KENINGAU: Villagers at Apin-Apin here built a bamboo bridge to help Form 5 students to go to school after the road collapsed more than a week ago.
One of them, John Markus, said the collapsed road structure, which used poly culvert pipes, was eroded by the rapids.
"After the road was cut off, we were told that the contractor would build an alternative road soon.
"However, after a week, there was still no sign that the work was going to start soon," he said, adding that this had caused about 25 students from four villages to miss their classes at SMK Apin-Apin.
He added that it was a shame that as schooling resumed after almost half a year, these children could not go to school due to the collapsed bridge.
Instead of waiting for the alternative road, John and a few other church members built the bridge using bamboo.
"Within a day, we managed to finish building the bridge on Sunday and the children went to school starting from yesterday.
"We have also asked for help from school bus drivers to pick the students up from across the river to their school, with a fare of RM1," he said, adding that the school was about 3km from the river.
He said the collapsed road did not only affect students, but also villagers who had to work outside Apin-Apin.
For those with vehicles, they have to take a longer route, adding 45 minutes to the journey to town.
Apart from the bridge built by John's team, there is another similar structure nearby constructed by other villagers.
Following inspections on the makeshift bridges, authorities expressed their concerns over them as the bridges were found to be unsafe and slippery. The concerns were relayed via the Keningau police Facebook page.
"Police advise users to be careful, particularly guardians or parents should safely guide their children when they access the area, which is a construction site and dangerous."