss of one of Mount Kinabalu’s most enduring figures following the death of Abbie Intang, a legendary mountain porter whose strength and stamina became part of local climbing lore.
He passed away early yesterday morning at the age of 68.
Abbie, who hailed from Kampung Pinosuk in Kundasang, spent decades carrying supplies up and down the country’s highest peak.
His reputation spread widely in 2005 when a photograph of him hauling a 50‑kilogram water tank to Laban Rata went viral.
At the time, he was already in his late forties, yet still capable of feats that younger porters struggled to match.
His resemblance to composer Datuk M. Nasir earned him the affectionate nickname “M. Nasir Kinabalu” among those who worked alongside him.
Abbie’s routine was astonishing even by porter standards.
He regularly completed two ascents in a single day — a six‑kilometre climb from Timpohon Gate to Laban Rata that typically took him nearly six hours each way. His loads were equally remarkable: a 33‑kilogram water container on the first trip, followed by two gas cylinders weighing a combined 64 kilograms on the second.
His heaviest recorded haul was an 80‑kilogram car battery, a feat that cemented his reputation as “Badang Kinabalu,” a nod to the mythical strongman of Malay folklore.