THE SABAH SOCIETY

Newsletter 74 SeptemberOctober 2003

Secretariat: 39-1, 1st Floor, Damai Plaza, Phase 4, Luyang, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Postal address: P.O. Box 10547, 88806 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Tel & Fax: 088-250443 e-mail: sabsoc@po.jaring.my Website: http://www.sabah.org.my/sabahsociety Administrative Executant: Ms Grace Tsang Editor: Kay Lyons Graphic Designer: Cheng Jen Wai

Intrepid members of The Sabah Society who completed an arduous trek through Sabahs Lost World, Maliau Basin in September. They included a 13-year-old boy, whose account of the trek is on page 5 of this issue.

NEW MEMBERS
The President and the Committee members of The Sabah Society warmly welcome the following new members who have been endorsed by the Committee, and wish them a long, happy and fruitful membership. SEPTEMBER 2003 Ms Lai Cheng Jun OCTOBER 2003 Mr Chin Sau Bing Mr Francis SS Chong Mr Jimmy SP Wong Mr Peter Achleitner Ms Christine Yap Yow Yin

SECRETARIAT NOTICES
1. Speakers are needed for Sabah Society talks. If you know someone who could give a talk on relevant subjects according to the Societys aims, please submit details to the Secretariat for the consideration of the President and committee members. 2. The wide distribution of The Sabah Society Newsletter draws a lot of interest. The secretariat recently received a letter from R. Philip Watkin of Yorkshire, England, stating that he was born in Sabah on 9 January 1921 at Silimpopon coal mine, where his father was employed as an engineer. A life member had passed to Mr Watkin a copy of Newsletter 71, which contained a report on the talk by Mr Ross Ibbotson on the Silimpopon coal mine.

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THE SABAH SOCIETY TALKS AND FIELD TRIPS TALKS

D ATE 11 September 2003 TITLE Pulau Lankayan: a Sanctuary in the Sulu Sea Ms Wendy Hutton V ENUE Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort (STAR), Kota Kinabalu

FIELD TRIPS
D ATE 1314 September 2003 1420 September 2003 12 & 18 October 2003 D ESTINATION Sabah Tea Garden Sabahs Lost World Maliau Basin Borneo Marine Research Institute, UMS Aquarium and Museum N O. P ARTICIPANTS 22 10 48

TALKS Pulau Lankayan: Sanctuary in the Sulu Sea

by Wendy Hutton Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort Kota Kinabalu Thursday, 11 September 2003 ankayan, located about 1 1/2 hours by speedboat north of Sandakan, was until recently unknown to most Sabahans. What makes this tiny island in the Sulu Sea so special, apart from the fact that it is the embodiment of a tropical paradise, with white sandy beaches, clear waters and coral reefs? Until the late 1990s, Lankayan was just another beautiful island where marine turtles came ashore to lay their eggs. Two species of marine turtles (which have been swimming the worlds oceans since dinosaurs roamed the earth) are found in Sabah, the green and the hawksbill. Efforts to conserve the turtles, hunted for their meat and their eggs regarded as a delicacy, began in Sabah (then known as British North Borneo) as early as 1927. In 1963, Lankayan was designated as a turtle farm, one of 8 islands north of Sandakan where successful tenderers had the exclusive right to collect eggs. By 1977, the Sabah state government stepped up conservation efforts by creating the Turtle Islands Park to the south of Lankayan. This 1,740hectare park includes three islands and their surrounding coral reefs and the seas between the islands. After more than two decades of negotiations, six nearby Philippine islands, home to the same turtle population, are now

joined with Sabahs turtle islands to form the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area, jointly managed by Sabah Parks and the Philippines government Mr Ken Chung, the operator of successful dive lodges in Pulau Sipadan and nearby Kapalai, established Sabahs only dive resort in the Sulu Sea on Lankayan, which opened in 1998. Attractive chalets made of local materials are carefully dotted about the southern end of the 5-hectare island, still largely covered with its original vegetation. Lankayan currently attracts mostly foreign visitors, divers who come to explore the marine life of the coral reefs, and to relax in the idyllic environment. Since 1999, the management of Lankayan has been monitoring the nesting of turtles on the island, keeping eggs in a hatchery and releasing the baby turtles into the sea. In an effort to protect more than just one species, however, the management developed a plan for the entire environment in the Sugud area of the Sulu Sea. Together with Sabahs Wildlife Department, they have established a region known as Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area (SIMCA), which includes Lankayan and a large area of sea stretching towards the coast, including two small islands, Billean and Tegapil. The project is already underway, working to assess the current state of the environment, to plan and implement methods to help diminish the negative impact man is having on this environment, and to monitor the results. A sea corridor will allow the passage of boats through SIMCA, but elsewhere, boats will be banned, ensuring destructive fishing practices are stopped and allowing the reefs to regenerate and fish populations to increase. The impact of tourism in the area will be kept to a minimum, partly by the use of modern technology (such as a hydroponic system of waste recycling). Efforts will also be made to ensure land-based agriculture is carried out in a way that is sustainable for the important coastal mangrove areas as well as the coral reefs in the Sulu Sea.

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
until end of 200 13 Nov 2003 Padas River White Water Rafting Talk on Coral Reef Fishes: Inspiring Colours, Fascinating Forms and Worrying Venoms Assoc Prof Dr Annadel S Cabanban Talk on Eco-Tourism in Sabah Tengku Datuk (Dr) Adlin Visit to Kapalai Island Overnight Camping at Sayap Substation, Kota Belud Mt Kinabalu Climb via Mesilau Annual Dinner

18 Nov 2003 2123 Nov 2003 2930 Nov 2003 911 Dec2003 9 January 2004

Tengku Datuk (Dr) Zainal Adlin presenting a certificate of appreciation to Wendy Hutton for her talk on Pulau Lankayan.

FIELD TRIPS Sabah Tea Garden

1314 September 2003
by Andrew Voon xactly half of the total group of 22 members and families gathered at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet at Damai Plaza for breakfast and a shot of Colombian caffeine early on Saturday morning before setting off to Ranau for the rendezvous with the rest of the group. It was almost like the last call at the bar or one for the road, in case we were to be overdosed with tea for the next 24 hours. At 10.30 am, we arrived at the Kundasang vegetable stalls where one's compulsive shopping behaviour is suddenly awakened like a knife in a serial killer's hand. I bought a packet of beautifully ripe tomatoes for an instant salad. By 11 am sharp, we arrived at KFC Ranau to find Kay, Bill and Rina standing in orderly attention, all in Sabah Society T-shirts as ordered by the Executive Secretary. Obviously these folks were the very disciplined ones in their earlier school days. Gradually, the B and C students drifted in and by 11.30 am, we had all but one yet to show up ... probably the F student or transported by one. The group leader then decided that our cups of tea must be getting cold and must move on, and requested Mr. Ting of Sabah Tea to wait for the lone ranger. Sabah Tea Garden was very easy to locate, being just off the RanauSandakan highway, approx. 19 km from Ranau town. A drive of approximately another mile up a gravelly but decent condition track led us to the doorstep of the Teahouse and restaurant. This is where one would have breakfast, lunch and dinner ... and all the tea you could drinkor so we thought. Strangely, we were not offered a glass of hot or even cold Sabah Tea when we arrived, as one would have expected. We were welcomed by our guide Chia, who was very friendly and helpful but spoke very little Englishnot a good thing if a lot of foreign visitors are expected. We were then led to our Rungus longhouse a short distance away by Chia on his

dirt bike, a trail of 4-WDs stirring up a cloud of dust behind and I wondered if that is why our coffeeshops use tea dust. Rucksacks and large cooler boxes the sizes of full bars were unloaded, which mostly contained survival beverages for some ... then it was back to the Teahouse for lunch and again, no tea was offered. The menu was impressive in its content but in true Sabahan style, many dishes tiada stok. The dishes that were available were quite palatable, and the prices a real bargain compared to some places at the foot of the mountain. The lone ranger finally arrived as the fish and chips were placed on our table. Fish and chips in the highlands of Borneo, but no curry chicken or chik-kut-teh? After lunch, we were given a briefing by Chia about the plantation and general overview of the tea growing and harvesting process. The tea production process was to be experienced with the factory tour the next morning. From the briefing, we learnt that Sabah Tea was started as a Berjaya government initiative in 1978, under the Desa or KPD banner. A convenient privatisation exercise in the mid-1990s eventually led to the plantation being sold to a reputable trading and manufacturing enterprise just 2 years ago. Comprising a total 6000 acres, there are only slightly more than 1000 acres planted with tea and an additional 55 acres with organic tea. Three methods of harvesting are used handpicking, bagging or machine clipping, which requires three workers to operate. Bagging is a process where a special clipping contraption is attached to a laundry bag looking sack which makes the worker looks like a giant walking silkworm. The daily harvest is 50006000 kg of tea leaves and monthly production is said to be about 30,000 kg, which makes the yield about 1720%. There are hundreds of plots in the plantation, each of them systematically numbered and harvested by a 14-day rotation schedule. Tea seedlings are grown either from tea seeds or cuttings; both processes require 46 months nursery time in polybags before planting on the slopes, after which 3 years of growth is needed before the leaves are ready for harvesting. A plantation tour followed the briefing, again led by Chia on his trail bike. We stopped at the nursery where I attempted to javelin some wild mangoes off a tree as the thirst for some Sabah Tea got to me.

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Members of The Sabah Society on the third trip to the Sabah Tea Garden organized by the society. A highlight of the trip is the chance to stay in a Rungus longhouse specially built for the accommodation of vititors to the estate.

The plantation tour ended at the bank of the Sapaon River, where everyone eagerly anticipated a nice cool dip or swim but most ended up just watching the teh-o waters rush by. After the river, we headed back to our longhouse as it was nearing Happy Hours ... and a quick jog for me to numb the guilt before that first of many beers. Some others didn't waste as much time. Dinner was a pleasant surprise with the quality, variety and amount of food set for each table. And Sabah Tea was abundantly available, cold with no condiments offered. Some sugar syrup, honey, lemon slices or even sticks of lemongrass would have made it much more interesting. We opened our bottles of fermented grape juice and enjoyed our dinner in the natural aircon. The members-only bar resumed after dinner while about 10 night walkers spent the next hour and a half counting two frogs and two fireflies. It would have been better promoted and appreciated as a digestive walk. Those of us at the Rungus bar probably saw more wild creatures than the night walkers, aided by several doses of Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic and, after we had run out, of fermented juices and frothy barley drinks. Sunday morning, we were hoping for an English Breakfast, thinking that if there was a last opportunity for Sabah Tea to get us hooked on their teas, this was it. Bacon and eggs, grilled tomatoes and sausages, hash browns and the rest. And it was Sunday breakfast! Instead, it was a combination of fried noodles, some wet, some dry, some light and some dark. Tea was inclusive, but coffee was extrano surprises here. After breakfast, the factory tour started from the withering room where the leaves are fanned to reduce the moisture, to the grinding, roasting and sorting sections. Unfortunately, the noise of the machinery did not allow the guide to deliver his discourse effectively in any language, so we either had to wait till the end

or ask him questions at every section individually, which meant he probably had to answer the same questions many, many times. It helps to have a patient guide. Anyway, it was not difficult to figure out what was going on, but our children had to basically rely on my interpretations of the production process, which was definitely over simplified to make things easy for myself. Most of the process still requires plenty of manual labour, including packing the little teabags into outer boxes of 10 or 20 drip bags. It was obvious that for the last 25 years, the development of Sabah Tea had not moved forward muchonly 20% or less of the plantation is planted and there is still basically one blend of tea produced, although I believe more varieties are being developed by the new owners. There is organic teawhich must be quite new and we saw large 50-kg bags of tea addressed to head Down Under as well as speciality packing for some retail shops in San Francisco. This was the only indication in the entire visit so far that perhaps there is vast potential ahead for Sabah's very own Sabah Tea. There was still not a proper tea tasting session at the end of the factory tour; we were only shown that Sabah Tea does not use any artificial colouring and is pesticide free and what a good cup of tea should look like. Overall, it was quite enjoyable, but the real tea experience was rather weak. The Rungus longhouse rooms were very basic, but they were comfortable and clean. And very importantly, the bathroom facilities were clean and well maintained. Even shower gel and shampoo were provided. Other choices of accommodation are chalets and concrete bungalows. Additional activities such as horse-riding and archery provided another hour of amusement before we disbanded and headed home. For those who have not been, I would still recommend a visit although there is much room for improvement.

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Discovering Sabah's Lost World: The Maliau Basin

1420 September 2003
by Sean Lim (13 years old) was a bit apprehensive when my father told me about Maliau Basin. Nevertheless, I decided to take up the challenge. We trained for about a month in the Bukit Padang hills in preparation for the trip. The journey to our first camp, Agathis Camp, in three rugged-looking Toyota Hilux pickups, took a seemingly unending five hours. At the beginning it was smooth, but the second half was very uneven, wet, slippery, and bumpy. Finally, we reached Agathis Camp at 4:40 in the afternoon. This camp was more a building than a camp. It was very large, comfortable, and had the most facilities. There was a dart board on one of the walls, so I practised throwing darts. I managed to hit the bulls-eye three times. For dinner, we had chicken curry, rice, and fried cabbage. The night safari drive was postponed, so we spent the rest of the time packing and preparing for the next days trek to Camel Trophy camp. The first part of the journey to Camel Trophy camp, like the programme said, was very challenging. The path was steep and slippery. We ascended to the highest point at this part of the southern Maliau Basin. The rest of the journey was just gradually descending downhill. There were quite a number of leeches on this trail, but thankfully the Minyak Cap Kapak and insect repellent were effective against them. We stopped for lunch (fried rice with ikan bilis and onions) at a forest clearing called Sabung Ayam. The number of leeches decreased after Sabung Ayam. My father and I were weary to our bones, but we still managed a nice smile for the porter who took a picture of us when we reached Camel Trophy. Amazingly, this trip took only 31/2 hours! (according to the programme, it should take at least 56 hours). Camel Trophy had all the conveniences of Agathis Camp like electricity, toilets, bathrooms, and a kitchen. It was a twolevel building, the upper for sleeping and ground level for utilities. The only inconvenience was the absence of a gas cooker. We used firewood instead. On one of the walls in Camel Trophy Camp hung dozens of blocks of wood, on which were written the names and dates of people who have been to this camp. We made one, too, with the words Sabah Society, 1420 Sept 2003. Then, we all wrote our names in the remaining spaces. I felt very relieved since the worst part of the entire trip was over according to the programme. But dont you believe them! The worst was yet to come! For me, at least! Uncle Goh, all the way from KL, cooked soya sauce chicken, rice, and fried vegetables for dinner. The third day, we were to trek to the two waterfalls, Giluk and Takob-akob. We commenced our journey at 8.30 am. After about an hour, we rested at the junction for Giluk and Takobakob waterfalls. The trip to Giluk Falls was not very difficult. The guide who led us there said this waterfall has more than seven tiers. After Giluk, we headed back to the junction and trekked toward Takob-akob Falls. The way to this waterfall goes

practically vertically downwards. The steps were extremely narrow, slippery, and were packed with soft mud. My father and I had a very hard time there. The path seemed to continue deeper and deeper downwards that I thought this waterfall was underground. But at last, we arrived there at about 11.00 am. We ate our lunch there and a few of us went swimming in the pool just below the Takob-akob Falls. I overheard one of our guides tell one of the uncles that this waterfall is 50 feet high! Since we came all the way down to Takob-akob Falls, we had to climb all the way up to go back. I needed to grasp our guides hand all the way until we reached level ground again. To me, this days journey was the most gruelling. My clothes, leech socks, and shoes were stained with mud from all the slipping and falling. I got a few pricks form thorny branches as well. The next days walk was like heaven compared with the day before. It was also a lot more interesting. While on the way to the weather station, we saw many different species of monkey cup (pitcher) plants. There was water in the monkey cups and though I was curious about how the water tasted, I resisted the temptation. At first, the monkey cups were small but they got bigger as we neared the weather station. I learned that a fully grown monkey cup could hold one gallon of water! This weather station, which had a lighting rod on top of it, is able to predict the weather and check the amount of rainfall. There were also other plants like rattan and Christmas trees. When we continued on our way to Labu Camp, some of our members said they saw many species of orchids on the way. Labu Camp was a real camp, just large canvas sheets supported by logs! And there was no floorjust mud! This was the rough life! Oh! How I missed my bed at home. I promised I would never ever complain about an uncomfortable bed again. And there were no lights as well! Ive always taken Thomas Edisons invention for granted until this camp! Im not sure of the exact time we ate dinner, but it was definitely the earliest dinner in the entire trip. We had to depend on Brother Sun before it said goodnight! That night was like winter in Maliau and the skies poured until our canvases leaked. I understood a little of what being cold and poor meant after this experience. The fifth day was the climax of our journey because we were to go to Maliau Falls, the biggest of all the waterfalls in Maliau Basin. We left at 6:55 am, five minutes ahead of schedule. The path was basically going down, straight, then down again. On the way we saw a tree whose wood is called kayu gaharuan expensive and aromatic type of wood. We also saw the kayu malem treethis wood is good for furniture. By 8.00 am, we reached our destination. Maliau Falls was definitely better than the other waterfalls we visited earlier. We took a lot of pictures there, including a group photo when everyone stood holding the Sabah Society banner, before we departed. When I got back to Labu Camp, a porter who stayed behind remarked that we, the Sabah Society, broke the record for the fastest time back and forth from Maliau Falls. He also said we could compete with the porters. We left for Agathis camp at 10:45 am that very morning. This was the longest journey of all. I felt like I was going to never-land, never reaching, never ending! During the walk we saw wild durians, mangosteens, rambutans, and Munyik durians. I cannot describe my sense of relief when the guide

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said we had arrived in Agathis Camp. Nothing was more welcoming at that moment. Everyone reached Agathis Camp between 2:55 and 4:20 pm. That days journey (to Maliau Falls and back to Agathis camp) was almost 13 km! We were all half dead, but at the same time happy that we had made it. After dinner, we went for the night safari drive. We saw plenty of animals like Sang Kancil (mousedeer), bayau, deer, flying squirrels, tembadau, civets (which disturbed the rubbish in the kitchen), and jungle rats. After breakfast the next morning, we decided to go for a nature trail. We saw two tiger leeches on a leaf. They were green in colour and about 3-4 inches long when they stretched. We didnt see animals, but many types of plants, herbs and wood that I could not identify. We also saw the biggest Agathis tree in the Maliau Basin area. It was huge! It would take at least 78 people to stretch their arms round the tree. After lunch, we visited the site for the proposed Maliau Basin Study Centre. I felt sad because I think by the time they finish the buildings, Maliau would not be a virgin forest anymore because the new buildings look menacing, and massive forest lands would have to be cleared for the buildings. We also walked to a river (I forget its name). The amazing thing about this river was that there was coal everywhere on its banks. There must be millions worth of coal on that river. The next day we left for Tawau and finally home to KK. I got a certificate for completing this wonderful journey. On my certificate, it says our entire journey covered 30.6 km. I was very proud of myself for managing to make it in Maliau without any problem. It was a very good experience for me, not only physically but also psychologically. I realized after this trip that I was much tougher than I gave myself credit for. This new awareness taught me not to give up easily in the face of adverse situations. My father was even happier than I was because he lost a few pounds! (which he had been struggling to lose all these yearsand he could get into his tight-fitting jeans!). And whenever he faces any problems nowadays, he would remark, "What is this? If I can conquer Maliau, I can conquer anything!" We are very thankful for this experience.

Borneo Marine Research Institute, UMS Aquarium and Museum 12 October 2003
by Aw Chak Teng n the fine afternoon of 12 October, 24 Sabah Society members turned up at the UMS gate to visit the much anticipated (but as yet unopened) Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) aquarium. Then the weather turned very nasty. However, the members were led by none other than Datuk Chan himself, very ably assisted by Grace, and the convoy was directed in a very precise fashion by Mark, right to the door of the BMRI aquariumeveryone very wet, but safe. Dr Annadel (of BMRI fame) was right at the front doorstep to warmly welcome all of us. After a short briefing by her, Datuk Chan himself directed in an equally precise manner, a certain magic box (of Sabah Society fame) around the room until it finally completed its round and reached him safely. Then the tour began. First, we stared upat a replica of what Sipadan looks like, below water. The various styrofoam caricatures were real lookalikes. Next, we proceeded to a small tank full of living corals and little fishes; followed by a big tank full of more living corals and bigger fishes. Surprisingly, it was not the fishes that surprised me, colourful and beautiful though they were. What attracted me was the very dull and dense aquarium tanksolid yet pliable; suitably curved in all the right places and readily transparent ... and made of very expensive perspex (so forget it for your living/bed room). The highlight of the tour belonged to the centrepiece ( piece de resistance?)the biggest tank in the room. It was filled with fishes (from the beloved Nemo to the mousy Groupa); nonfishes (giant clams and sea-cucumbers to little urchins?); complete with artificial respiration and satellite lighting for the whole tank. Wow! We ended the tour very impressed both by the entire set-up, and the variety of marine life-forms which share the earth with us.

Sabah Society President, Datuk C.L. Chan, thanking Assoc. Prof. Dr Annadel S. Cabanban for giving a group of Sabah Society members a sneak preview tour of the Borneo Marine Institute Aquarium and Museum at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. A second group visited a week later.