SURVIVOR'S ISLAND
Special thanks to Steve Payne
of the Toronto SUN.
Pictures by Laurie Keith
While millions watched 16 castaways battle for US $1
million on Survivor Island,
few
noted the nation host. The island, real name Pulau
Tiga, is part of Malaysia, a country which is itself
heralding its own survival. Smashed by a recession
that devastated East Asia, Malaysia took another hit
when vast forest fires darkened the nation's skies for
months on end.
More recently, the taking of hostages near Malaysia by
Filipino bandits also hurt the area's image. But
Malaysia, which hangs drug dealers, is fighting back.
Its capital, Kuala Lumpur, has a magnificent new
international airport, and vast highway networks are
opening up. Development is rampant and one new
building, Petronia Towers, has achieved worldwide
fame. The two towers, linked by a glass bridge on the
44th floor, were featured in the movie Entrapment,
starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Kuala Lumpur has its own silicone valley and the
Malaysian Airlines fleet is so modern that economy
passengers have individual entertainment systems. With
various cities and resorts offering five-star
facilities, Malaysia plans to be the area's top
tourist attraction.
HEAD OF THE HOUSE
The Monsopiad Cultural Village, near Kota Kinabalu, is
a family business founded in 1996 in memory of a
fearsome 1700s Kadazan tribe headhunter named
Monsopiad.
In one home hangs 42 human skulls, proudly shown off
by a Monsopiad ancestor, Nicholas Dunggo, 24. Outside
stands a large stone, against which human sacrifice
was once practised to appease the spirits.
"I wish we could do some headhunting now,"
says Dunggo. "I can think of a few people
..."
Dunggo says the nation's history must survive.
Elsewhere around the country, some rural indigenous
peoples continue to live in communal longhouses.
AUNTIE TOM'S CABIN
Macik Tom, 85, known as Auntie Tom, lives in Unit
0098, a wooden, stilted, ramshackle house in Temoyong,
Langkawi. She has hydro, running water and an outside
toilet.
She married young and had a child who died, later
remarrying a man who had children. He died six years
ago.
Tom, who rolls her own cigarettes and smiles
incessantly, is a tourist attraction. Visitors drop by
and, for a tip, she willingly demonstrates how she
grinds betel nuts and other foods to determinedly
survive by the old ways.
YOUR HIGHNESS
Another surviving tradition in Malaysia is its royal
family.
The present king is: Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka
Baginda Yang Dipertuan Agung Sultan Sallehuddin Abdul
Aziz Shah or, simply, His Royal Highness, the King of
Malaysia.
The King, 74, has a beautiful 27-year-old wife.
CURSED LAND
Langkawi, a Malaysian island with fabulous beach
resorts, is home to the tomb
of Makam
Mahsuri.
She was wrongly accused of adultery and, according to
legend, bled white blood at her knifing execution.
With her last words she cursed the island, saying it
would be barren for seven generations (175 years).
Those generations have now passed and Langkawi is
becoming a booming tourist haven.
LOGJAM
Malaysia has put its logging operations under control.
Good news for its unique wildlife, including the
orangutan.
One of its finest parks surrounds Mt. Kinabalu, East
Asia's highest mountain at more than 4,000 metres.
Apart from hundreds of species of animals and fauna,
the mountain slopes are home to the world's largest
flower, rafflesia, which can weigh two kilos.
The park's carnivorous pitcher plants have digested
rats, and one fern may figure in cancer research.
The survival of Malaysia's environment is a priority
and efforts are underway to educate the public
accordingly. One battle concerns fish bombing, the use
of dynamite which, while catching fish, destroys coral
reefs.