BORNEAN POP CULTURE

These two lads are making a change in Sabah thanks to their ginger craft soda label, Uinah

- ALISON LOH

Mention Sabah to city folks and the first few imageries that comes to mind are acres of lush rainforests and wildlife, vibrant beaches, indigenous communities and rural sceneries. With its naturally rich earth and gorgeous landscape, it's no wonder Sabah has become an attractive gem for both tourists and major companies.

When the Bornean state, along with Sarawak, joined Malaysia on 16th September 1963, progress started coming to the fore. Towns began to take shape and the tourism industry began to flourish.

Yet despite all these advancements, Sabah has always been the unappreciated sibling of Malaysia. That's just one side of the story, however, because two Sabahans are changing their beloved homeland's narrative with their craft soda business known as Uinah.

The story of Uinah began with two childhood friends, James Wong and Matthias Tan, who both shared their love for ginger craft soda and their homeland.

Before the duo joined forces to create Uinah, they were on very different paths. For Tan, he dabbled in tourism for eight years before joining the oil and gas industry, spending another eight years there. "Being in the tourism sector really widened my perspective of Sabah and made me realise its potential in the agriculture and tourism sector," Tan said.

Loving the benefits and warm taste that ginger craft sodas provide, Tan and Wong looked into creating their very own craft soda by using Sabah’s native Tambunan ginger.

According to Tan, these herbaceous roots come from the small town of Tambunan, which lies within the Crocker Range. Its volcanic soil is naturally enriched with minerals and is responsible for the ginger’s unique spicy and floral taste.