A catastrophic fire that swept through Kampung Lok Buta in Numbak, Kota Kinabalu early Friday morning has left a community shattered and one family grappling with a tragedy they believe might have been prevented had they known their three grandchildren were still inside the burning house. The three victims—Nana Abdullah aged four, her brother Mohd Asrul Abdullah aged six, and their cousin Nurfarahdilah Mohd Tajihah aged eight—perished in the blaze that ultimately consumed more than 200 homes across the settlement.
The grandfather, M Nasir Jalani, aged 68, provided a haunting account of the moments following the fire's discovery, describing how he awoke to the sound of neighbours screaming that an adjacent house had caught fire. Realizing that his own home was at risk and could not be saved, he rushed outside to escape the advancing flames. In a desperate attempt to locate his grandchildren, he ran back into the house searching for them, only to find no trace of the three young ones inside.
The weight of not knowing became unbearable when the family regrouped at a safe location some distance from the burning settlement. It was only then, as survivors gathered and were accounted for, that the horrifying realization struck: the three children had never made it out. M Nasir's words at the scene—"If I knew they were in the room, perhaps I could have saved them"—encapsulate the profound sense of loss and regret that now defines his family's tragedy.
According to M Nasir's account, the three grandchildren had arrived at his Kota Kinabalu home merely days before the fire, invited to stay and celebrate the wedding of one of his own children. What was meant to be a joyful family gathering and milestone celebration instead became the setting for an unimaginable loss. The sudden nature of the disaster left no time for goodbyes or second chances, a reality that weighs heavily on survivors who had taken the children's presence for granted.
The scale of destruction in Kampung Lok Buta extends far beyond the loss of the three young lives. The fire's rapid spread destroyed residential properties across the densely populated settlement, leaving hundreds of families displaced and searching for temporary shelter. The incident highlights the vulnerability of informal communities where housing density and building materials create conditions conducive to catastrophic fire spread, a pattern recognized across Southeast Asian urban settlements where low-income residents face disproportionate fire risk.
Roslani Ladin, aged 65, another resident of the settlement and a fisherman by trade, managed to evacuate more than ten family members from the path of the advancing flames. Demonstrating quick thinking under pressure, Roslani made multiple trips by boat to ferry his family to a relative's home located at a safer distance from Kampung Lok Buta. Though his own house was ultimately consumed in the blaze, his family's evacuation efforts proved successful, a fact that underscores both the challenges of escape in waterfront settlements and the importance of having contingency plans.
Roslani's account reveals something significant about the community's historical experience with fire risk. Having lived in Kampung Lok Buta for more than two decades, he recalled previous fires in the region but none that had directly affected his immediate neighbourhood until Friday's disaster. His observation that "This is the first time it has happened in Kampung Lok Buta" suggests the settlement had perhaps grown complacent about fire prevention, a common pattern in communities that escape major incidents for extended periods.
The immediate aftermath has forced displaced residents like Roslani into precarious temporary housing situations, with families now relying on the hospitality of relatives and friends. The social and economic dimensions of this disaster will likely persist for months or years, as families attempt to rebuild homes and lives disrupted by minutes of inferno. The loss of shelter, personal possessions, and community infrastructure represents a profound setback for people often living on economic margins.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud, who represents the Sepanggar parliamentary constituency, was present at the scene, signalling government awareness of the incident's severity. The presence of federal-level representation reflects recognition that disasters of this scale demand coordinated response across multiple government agencies responsible for emergency services, relief distribution, housing assistance, and long-term community recovery.
The Kampung Lok Buta fire underscores ongoing vulnerabilities in Malaysia's informal settlements and low-income residential areas, where fire safety infrastructure, building regulations enforcement, and community emergency preparedness often lag behind requirements in more affluent neighbourhoods. The tragedy of three children's lives lost, combined with the displacement of hundreds of families, creates urgency around fire prevention measures, early warning systems, and community education programmes tailored to settlement contexts.
For M Nasir and his extended family, the loss extends beyond the immediate grief of three young lives taken suddenly. The fire has fractured what should have been a celebratory period, transforming the memory of his child's wedding from joy into a marker of tragedy. Such personal devastation, multiplied across hundreds of displaced families in Kampung Lok Buta, represents the human cost of fire disasters in closely-built settlements where escape routes are limited and warning time negligible.
