In 2011, Penang-born activist Ong Boon Keong answered a Sarawak village’s call for electricity, using his expertise in micro-hydro energy to bring light to a community in darkness.
This sparked the creation of Lightup Borneo, an NGO providing clean energy to off-grid communities in Sabah, Sarawak, and Orang Asli villages across Peninsular Malaysia.
For his noble efforts, Ong is named as one of the 10 winners of the Star Golden Hearts Award 2025, an annual award by The Star that honours everyday Malaysian unsung heroes.
00:03We are one of the winners of Star Golden Heart Award 2025.
00:30In a hill village outside Ranau, the first flicker from a micro-hydro switch turned darkness into possibility.
00:45That light's journey began hundreds of kilometers away in 2011,
00:50when Penang-born activist Ong Boon Kiong answered a Sarawak village's plea for power,
00:56using his knowledge of micro-hydro energy to bring light when none existed.
01:02By 2014, he and a small band of volunteers had built a few systems in Ulu Bengo,
01:08paving the way for dozens more across Borneo.
01:12They have no electricity in their villages as well as so many other villages in Borneo.
01:18So, we tried quite hard to raise the fund to get it done by 2014.
01:26After we have installed the hydro, three hydro in one go actually, in Bengo.
01:31There are requests for hydro all over of Sarawak.
01:35And more importantly, there are even more people who are willing to donate towards the hydro.
01:41That spark gave rise to Light Up Borneo, the NGO he founded to bring clean electricity,
01:49to off-grid communities across Sabah, Sarawak and orang asli villages in Peninsular Malaysia.
01:56The model is simple.
02:05Villagers find a steady stream, light up tests its flow, funds are raised,
02:10and volunteers install a pelton wheel turbine to turn water into power.
02:17Ong said every project begins with humility, asking the community what they truly need
02:22and working with them, not for them.
02:25Well, our operation actually could not succeed without the villagers' input.
02:31When we first come to inspect the site,
02:34it is the villagers who tell us which are the best river around the village
02:38that can be used for the hydro.
02:40So, we don't take their word for granted.
02:43The villagers are involved up to installation, but also after the installation.
02:47If there's any trouble that they cannot handle themselves,
02:50they can also connect to us, like to get some spare parts from the hydro or something like that.
02:55So, they actually, after many, many years,
02:57in fact, the first hydro that we installed here in Rana,
03:00they are still in communication with us.
03:03Before any construction begins, Ong's team walks alongside villagers
03:07to survey river sources, measuring height drops and flow rates with simple tools.
03:12Together, they hold pipes, install the system, and in the process,
03:16the villagers gain skills that stay long after the lights come on.
03:21But getting to these remote places is no easy task,
03:25often requiring hours of travel through rough roads, dense forests, and winding rivers.
03:31Actually, to build a hydro is not that difficult.
03:37It's like lifting a finger. The technology is so simple,
03:40but to come here is difficult.
03:43If we come here just now, the tough part is about one hour.
03:46If you go to Longpasya, you go to Bensiangan, you go to Baklalan,
03:51the tough road is like four to six, seven hours.
03:55And in Semenanjung, some of the challenges actually, you need to even walk for hours to get to the Orang Asli village.
04:02Yet, all that effort pays off.
04:10When Ong revisited their first project a decade later,
04:13he found it still running strong, maintained entirely by the locals.
04:18I have a familiarity with hydro, so I thought if I cannot help to build roads,
04:23and provide clinics, and schools, and phone to them,
04:26electricity is one thing we can help.
04:33Every time we light up a village, we are very, very excited about it
04:38because for people who come from town, to turn on the light is really nothing at all.
04:44They take it for granted that this is part of their life, their lifestyle.
04:49But for villages, this is a very significant moment,
04:52and you can see the happiness is written on their face.
05:06In Kampung Mindahuan Lamarana, one of Light Up Borneo's latest projects,
05:10village chief Lino Ikut remembers nights once lit only by kerosene lamps and damar resin.
05:17First of all, for her life didn't have electrical assistance,
05:22she used to paint water and the second ones,
05:25she used to paint a damar stone,
05:27which was used up traditional paper for the ancient frame.
05:31Until then, at one point, for the S.
05:34The Leslie開ish Lampusola that wasумed to the house,
05:38she found our body in the hall,
05:40and we feel like a common expense now.
05:42Because, in the city, I didn't get anything like this, so in the area, I had a lot of trouble with the Tulus Siklas.
05:57It was 100% successful and I was very happy.
06:12The project in this village was made possible by Sabahan Seramisis, Hannah Bath, who raised 38,000 ringgit through an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.
06:24Her generosity also equals the spirit of countless volunteers, locals and foreigners who keep coming back to witness how light can transform life itself.
06:42She is a village, so how can I help the community with Mr. Ong, one of the best experiences in Kuala Lumpur.
06:54The village of Kuala Lumpur, especially from projects such as Sholah in Kuala Lumpur, they don't need to buy Sholah's equipment.
07:05So the difference, after they got the light from Sholah, they were able to do activities during the night.
07:16For Ong, microhydro is not just about power, it's about dignity.
07:21Over time, I think the effect will be there.
07:24Because a lot of this provision of basic services, the impact actually comes years later.
07:29We never know, in maybe 15 or 20 years, you may actually see some people actually benefit and actually succeed from an environment with nothing to an environment where there are a lot of things that come in because of electricity.
07:44Ong hopes Light Up's model will one day be adopted and scaled up by state or federal agencies, bringing sustainable power to even more remote communities.
07:55What began as one man's idea has since grown into a chain of hands reaching across Borneo's darkest corners, proving that when people come together, even the smallest spark can illuminate a mountain.
08:08The best Everybody choses the way around those angles, why are you now in a temporary st rejected?
08:14Remember that everyone has changed, what does it make?
08:17They say to theumping road and the部分 King, of course.
08:19However, it takes a lot of time to undermine the organ and the hype for some of the fighting, the pean guards.
08:22It takes a lot of time to feel freaking out, honestly.
08:27As a result to a focus on the metal level, bringing up robotic chargeaban itself and thegae staff to the next day.
Be the first to comment