Raros, indescritíveis, e ameaçados pela perda de habitat, o Gato-vermelho-de-Bornéu é uma das espécies menos estudadas do mundo dos gatos selvagens. Exemplares do gato foram coletados nos séculos 19 e 20, mas um gato vivo não foi nem sequer fotografado até 1998. Agora, investigadores em Sabah, no Bornéu malaio, conseguiram capturar o primeiro filme do animal. Com duração de sete segundos, o vídeo (veja abaixo) mostra claramente o gato de cor marrom-avermelhada em seu habitat natural.

Durante três anos, o Programa Global Canopy tem procurado os gatos selvagens de Bornéu com câmeras escondidas. Entre outras espécies, incluem o leopardo nublado Sunda, o gato marmoreado e o gato de cabeça chata. Mas o Gato-vermelho-de-Bornéu é a única espécie inteiramente de Bornéu. Assim como a gravação do primeiro vídeo do gato, as primeiras fotos do animal também foram tiradas em Sabah.

Devido à perda de habitat e ao desmatamento, em função da expansão das plantações de óleo de palma na região, o Gato-vermelho-de-Bornéu está listado como ameaçado pela Lista Vermelha da IUCN, e sua população está em declínio. Se as taxas de desmatamento continuarem como é esperado, os pesquisadores estimam que a população já pequena de gatos vai cair mais 20% na próxima década.

O Gato-vermelho-de-Bornéu não está sozinho em seu sofrimento. Quatro das cinco espécies de gatos selvagens de Bornéu são classificados pela IUCN como ameaçados de extinção devido ao desmatamento contínuo.

“Nenhum outro lugar tem uma percentagem maior de gatos selvagens ameaçados”, explica Jim Sanderson, um especialista em gatos pequenos do mundo. Salientando que 80% dos gatos de Bornéu estão em risco de extinção, Sanderson acrescenta que “não existe um destes gatos selvagens que constituam uma ameaça direta para os seres humanos”.

Tão pouco é conhecido sobre o Gato-vermelho-de-Bornéu que até mesmo a sua dieta permanece um grande mistério.

Para ler a matéria original, clique aqui

Abaixo, o único vídeo existente do Gato-vermelho-de-Bornéu:

An 11 day safari taking in the highlights of Sabah, Borneo. Visit Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, the worlds largest Orang Utang Sanctuary.

An 11 day safari visiting the highlights of Sabah, Borneo. Travellers visit the renowned Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, the worlds largest Orang Utan Sanctuary. This much documented and world renowned centre rehabilitates Orang Utans rescued from captivity and those orphaned and displaced by logging activities until they are fit to be released for independent life in their natural habitat. This is a perfect opportunity for travellers to see exactly what threats the Orang-utans are facing and the effort required to put a stop to these issues. A visit to the Sanctuary will allow you to come in close contact with the remarkable “man of the forest”. It is interesting and exciting to watch as these large red apes are astonishingly gentle, highly intelligent and will gaze at you with almost disconcerting frankness. In the evening set off into the jungle in search of the nocturnal jungle wildlife.

Source: Nature & Kind Travel Collection

Right now, I am dying for a pre-work-servitude vacation! So I’m thinking of maybe taking a short trip to bkk or Phuket next week. And on this note of vacation browsing, I’ve started keeping a list of possible vacation spots for when the boy arrives in February (for Chinese New Year!). And I’m fascinated by the prospect of going to East Malaysia for some diving, snorkelling and beaching awesomeness at Sidapan Kapalai (these islands look so beautiful!) or going hiking, camping and canoeing through Gunung Mulu National Park. They’re both pretty spectacular looking, aren’t they?

[images via Sidapan Kapalai Dive Resort and junfive]

I’ve just been to Borneo and the land of sweaty and insect-infested jungle, rare and unusual monkeys such as the Probiscus or orang-utan and even (previously) cannibalistic tribal groups.

Mother and baby orang-utan, Semenggok Rehabilitation Centre

I’m in the process of updating photos to my website on this amazing region in East Malaysia. My favourite so far is this one of a female orang-utan with her baby. The baby was quite nervous about the watching crowd and shrank into its mothers hairy armpits but the mother drank milk and ate fruit without batting an eyelid.

At the rehabilitation centre the animals are fed twice a day because the forest simply can not sustain the numbers there. Some travellers felt the centre was little more than a glorified zoo because while the animals were free to come and go as they pleased they had also become dependent on the food provided. My feeling was at least they were safe from poachers and deforestation by staying near the centre. And the guaranteed opportunity of seeing a semi-wild orang-utan was too great a chance to pass up.

I’ll be uploading more images of Borneo over the coming weeks to this page.

——–

Feel free to email Jo at admin@visitedplanet.com with your comments/thoughts/photo aspirations.  See and learn more at www.visitedplanet.com

RM1 bln for Lawas-Bario road: Tengah
By Philip Kiew

LAWAS: The government has a plan to link this town to Ba Kelalan and Bario highlands by road at an estimated cost of RM1 billion.

Second Minister of Planning and resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan talked about this yesterday at Buduk near here at an earth-breaking ceremony for Long Luping-Ba Kelalan road and construction of Bailey bridges.

Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi officiated at the function.

“This could only be implemented in stages as the distance between Lawas and Ba Kelalan is 152 kilometres, and we hope the link to reach Bario,” Tengah said.

He pointed out that these highlands are in dire need of a road to facilitate the movement of the people and boost their economic activities.

“I call upon all the people along the proposed route to be cooperative as far as the project is concerned,” he said.

“Only with a good road system can the highland development really take off. And I thank the prime minister for sending his political secretary to Ba Kelalan shortly after taking office.”

Zahid said implementing development projects was a mandate given by the people to the government.

Thus his ministry will implement any community project on the instruction of the government.

This has been proven with funds channelled to the National Security Council headed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who was also present in Ba Kelalan yesterday.

Nazri said the prime minister’s fast approval of the project for Ba Kelalan indicated that he was sensitive to the people’s requests brought up by the state assemblyman Nelson Balang and Lawas MP Datuk Henry Sum Agong who had met him personally.

It is also in appreciation for the contributions of the Ba Kelalan people for their role in defending the border during the confrontation with Indonesia.

Earlier on, on behalf of the National Security Council, Nazri handed over to the people the first of four Bailey bridges built by the army.

The second phase of the Long Luping-Ba Kelalan road, which includes six bridges and over 90 culverts, will start on Dec 1.

It is expected to be completed by July 31 next year.

Soil stabilisation engineering is included in this RM48-million road upgrading exercise.

Royal Malaysian Army General Tan Sri Muhammad Ismail Jamaluddin, head of engineering Corps Regimen, Brigadier General Dato Pahlawan Abdul Nasser Ahmad, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister Office Naroden Majais, Lawas MP Henry Sum Agong, Ba Kelalan assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining and community leaders were among those present.

(Oleh: Willy Yanto Wijaya)

Sudah sekian lama penulis menanti-nantikan kesempatan ekspedisi di bumi Kalimantan/ Borneo. Bulan Agustus yang lalu akhirnya tercapai juga.

Hari mulai menjelang malam ketika pesawat mendarat di bandara Supadio, Pontianak. Suasana Pontianak di malam hari memang terlihat cukup dinamis, di sepanjang jalan protokol banyak berkumpul encek-encek (bapak-bapak) yang duduk kongkow-kongkow sambil minum kopi. Penulis pun mencoba menelusuri beberapa ruas jalan utama seperti Jalan Gajah Mada, Tanjung Pura, dan Diponegoro. Populasi masyarakat Tionghoa di kota ini bisa dibilang lumayan banyak, dengan dialek Teowchew agak dominan. Buah langsat yang manis dan murah meriah juga membanjiri kota Pontianak saat itu, hanya Rp.10 ribu untuk 3 atau 4 kilo.

Keesokan malamnya, dengan Bus Tebekang Express, penulis pun berangkat menuju ke Kuching, Sarawak – Malaysia. Perjalanan memakan waktu sekitar 7 jam hingga di Entikong (pos perbatasan Indonesia – Malaysia). Karena pos imigrasi perbatasan baru buka jam 5 subuh, kami pun para penumpang terpaksa harus menunggu. Kabar baiknya, tidak ada fiskal maupun biaya sepeser pun yang mesti kita bayar untuk melewati imigrasi perbatasan ini, kecuali ongkos bus tentunya. Kabar buruknya, jalan sepanjang Pontianak – Kuching ini rusak parah di beberapa bagian; di beberapa ruas jalanan ada yang masih belum beraspal.

Hari telah subuh ketika kami melewati pos perbatasan Tebedu (milik Malaysia). Embun dan kabut agak menghalangi pandangan, dan beberapa tonjolan pegunungan tampak di agak kejauhan, menjadi “tiang pancang alami” yang menyekat wilayah Kalimantan (Indonesia) dengan Sarawak (Malaysia). Secara umum, kondisi alam/ vegetasi di Sarawak tidaklah jauh beda dengan di Indonesia. Hanya aspek-aspek sosio-kultural yang agak beda: seperti sistem penomoran plat kendaraan yang tentunya sudah berbeda, juga pemakaian bahasa seperti “tandas awam” (bahasa Melayu dari “toilet”).

Dari pagi hingga siang, kami menelusuri pusat kota Kuching. Kota Kuching bisa dibilang sudah cukup maju, mungkin sedikit di atas Pontianak, dan juga lebih teratur. Angkot (yang di sana disebut “kereta sewa”) rata-rata hanya bertarif 1-2 ringgit untuk tujuan dalam kota. Siang hingga petang hari, penulis menyempatkan diri berkunjung ke salah satu objek pantai (sekitar 1,5 jam dari Kuching) yaitu “Damai Beach”.

Damai Beach sebenarnya memiliki corak pantai yang lazim (biasa) saja, akan tetapi suasana yang lebih lengang membuatnya menjadi tempat pelarian yang ideal dari hiruk pikuk. Beberapa turis bule tampak berbaring santai menjemur diri di atas pasir. Penulis yang sudah hampir sehari-semalam belum mandi, akhirnya nekat mencemplung ke Laut China Selatan untuk berenang. Ukh, ternyata memang benar air laut rasanya asin ya, he..he.. dan sialnya karena berenang di tempat yang terlalu dangkal, akhirnya kaki tergores berdarah oleh batu karang. Air laut yang asin membuat luka goresan bertambah perih.

Malam harinya, dari Kuching, penulis berangkat ke Miri (sudah dekat dengan perbatasan Brunei). Perjalanan panjang ini memakan waktu hingga 13 jam, tetapi patut diacungi jempol bahwa ruas jalan sepanjang Malaysia Timur ini kondisinya sangat baik. Mendekati Miri, di sisi jalan berderet kebun-kebun sawit yang dikelola oleh perkebunan Malaysia.

Sebenarnya di Miri ada objek yang sangat menarik yaitu Mulu Cave, yang konon termasuk salah satu gua alami terbesar di dunia. Sayangnya, untuk menuju lokasi mesti menggunakan pesawat kecil karena letaknya di gunung yang tidak bisa diakses dengan transportasi darat. Akhirnya penulis tidak jadi mengunjunginya. Sehingga sore harinya, penulis langsung beranjak menuju Brunei.

Meskipun memiliki tatanan kota yang apik dan rapi, tetapi suasana malam hari di Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) amatlah renggang dan sepi. Dapat dimaklumi, mungkin salah satu sebabnya adalah populasi total 1 negara Brunei yang bahkan masih lebih sedikit dibandingkan populasi 1 kota Pontianak. Selain itu, berdasarkan rumor dari para imigran pekerja dari Malaysia, warga Brunei pada malam hari sudah malas keluar rumah, dan tidak ada “night life” di Brunei. Dengan GDP per kapita yang tinggi, memang terlihat bahwa warga Brunei tidak perlu bekerja keras pun telah ditunjang oleh negara, sehingga suasana kerja terlihat agak santai dan lengang. Pekerjaan-pekerjaan kasar seperti kuli/ buruh biasa diisi oleh imigran dari Malaysia/ Indonesia/ Filipina karena pekerjaan seperti ini ogah disentuh oleh orang Brunei.

Hotel Brunei yang penulis inapi juga mahalnya minta ampun. 1 kamar semalam bisa hampir Rp.900 ribu, padahal pelayanannya dan juga fasilitasnya minim sekali (masih jauh lebih baik pelayanan di Hotel Santika Pontianak, yang tarifnya hanya sepertiganya serta memiliki fasilitas sauna dan jacuzzi gratis).

Masjid Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien di pusat Bandar Seri Begawan

Tidak lupa tentunya penulis berfoto-foto dengan landmark kota BSB, yaitu Masjid Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien yang tampak indah sekali di malam hari. Masjid ini dihiasi cahaya nuansa kuning, dengan dikelilingi kolam besar yang di tengahnya terapung sampan besar bertahtakan kubah bangunan khas Melayu.

Keesokan siangnya, penulis pun berangkat meninggalkan Brunei dan tiba di Miri malam hari. Malam itu juga dari Miri penulis langsung meluncur ke Kuching dan tiba di kota Serian (2 jam dari Kuching) pada pagi harinya. Setelah 1-2 jam berkeliling pasar di Serian, penulis pun berangkat balik ke Pontianak. Tiba di Pontianak petang hari, langsung meluncur ke Singkawang menggunakan taksi gelap dengan tarif 70 ribu/ orang.

Jarak Pontianak ke Singkawang sekitar 2-3 jam. Suasana malam hari di Kota Singkawang agak sepi, dengan pertokoan yang telah tutup, dan jalanan yang lengang hampir tanpa lalu lalang. Setelah menginap di sebuah hotel murah, pagi hari saatnya menjelajah kota Singkawang. Dengan menyewa becak dayung, penulis pun menelusuri kota ini. Nuansa Tionghoa di kota ini cukup kental, dengan lampion-lampion merah yang tergantung di ruas-ruas jalan. Dialek Tionghoa yang dominan di Singkawang adalah Hakka, agak berbeda dengan di Pontianak.

Mie Pangsit khas Singkawang

Kemudian, pertanyaan yang sering ditanyakan oleh teman-teman ke penulis adalah bagaimana perihal daya tarik kembang geulis di sana? Hmm, hal ini agak subjektif memang.. tapi jika dicermati mendalam, memang ada sedikit perbedaan “daya tarik” dari kedua kota ini.. masing-masing ada ciri khasnya yang agak unik dan susah dijelaskan.. sama juga dengan kota-kota laen yang pastinya masing-masing memiliki pesonanya yang khas.. jadi, datang dan rasakan sendiri aja   =)

It is always a privilege to meet someone who inspires you and I had that rare opportunity last night at Woburn Safari Park. They held “An Evening with Lone Droscher Nielson”, and I was first on the list for a ticket – in fact, I was pre-list as I have contacts at the Park. It was scheduled to be an hour’s talk, but it was nearer two and everyone sat spellbound. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment, Lone spent time talking to everyone who wanted to talk and signed books. As usual, I became a bit tongue-tied when faced with someone I admire so much, but I hope I made a little bit of sense!

For anyone who doesn’t know, Lone is the founder and public face of the Nyaru Menteng Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre. She began her work 10years ago with the dream of helping the hundred or so orangutans who were in need of immediate help. The centre has gone from strength to strength but the demand for space in the nursery, forest schools and islands has grown beyond imagining. Currently there are 600 orangutans in their care and one day the majority will be released back into the wild into specially found release sites. Despite all the great work Lone has done and all the things she has achieved, she doesn’t feel successful – she told us that her dream hadn’t come true. She has not been able to release all the orangutans and solve all the problems they face in Indonesia. Her great wish is that there was no longer any need for centres such as hers and that all the orangutans were safe and in the wild. Lone is a humble lady, not only does she feel that she hasn’t achieved what she set out to do yet, but she was clear to reiterate that what she does in Borneo could not be done without her committed staff, many of which are local people passionate in the cause.

Lone has so many stories to tell about her experiences, but there was one story that will remain with me forever. Alma was an orangutan that came to the centre after living with a gold-miner. Unfortunately Alma had discovered one of the small bottles of mercury used in the process and had drunk it. At Nyaru Menteng they did everything they could for her, even sending her blood to the States and getting special medication that would bind the mercury together. Nothing, however, stopped it from getting to her brain. Alma was a very sick little orangutan and had to spend a lot of time on IVs in the infirmary. When she was fit enough she spent time in Lone’s house. She was one of the gentlest and calmest orangutans Lone has ever come across,she would play for hours in the kitchen cupboards taking out each pot and putting it on the floor. Whenever she came across a can of food she would take it through to the living room and hand it to Lone who would pretend to open it but not be able to. One day Alma brought in a can opener instead and Lone had no option but to show her what it did by opening a can of beans. Two weeks later after a further spell in hospital, Alma came back to Lone’s house and carried a can through to the living room. When Lone showed her she couldn’t open it, Alma went back into the kitchen and found the can opener! A while after this Lone went to visit her in the hospital and found her to be much more anxious and agitated than normal, trying to rip out her IV. Eventually Lone decided to take her out into the forest which she enjoyed doing when she was well enough. They spent a long time playing in the water which always made Alma laugh. Afterwards they went for a walk further into the forest where they sat down for a chat. Just as Lone decided it was time to go back Alma climbed up into her lap and slowly went to sleep. She never woke up. At some level, this beautiful orangutan must have known what was going to happen and had decided how she wanted to spend her time. She hadn’t made a fuss to get out of the hospital until the person she saw as her best friend arrived and then she decided that’s who she wanted to spend time with. I can say there were quite a few people in the room wiping their eyes at the end of this story – including me!

Lone went on to explain about the palm oil problem. Until about 2003, Lone and her team were making some progress with the logging companies and things were starting to look up for the orangutan. Then palm oil exploded onto the scene and the problem intensified. Logging did not mean great amounts of forests being completely felled – some trees remained standing and the forests had chance to regenerate. Orangutans could live in these forests and the new trees fruited better than older ones. A balance could be found. Palm oil plantations, however, decimate the landscape. Rainforest the size of 300 football pitches are lost every hour and are replaced by the monoculture of oil palms. This is not just devastating news for the orangutan, but all wildlife. Between 80-100% of wildlife is lost when palm oil moves in and never returns to the plantations. This is a shocking figure, particularly when palm oil is heralded as a “green oil”, that will one day soon start filling our cars as biofuel.

Sadly, with palm oil being in at least 1 in 10 supermarket products, there is no way even an active boycotter could avoid palm oil completely. There are however, solutions. Some palm oil that is being produced is done so sustainably. Many companies claim that there just isn’t a large enough supply and that it would cost too much for the consumer. Currently there is 2 million tonnes of sustainable palm oil being stored in Hull and Rotterdam – only 19% has been brought. In addition to this a recent BBC programme Britain’s Really Disgusting Food (available to watch on iplayer) investigated how much it would cost the consumer if manufacturers began using sustainable palm oil. The resulting increase would be 0.5p on a Mars Bar. I’m sure that the manufactures could cope with swallowing that cost themselves whilst using it as a great PR move, but even if they weren’t prepared to, 0.5p on a bar of chocolate is not going to stop people from buying it.

Despite all the problems Lone, her team and the orangutans are facing, there is still hope for the species and certainly for the rescued and rehabilitated orangutans of Nyaru Menteng. In March they plan to release 100 orangutans which involves plane and helicopter flights, several staff to carry the orangutans, radio monitoring equipment and so on. There is so much work to be done in order to release even one orangutan, including finding the appropriate sites and working with logging and mining companies as well as the government. Each release will cost approximately £3000 so they urgently need our help. If you would like to learn more about the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation or donate to their work, please visit www.savetheorangutan.co.uk

Stichting Monkey Business heeft met succes een Bluetooth Marketing campagne ingezet om haar doelen te promoten bij de bezoekers van de beurs Kloos Vintage in de Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam.

Monkey Business heeft als doelstelling om het uitsterven van de Oeran Oetan te voorkomen en om het tropisch regenwoud te beschermen. De laatste circa 6.000 Oeran Oetans dreigen uit te sterven, doordat tropisch regenwoud in hun leefgebieden op Borneo en Sumatra verdwijnt.

De stichting streeft ernaar om in Nederland bewustwording te creëren voor het probleem, mensen ‘monkey proof’ te laten leven en door geld in te zamelen om beschermingsprojecten op Sumatra te financieren.
Monkey Business gebruikt onder ander SMS Marketing om te collecteren. Door MONKEY AAN te SMS-en naar 5757 steun je de stichting met €3,00 per maand.
Monkey Business heeft BNN presentatrice Nicolette Kluijver als ambassadeur.

Tijdens Kloos Vintage 2009 in de Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam had Monkey Business een stand om bewustwording te creëren bij de bezoekers.
Een belangrijk middels om deze bewustwording te creëren was het inzetten van Bluetooth Marketing. Iedereen die ’de gekste modemarkt’ beozcht, ontving een uitnodiging via Bluetooth om een bericht te ontvangen.

Binnen dit Bluetooth bericht werden de kernwaardes van de stichting duidelijk gemaakt.
Het bericht bevatte ook een uitnodiging voor het eindevent van stichting Monkey Business in restaurant Fifteen.

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Soon time to pack the bags!

i’m home at laz….so happy…heavenly feeling…
oohh ya…promised to tell u something..
hmm…

ok…

i have finished my 1st semester in my U…hmm…life’s there at first juz all the way too hard for me…i’ve been living in borneo for the rest of my life n suddenly need to go to the peninsular for my 3rd education…going there without any friends..but i think i’m quite lucky to have a good roomate..but in the sense of companionship, she’s good but when it comes to borneo thingy,she’s kinda sux..m telling u the truth..she’s like i dont want to go there bc0z d0nt want to move by boat..then she asked me how im going there,whether it is by ferry or some sort of it….i was like wtf??!!…hey,borneo people do civilized ok…m kinda angry with dat…i juz dont understand why do these kinda people dunno anything..we go there by flight ok..so,i ight sounds rude so i jz ask whether they ever been on flight…the answer is no…NO!..so,how can they admit they’re more civilized if they not even been on flight…buhhuuu~
but time flies…and suddenly,they can accept me and so do i…maybe it juz they or the media who always show the part dat is so “pedalaman”…shoot…
then,i accept the fact dat we all not perfect at all…but to all semenanjungian,we in borneo do civilized ok…some of us are more civilized than u are…accept the fact and dont judge people from where they are only…

Lotsa love

Het Oostelijk Havengebied van Amsterdam, de buurt tussen het Centraal Station en het eiland Zeeburg, is de laatste eeuw onherkenbaar veranderd. Industriële kades met hijskranen, waar tot in de jaren zeventig nog zeeschepen werden gelost, hebben gedeeltelijk plaatsgemaakt voor moderne architectuur.

Een harmonieus samenspel van moderne gebouwen met behoud van historische elementen maakt het gebied tot een van de populairste plekken om te wonen, werken en genieten.

Zoekt u hier een boot uit om te varen tijdens Sail 2010 Amsterdam: http://www.amsterdamboothuren.nl/

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About a year back I had watched this fascinating biographical documentary on the Discovery Channel about the life and times of Sabu Dastagir, the first Indian to successfully crossover to Hollywood as an actor in the 1940s.

Mysore, India

‘Selar Shaik Sabu’ or ‘Sabu Dastagir’ or just ‘Sabu’ as he was credited in his films, was born on January 27, 1924 in the jungles of Karapur near Mysore in the Kingdom of Mysore in British India to an Indian Mahout (elephant driver). Sabu was orphaned at the age of Seven, when his father passed away in 1931, a few years after his mother died in 1924 while giving birth to him. In keeping with the times, Sabu continued his familial profession and became a Fourth Generation Mahout and worked at the Maharaja of Mysore’s Royal Elephant Stable.

It was in the Royal Elephant stables of the Mysore Palace where Sabu was discovered by the documentary film-maker Robert Flaherty, whose wife Frances Flaherty, wrote to a friend in a letter from India in 1934 about a film project that they had tentatively titled as ‘Elephant Boy’, the storyline of which was loosely based on one of the tales in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Books called "Toomai of the Elephants," that aimed to feed the popular British interest in the exotic details of life in its colonial empire.

Though I had been to the Mysore Palace about 13 years ago in 1996 and I hope to go there again but this time it will be more for it’s ‘Royal Elephant Stable’ where Sabu worked rather it’s ostentatious illumination.

Frances Flaherty wrote in her letter that they had not yet found an actor for the title role, but were interviewing possible candidates…

“I watch them play around, kicking a football, shouting and fighting like kids everywhere, and think of the strange stroke of fate that is hanging over one of them. There is one boy among them . . . different from the other sprightly little sprouts. He is rather pathetic, more reserved, an orphan. His mother’s family came from Assam, where the people are part Mongolian. His name is Sabu”.

Sabu and his older brother Sheik Dastagir as his guardian, were whisked away to England to complete the film in 1937 and became subsequent wards of the British government. It’s here that an error is supposed to have occurred when they passed through British Customs which led to the widespread misapprehension that the actor’s name was ‘Sabu Dastagir’, which was mostly done to help publicize the film.

According to the research done by journalist Philip Leibfried, the real name of ‘Sabu’ was ‘Selar Shaik Sabu’ and that his elder brother’s name was ‘Sheik Dastagir’ which was wrongly assumed to be the actor’s last name.

Sabu got excellent schooling in the process where he learnt the English language in preparation for his upcoming films and was finally struck by stardom on 5th April, 1937 when his film ‘Elephant Boy’ was released in cinema halls and the rest is history…

Sabu married Marilyn Cooper in 1948 [not to be confused with Broadway performer Marilyn Cooper (born in 1934)] while filming ‘Song of India’.

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Sifting through online resources related to Sabu, I found this interesting fact about him amidst the archived articles in Time Magazine…

“Sergeant Sabu ("Elephant Boy") Dastagir, 22-year-old Indian who gained fame & fortune in peacetime films riding on the back of an elephant, was awarded the D.F.C. for riding a U.S. bomber as a tail gunner in an attack on a Japanese convoy off Borneo”.

The ‘Borneo’ in the aforementioned article is what got me interested in doing some research about Sabu and his Borneo bombing escapades, since my Grandparents used to live in the capital city of Jesselton in British North Borneo when their house was bombed during World War 2. British North Borneo is now known as Sabah and it’s capital city has long been renamed as Kota Kinabalu and they are now a part of Malaysia.

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Malaysia)

Sabu Dastagir as it turns out was a TSgt in USAAF (Technical Sergeant in United States Army Air Force) and a B-24 Tail Gunner in a Ball Turret with the 13th Air Force in the 307th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and posted to the 370th Bombardment Squadron where he flew on a “JANIE” 44-41535

  After flying 42 missions over the South Pacific, Sabu was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Four Clusters, in addition to the Presidential Unit Citation which was awarded to the entire crew for an unescorted, daylight attack on heavily defended airfields in the Truk Islands on March 29, 1944 followed by an unescorted mission against vital oil refineries at Balikpapan, Borneo (Indonesia) on October 3, 1944.

One needn’t look further than Sabu’s introductory scene in his debut film ‘Elephant Boy’ which showcased his confident and adventurous spirit which was unfortunately cut short by a fatal heart attack in 1963 at an untimely age of 39.

Sabu is is interred at the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery along with his daughter Jasmine Sabu and elder brother Sheik Dastagir who was killed in 1960 when his Furniture Store that was jointly owned by the two men, was robbed.

Rewinding further back to the 1600s, it’s not surprising to find that a crafty colonial British trading venture such as the East India Company, which was granted the English Royal Charter to trade with the East Indies by Queen Elizabeth I on 31st December, 1600… also happened to be the pioneers in shipping Indian indentured servants to the British American colonies. However the Company’s increasing financial woes and it’s monopolistic practices not only triggered the Opium Wars with China’s Qing Dynasty and the Boston Tea Party in the Province of Massachusetts Bay leading up to the American Revolution but it also provided the clarion call for the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which finally sounded the death knell for the Company rule in India when the British Crown finally decided to assume direct administration of India, under the newly christened British Raj in 1858 and dissolved the East India Company on 1st January, 1874.

Despite the dissolution, the imperialistic legacy of East India Company still lives on through it’s flag and the uncanny similarities it shares with the American flag.

The ‘Trading and Colonizing’ tactics perfected by the East India Company which sent several ships to India loaded with British Traders who not only outsmarted a sizeable number of Indian Maharajas and Sultans over the years but also ensured that the fragmented subcontinent was ultimately consolidated into a single colony, with them becoming the Rulers of the country, they had come to learn from and trade with.

Now in pursuit of their American Dream, the Indian Americans seem to be dutifully following the footsteps of the East India Company by first “Trading” there way into the United States and then “Colonizing” the American stereotype of them being “Crafty Convenience Store Owners” aka Apu.

While most intellectual elite of Indian origin, prefer educating their way into cornering the White Collared Jobs, usually in the Tech or Medical field however there are a few who still prefer the old-fashioned way of cashing in on the traditional Indian business of “Disseminating Metaphysical Karmic Enlightenment” by becoming a celebrated Yoga teacher or a renowned “Spiritual Guru”.

[Male members of the Puna Singh Family, Yuba City, California, c. 1945]

A few clicks on some intertwined hyperlinks in the Historical Timelines of Indian American Immigration, is all it took for me to unravel a treasure trove of lesser known stories and adventures…

Echoes of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California, 1899-1965 was a fascinating read because of the various anecdotes it offered, ranging from the lone Indian adventurer who was reported in the gold fields of California as early as 1857 followed by the exploits of the Spiritual Guru, A.K. Mozumdar who on June 30, 1913 became the first person of Indian origin to earn U.S. citizenship in Spokane, Washington after convincing the judge that he in fact was a “high-caste Hindu of pure blood” belonging to the Aryan race which was a sub-race of the larger Caucasian race and was thus eligible to become an American citizen as per U.S. immigration law at that time, which specified that only "free white persons" were eligible for U.S. citizenship.

However, a decade later It was the Supreme Court ruling in 1923 in the United States vs. Bhagat Singh Thind case which unequivocally stated that natives of India could not become naturalized citizens in a carefully worded judgment by the Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court George Sutherland which poured called cold water over Mozumdar’s dream of dying as an American Citizen.

Justice Sutherland stated…  

“It is a matter of familiar observation and knowledge that the physical group characteristics of the Hindus render them readily distinguishable from the various groups of persons in this country commonly recognized as white. The children of English, French, German, Italian, Scandinavian, and other European parentage, quickly merge into the mass of our population and lose the distinctive hallmarks of their European origin. On the other hand, it cannot be doubted that the children born in this country of Hindu parents would retain indefinitely the clear evidence of their ancestry. It is very far from our thought to suggest the slightest question of racial superiority or inferiority. What we suggest is merely racial difference, and it is of such character and extent that the great body of our people instinctively recognize it and reject the thought of assimilation”.

Speaking of assimilation, Jayasri Majumdar Hart’s ‘Roots in the Sand’ which details the workarounds used by some immigrants (Indian men and Mexican women) to dodge the anti-immigration and anti-miscegenation laws in America at that time, presents a noteworthy dimension to the whole issue. Following is a paragraph quoted from her documentary to summarize it’s theme…

“As the (Indian) men prospered, they wanted to marry and settle down, though immigration laws forbade importing brides from India. So the men turned to the Mexican women working in the fields who, much like the women back home, covered their heads and bodies from the blazing sun. Valentina Alvarez married Rullia Singh, Rosario Perez married Purn Singh and Silveria Jill married Phoman Singh. They were among the earliest couples in a cross-cultural wedding boom born out of necessity in the Imperial Valley”.

Akhoy Kumar Mozumdar, eventually fulfilled his dream of dying as an American citizen, three years before he passed away in 1953, by passing the requirements the second time with the help of close friends and thanks to some loosening of immigration laws in 1950.

Bhagat Singh Thind also went to become a Spiritual Teacher after being honorable discharged from the U.S. Army and visited India for the first time in 1963 since he left his country 51 years ago in 1912.

Apu first appeared on TV in The Simpsons (Season 1) episode, The Telltale Head on February 25th, 1990 and the character’s name was a tribute to the main character in The Apu Trilogy that was directed by Satyajit Ray between 1955 to 1959.

The first film in The Apu Trilogy was Pather Panchali [Song of the Little Road] (1955) where Apu and his sister Durga can be seen running to catch a glimpse of a train almost like Sabu and his brother Sheik would have done before the Elephant Boy happened to them…

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Para muitos o Borneo deve lembrar a infancia, naqueles jogos de tabuleiro WAR, que acompanharam tantos dias de chuva. O Borneo era a porta de entrada para conquistar a Oceania. Para outros, aquela imagem de uma selva tropical fechada, cheia de tribos (aqui os Head-Hunters nao eram caca talentos!) e animais. Na verdade nao e mais bem assim.

Assim como alguem que vai para a Amazonia brasileira, chegando em Manaus vai ter que se distanciar bastante para ver a selva, na Malasia, muito mais desenvolvida que a regiao norte do Brasil, e preciso percorrer um longo caminho.

Chegamos em Kota Kinabalu, capital de Borneo, ja tarde da noite. Os onibus nao estavam mais operando e teriamos que pegar um taxi. Logo conhecemos um casal que estava na mesma situacao que a gente, e dividimos o taxi. Ele e do Zimbabue e ela da India, mas os dois moram faz algum tempo na Inglaterra. Acabamos procurando hotel juntos e nos encontrando para jantar e tomar uma cerveja. Eles tiraram um tempo para dar a volta ao mundo, e chegamos a pensar em viajar com eles por aqui, portanto combinamos de tomar cafe da manha juntos para discutir sobre Borneo. Falando sobre os roteiros vimos que eles estavam com um pouco mais de tempo, e tinham interesses um pouco diferentes, apesar de alguns lugares em comum. Resolvemos nao viajar juntos, mas tinhamos a impressao que acabariamos nos encontrando em algum lugar.

Kota K e uma cidade moderna, super bem estruturada. Nao estavamos com vontado de ficar em cidade, portanto ja pegamos um barco para a ilha Mamutik, uma das 5 ilhas que ficam logo a frente de KK e fazem parte de um parque nacional. Areia branca, alguma estrutura e um local muito bom para fazer snorkling. Ficamos largados na praia ate o final do dia, quando pegamos o ultimo barco de volta para KK.  Em KK ja me informei sobre o onibus que iria ate Sandankan, nosso proximo destino. Eu queria pegar o onibus cedo, mas depois de um longo cafe da manha, e discutirmos sobre pontos da viagem, saimos so proximo do almoco. Caminhamos ate a rodoviaria, e as blusinhas coloridas da Bibi (que ela nao tinha levado para a Africa) fizeram um peso desgracado. Ou voces achavam que ela que carregaria a bagagem extra?

No trajeto passamos pelo monte Kinabalu, um paredao de rocha de mais de 4000 m. Queria escalar, mas demoraria alguns dias, e nao daria tempo desta vez. A Bibi tambem ficaria meio sem ter o que fazer. Passamos por muitas plantacoes de palmeiras, que sao utilizadas para extrair oleo, e esta incentivando muito o desmatamento por aqui…

Em Sandankan, chegamos na rodoviaria que fica longe da cidade, pratica muito comum por aqui. Fomos para o centro e pegamos um hotel sem pesquisar muito.  Caminhando pela cidade a noite, descobrimos outra opcao melhor e mais barata, alem do onibus que levaria ate Sepilok. Saimos cedo para Sepilok, onde fica um centro de reabilitacao para Orangotangos. La treinam Orangotangos orfans a se alimentar, se locomover, se readaptar a floresta. Vimos muitos macacos, somente dois Orangotangos, um deles bem rapido. O que ficou mais tempo, chegou a subir na passarela que estavamos. E um animal muito tranquilo e inteligente. Tinham muitos, mas muitos turistas. Nem a chuva que deu um clima ainda maior para a “floresta tropical”, incomodou o pessoal. Nao tivemos muita sorte. Falamos com outras pessoas depois que viram muito mais Orangotangos. Tem um clima meio de zoologico, mas como eu ja sabia, nao me decepcionei. Imprecionante como os Orangutans (pessoas de floresta) sao parecido com os Humanos, sendo muito mais inteligentes que muitas pessoas…

Lembram de piada do Morangotango?

Na volta conhecemos um casal australiano, ja na terceira idade, que estava viajando a quase 3 anos no seu pequeno veleiro. Fiquei com vontade de pedir carona ate as ilhas ao sul mas acabou nao dando certo. De volta a Sandakan, acertamos de ir para o rio Sungai Kinabatangan, onde finalmente teriamos a oportunidade de ver um pouco da floresta original de Borneo. No dia seguinte, kilometros de asfalto, depois um pouco de estrada de terra ate chegar nos simples chales de frente para o rio. Placas ja nos avisavam sobre o perigo de deixar as coisas a vista, devido a quandtidade de macacos na regiao. Os macacos tavam la, so de olho, e se desse mole, entravam ate no restaurante. Final de tarde saimos de barco pela regiao, e um casal de franceses nos acompanhou. Rio bonito, com mata fechada, e o primeiro bicho que vimos foi um Orangotango, no topo de uma arvore bem alta, espichando seus longos bracos para alcancar mais folhas. Alguns passaros, mas nada comparado com o pantanal, alias nem perto. Falaram que tem muitos crocodilos, mas nesse dia nao estavam a vista. Vimos tambem muitos macacos comuns, alem dos exoticos  Probocis Monkeys, macacos endemicos desta regiao, barrigudos e narigudos. Sempre estavam em bandos, e conseguimos ver varios grupos. Muito bacana, totalmente diferentes e com tracos e cores bem marcantes. O por de sol no rio tava muito bom tambem.

Macaco "narigudo"!

Linha do dia/noite

Devolta ao chale, um banho de balde para lembrar da Africa. Que delicia! Nao pelo banho, e claro, mas pelos lugares que estes banhos representam. Depois do jantar uma caminhada noturna, tipo engana turista. Tava incluso, mas acho que so vimos um sapo!haha De manha, antes do cafe saimos para o rio novamente. Nao existem estradas para entrar na floresta, portanto o rio e o melhor meio de locomocao. Nao tivemos tenta sorte como no dia anterior, mas vimos mais macacos probocis.

Rio

Tinhamos que ir ate o cruzamento da estrada principal para pegar o onibus la. Sorte que tinhamos arranjado tudo antes, pois chegamos atrasados, mas o onibus tava la nos esperando. Fomos ate Semporna, cidade meio sem graca, mas porta de partida para varias ilhas, dentre elas Sipadan. Sipadam e uma ilha vulcanica, com alguns paredoes consecutivos de mais de 600 mts de profundidade, chegando a 2000 metros. Um dos melhores lugares do mundo para se mergulhar. Infelizmente e preciso se inscrever com uma boa antecedencia, pois o numero de mergulhadores e controlado.

Tinhamos ficado bem amigos dos franceses, que tinham planos parecidos com os nossos. Em Semporna ficamos buscando a melhor opcao de hospedagem, que variavam desde hoteis simples com passeios diarios, ate super resorts em cima da agua. Como eu era o unico que ia mergulhar, todos acharam melhor ficar numa ilha, onde teriam mais liberdade, e nao em hoteis em cima de palafitas. Acertamos com um lugar na ilha Mabul, mas o transfer seria so no outro dia cedo. Como tinha tempo ainda, fomos ate uma opcao barata de resort sobre a agua, e acertamos de ir neste dia e voltar cedo para ir para a ilha.

No meio do mar!

Chegamos naqueles chales sobre agua transparente, vendo corais e peixas no fundo, e tinhamos certeza de que valeria a pena. Ainda deu tempo de fazer um snorkling numa piscina natural cheia de peixes, antes de curtir um por de sol, com agua por todos os lados. De noite estavamos prontos para comemorar o aniversario do frances, quando comecou mais uma tempestade tropical, com ventos, muita chuva e ondas. Tivemos que correr para o quarto e ficar la. Todo mundo mudou de opinicao sobre ficar so neste lugar, mas tudo ja estava agendado para a ilha de Mabul.

Bibi com os "peixinhos"

Final de tarde

A ilha de Mabul fica um pouco mais longe, e deu para curtir o visual do lugar. Incrivel como em qualquer pedaco de terra, ou coral mais raso, constroem casas ou resorts sobre palafitas. Nossa ilha nao era diferente. Muitos resorts, alguns muito sofisticados, contrastavam com casebres tipo “favelinha” logo ao lado, pertencentes aos pescadores. Acho que o dinheiro do turismo ta indo para outro lugar…

Ilha Mabul

Nosso hotel era totalmente orientado para mergulhadores. Chegamos, deixamos as coisas e ja saimos, sem nem nos afastarmos do barco. O mergulho foi show! O melhor que ja fiz, dez a zero do mar vermelho. Paredoes com corais e esponjas de tudo que e tipo, cores, tamanhos. Muitos peixes, todos eles diferentes. Aproveitei muito e a agua tava quente e com uns 15 m de vizibilidade. Pra Bibi e o pessoal que fez snorklling, talvez nao fosse o melhor lugar, devido a profundidade.  De volta ao hotel, tivemos que esperar o check in, pois teoricamente estaria fazendo o segundo mergulho. Eu pulei este e deixei para fazer outro so de tarde. Estrutura do lugar boa, mas cheio de piazada europeia fazendo estilo…

De tarde fiz outro mergulho, muito bom tambem. Este foi mais perto da ilha, e a visibilidade nao tava tao boa. Muitos corais, mas nada comparado com o primeiro mergulho. Desta vez foram mais peixes, alem de 7 tartarugas, peixe escorpiao, ate comecar o banquete: Muitas lulas, Lagosta, Camaroes… Hehe

Lugar bem legal, com redes, lugar para leitura, e ate um bar. No jantar conhecemos um casal de belgas bem gente fina, que passou a gastar um tempo com a gente e com os franceses. Como nao iamos mergulhar de manha, ficamos so nos conversando, com todo o salao vazio.

Tchurma

De manha fiz snorkling com a Bibi e franceses. Ali na frente do hotel era bem melhor que o lugar que levaram eles de barco. A Bibi parecia que mergulhava a tempo, e ficou mais de uma hora na agua. Voltando para o quarto, encontramos os igleses, que fizeram outro trajeto mas acabaram por aqui tambem. Dificil era escutar as historias do pessoal que mergulhou em Sipadam, junto com uns 20 tubaroes, alem de tudo o que e imaginavel num mergulho.

Voltamos para Semporna no final de tarde, onde passaria pouco tempo, aguardando o onibus noturno de volta para KK. Quando comprei a passagem so tinham 5 lugares, foi por pouco. Ate que dormimos bem no onibus, apesar do ar condicionado geladissimo. Eta costume de m…! Chegamos bem cedo e pegamos um hotel, onde acertariamos algumas coisas da viagem e passariamos o dia ate pegar o voo para a Indonesia.