Newsletter 73

THE SABAH SOCIETY

JulyAugust 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

Members of The Sabah Society (with their guide Jimmy Omar, at right) at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, where they stopped for lunch en route to the Danum Valley Field Centre for an educational three days exploring the rainforest and its animals.

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. JULY 2003 Mr Bartholomew Pang Mr Yong Kun Loi Dr Lian Yun-Haw Mr Frankie Chong Chew Min Mr George Hong AUGUST 2003 Ms Elsie Chok Ms Chan Jit Ngo Mr William Pang Ms Yau Sau Kan Mr Phua Peh Lik Mr Anthony Goh 2.

SECRETARIAT NOTICES
1. Help save both the forests and The Sabah Societys budget! Opt for the colourful e-Newsletter by sending an email to the Secretariat. Attention public servants! (and anyone else who has recently changed their email address). Too many emails are bouncing back to the Secretariat because of out-of-date addresses. Please send an email to the Secretariat from your new address.

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THE SABAH SOCIETY TALKS AND FIELD TRIPS

TALKS
D ATE 11 July 2003 TITLE Current Status on the Taxonomy and Diversity of Malaysian Medicinal Plants Prof. Madya Dr Kamarudin Mat-Salleh US-Malaysian Relations under the Bush Administration: The Political, Economic, & Security Aspects Dr Pamela Sodhy Projek Etnobotani Kinabalu: The Making of a Dusun Ethnoflora in Sabah Dr Gary J. Martin V ENUE Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort (STAR), Kota Kinabalu Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort (STAR), Kota Kinabalu

14 August 2003

19 August 2003

Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort (STAR), Kota Kinabalu

FIELD TRIPS
D ATE July 2003 1113 July 2003 D ESTINATION Padas River White Water Rafting Educational Fieldtrip to Danum Valley N O. PARTICIPANTS 13 19

TALKS Current Status on the Taxonomy and Diversity of Malaysian Medicinal Plants
by Kamarudin Mat-Salleh Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort Kota Kinabalu Friday, 11 July 2003 en years after his retirement, Isaac Henry Burkill accomplished his dream of having a Dictionary of Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula . Published in 1935, nearly 25 years after his arrival in Singapore from Calcutta, the Dictionary described 4656 species from 1630 genera and 223 families of plants. Although out-of-print (last reprinted in 1966), the Dictionary is still the de facto reference, although many of the species referred to are no longer valid. The Dictionary was superseded by the newly published Tumbuhan Ubatan Malaysia, a recent documentation on medicinal plants of Malaysia. Some 35 species of ferns and fern allies, 9 species of gymnosperm, 768 species of dicotyledon and 103 spesies of monocotyledon were treated, covering all important botanical aspects including vernacular names,

taxonomic citations, diagnostic descriptions and traditional medicinal uses in Malaysia. This is part of an effort to document our national heritage and is useful for researchers as well as the public as a source of reference. It was started in late 1980s, with a dedicated database on Malaysian ethnobotany in UKM. Several other books published last year included the Compendium of Medicinal Plants Used in Malaysia by the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) with 2002 species of

Tengku (Dr.) Z. Adlin presenting a certificate of appreciation and a copy of the Pocket Guide to the Birds of Borneo to Assoc. Prof. Dr Kamarudin Mat-Salleh after his talk on the taxonomy and diversity of the medicinal plants of Malaysia.

JULYAUGUST 2003

CORRECTION
In Newsletter No. 72 we reported that Trusan, the orang-utan captured so brutally in the Kinabatangan, was happy in his new American home and sired many offspring. In fact, he pined for some time before dying of pneumonia. The other, happier animal was one named Bujang. medicinal plants in Malaysia. Several other books will be published this year, including Ethnobotany Malaysia: Plants as Food, Cultural Heritage and Medicines , an extensive documentation of usage and claims of our ethnobotanically important plants and A Dictionary of Malaysian Medicinal Plants to replace the out-of-print monumental classic, Gimlette and Thomsons A Dictionary of Malayan Medicine.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
until end of 2003 11 September 2003 Padas River White Water Rafting Talk on Pulau Lankayan: a sanctuary in the Sulu Sea by Wendy Hutton Visit to Sabah Tea Garden Maliau Basin expedition Launching of The Sabah Societys new publication Orchids of Borneo Vol. 4 Visit to Kapalai Island

1314 September 2003 1420 September 2003 10 October 2003

2123 November 2003

USMalaysian Relations under the Bush Administration: The Political, Economic, and Security Aspects
by Pamela Sodhy Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort Kota Kinabalu Thursday, 14 August 2003

r Sodhy examined the USMalaysian relationship at the start of the 21st century when the ties between them are closer and more complex than in earlier years, in large part because of the new global war against terrorism. The paper Datuk C. L. Chan, President of The Sabah Society, presenting a covered the time span from January 2001 to the present, a certificate of appreciation to Dr Gary J. Martin for his talk on the period that marks the administration of George W. Bush, the ethnobotanical project in Kinabalu Park. 43rd President of the United States, and the closing years of Dr Mahathir Mohamads long premiership in Malaysia. Three aspects of the bilateral relationship were examinedthe Projek Etnobotani Kinabalu: The Making political, security, and economic links. of a Dusun Ethnoflora in Sabah

by Gary J. Martin Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort Kota Kinabalu Tuesday, 19 August 2003 r Martin discussed the results of a community-based inventory of useful plants carried out in Sabah from 19921998. Over this period, seventeen local collectors from nine kampung made more than 9,000 uniquely numbered plant collections from more than 500 sites around Kinabalu Park, and recorded ethnobotanical data from fellow villagers. These community collectors obtained specimens from a broad range of natural and anthropogenic vegetation types around their communities. The inventory was the main component of the Projek Etnobotani Kinabalu, an ethnobotanical research and

D
Dr Pamela Sodhy receiving tokens of appreciation from Mr Albert Teo, a Sabah Society committee member, after her talk on USMalaysian Relations under the Bush Administration.

THE SABAH SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 73

training project at Mount Kinabalu supported by the MacArthur Foundation and the WWF-UNESCO-Kew People and Plants Initiative. Through this research Dr Martin and team partially fulfilled their goal of carrying out ethnobotanical research with a team of local people, Park personnel and visiting researchers who studied Dusun knowledge, management and use of plants. At present, as Director of The Global Diversity Foundation, Dr Martin is searching for ways to reinforce ethnobotanical research and enrich interpretative programmes and exhibits on useful plants in collaboration with various institutions in Sabah. In one follow-on project, they are planning to build on their complete inventory of palms around Mount Kinabalu to study the transmission of local knowledge of basketry materials and of crafts manufacture in general. A long-range goal is to return the results of the floristic inventory and follow-on projects to local communities in the form of a Dusun Ethnoflora. It is hoped that these actions will provide a continuing incentive to local communities to manage unprotected forests in buffer zones around the park and to promote the viability of Dusun ecological knowledge. Then we went for what we came fora short jungle walk through a lowland dipterocarp (trees with 2-winged fruit) forest. On the trek we saw the giants (strangling figs, staghorn ferns, coils of liana) and the midgets (luminous mushrooms and tiny orchids). All these gave us a feeling of walking through a wonderlandjust like Alice. Alas, the magic ended as soon as the trek ended. But hopefully, some magic stayed inside us. Not short of magic, either, was our sumptuous lunch, wolfed down with much laughter. Next up, the rain came, and halted our scheduled trek to Coffin Cliff and the Jacuzzi pools. For me, it was not time wasted. I took a nap. And I paid for itwhen I woke up, the mandatory group photo (the one with the society banner waving in the wind) was already taken. (Maybe Ill just tell Grace I took that photo. Yea, thats it.) With everyone armed to the toes with leech socks, we marched confidently towards The Cliff & The Pools. But alas, the rain followed us. And the leeches, armies of them, sensing their opportunity (and our body heat) launched both ground and aerial offensives. Needless to say, there were casualties, mostly on our side. Anyway, there was no view to be seen, and we were wet to the skin without getting into the pool. So, our brave leader Florence took the tough (and only sensible) decision to abort the entire mission. Once out of the woods, body-parts count began in earnest. Among the heaviest casualties were Stephanie and Ann, being injured in some indescribable places. I was lucky to get only one bite on the right shoulder (or so I thought). Our clothes may have been dampened, but certainly not our spirits. So, after a change of clothes, we took the canopy walk (about 100 ft up and 300 ft long) among the giant 400-year-old menggaris and majau trees. For brief moments, relieving us from our earlier traumas, we breathed in the fresh after-rain air, and soaked in the breathless view. Suitably refreshed, we headed straight for Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC), about 2 hours away. This was what we came fora field research centre tucked in the middle of primary forests. We were instantly welcomed by a pair of beautiful rhinoceros hornbillsdoing quite a song & dance number on the canopy. Unfortunately, this was also when Stanley pointed out the bloody truth to menow the left shoulder of my T-shirt was stained with blooda fine souvenir from a terribly crushed leech. Dinner was surprisingly sumptuous, considering this was the middle of nowhere. The after-dinner talk on Danum Valley by chief scientist Glen Reynolds was both educational (in terms of problems in forest conservation and management) and entertaining (in highlighting the tremendous biodiversity in the valley, and various ingenious ways to study it). After the big talk, small talk always follows, and invariably is more interesting. A few of us gathered outside the dining hall (by now our favourite place), and just reminisced on the days events. What struck me most was the lack of mosquitoes and cicadas. In short, a quiet forest, which was a bit disquieting. Anyway, since lights would be out at 11, we trooped back to our annex quarters and called it a day (a night?). Next morning I was up by 4:30 am (the alarm sounded an hour earlier than requested). If I had snoozed further, I would miss the early bird(s). So, I (literally) sat in the dark. I was

FIELD TRIPS Danum Valley

1113 July 2003
by Aw Chak Teng was mildly excited with high expectations when I set out for the airport in the early morning. No, it was not because I was to be the only rose (and one that has seen better days, perhaps) among the nine thorns (and all pretty ladies in a row) going on the same trip (Wow! some would say; what a lucky guy!) The real reason was because it was a trip that I had missed repeatedly and had now made itto Danum Valley. We landed safely at Lahad Datu, and were promptly greeted by none other than Jimmy Omar. (A sign on the wall reads Simply the bestreferring to a hotel. But the idea is there.) Then we met Chris and family (from Sandakan), and Stanley (all the way from KK). First things should always come first, and secondary things, left out. So, we ate breakfast before departing on the first leg of our journey to Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL)and promptly got lost before we even got started! At the gate into Danum Valley, we met the two good dentists from Tawau, Dr Chung & Dr Giam and their families. The journey towards BRL was rather uneventful, except for the exquisitely shaped gravel lining the road. Until the car in front (with JO) suddenly braked, kicking up a lot of fuss (I mean, dust). Later when the dust cleared, we were told that they actually saw an elephant! We were given a briefing upon arrival at BRL, and were allowed to roam freely around the 5-star lodge. We even visited a VIP suite complete with a helipad and a red-river valley/ gorge type of view. This was definitely first-class touristy stuffand absolutely not what we came for.

JULYAUGUST 2003
updating my field notes (no, I definitely cant see in the dark I just used my headlamp) when the first call sounded at 5:35 from the Bornean gibbonsthe best rousing wake-up call if there ever was one. The first bird called at 5:45, and, as they say, the rest were too late. The early birder did catch a lot of birds. In about an hour, I spotted and heard the followingdusky munias, hill myna, bulbuls, barbets, magpie robins, shamas, swallowsuntil the mist thickened, fell, and blanketed the place. Anyway, it was time to feed this bird. After breakfast, we decided to trek to Tembaling Falls, thus proving yesterdays traumas were short-lived. We trooped out much like the famous dwarfswhistling while we walked (or at least with a song in our hearts). Soon, I was walking slower and slower because I was developing blisters without the proper socks (lesson #1). Fortunately, I had my Adidas Kampung on, and a stout staff to lean on (cut from none other than simpoh laki, a common local tree with beautiful yellow flowers, which I immediately dubbed simple lucky!) For this, Ive to thank Mike Bernadus, our excellent jungle guide (lesson #2). He cut several staffs for us. So, as long as Mike was behind me, I was okay, which turned out more than okay, for both of us. Since we were walking slower, we saw much more (lesson #3), and were less winded (lesson #4), and therefore, enjoyed the trek so much more (lesson ultimate). A quick & dirty summary of some of the plants we saw: luminous mushrooms (various sizes, shapes, colours) lin-zi (a fungus believed to have medicinal values) tongkat Ali (the locals believe its roots are special) water vine (a vine you want when you run out of water) starfruit tree(a tree you want when you run out of juice) darah-darah tree (a tree that bleeds, literally!!) meranti/ seraya tree (white, yellow, and red varieties) epiphytes; parasites; saprophytes (satisfied?) Of course, animals and birds were more difficult to spot because of their mobility, and in daylight (more later, at night). But, we did see evidence of their beings and doings: wallows of bearded pig (small, medium, large) wallows of Sumatra rhino (XXXL!) nest of a bat (xxxs) mounds of termites (on vital parts of the trees) elephant dung Finally we reached the Falls. The other members were already in the waterdipping, preening, and screaming. I just applied cold therapy to my feetby soaking them in the cold mountain stream. It was heaven sent. Soon, too soon, we had to go. With my sturdy staff and guide, the return journey was swifterbut we were waylaid again by sightseeing and were caught again in the heavy downpour. We made it to DVFC very wet, very late for lunch, but very full in knowledge. Much of the afternoon was taken up by siesta & recuperation. Those whose batteries were recharged got a good intro on bin techno (how to use binoculars) by Jimmy. Just before dinner we had a surprise visitorMichael (formerly called George, but now named after Mike our guide)a full grown bearded pig! I noticed the ladies were visibly stirred, especially Sharon, who had met the beast the previous night, near our quarters. After a good dinner, we were hungry for moremore adventure! A few hiccups later, and we were off, herded onto an open truck. We were chattering excitedly, much like cattle to the market, after a good fed. I looked upand saw the full moon, smiling sweetly down. The night safari began in impressive fashion. We spotted (using a spotlight) in quick successiona palm civet, a family of kancil (mousedeer); a bearded pig and young crossing the road with some urgency (perhaps looking for Michael). Then no sightings for the next half-hour. But the moon-maiden kept smiling, ever so sweetly. But all was not lost, for Mrs Chung spotted (without a spotlight!) a musang hugging a tree trunk (trying to avoid the spotlight?). Alas, its eyes had itcaught in-the-red by the light. Then the finale. A yellow marten (juvenile perhaps? because of the colour) was spotted, and what a sport he was! He even put on a high-wire acrobatic act by jumping from branch to branch. Yea, the larger spirit was contagious. I bet all of us went to bed that night wearing a sweet smile. On Sunday morning I was up again at 4:30 am for another good causeto watch the sun. We piled into the same truck, picked up two fellow sun-watchers (Dutch, I think) and headed off to the INFAPRO Tower to watch the father of all sunrises. We were actually earlier than the sun. But the view from top of the tower (about 3-storeys high, on the top of a hill) was quite spectacular. The sea of cotton-white clouds surrounding several emerald-green islands (actually tips of mountain-tops) took away (some of) my breath! I noticed this scenery put some into a meditative mood until Kooookooooookoko (ably done by Dr Giam) announced the rising of the sun by the ayam kampung at sunrise tower!! More surprises awaited us on our morning safari. First, Mrs Chung spotted a eagle, then Dr Giam spotted another. To cap it off, we nearly cut short the morning walk of two sambar deer. After breakfast, the final challenge awaited usthe scaling of the 120-ft tree observation platform! Perhaps Jimmy wanted to put some fear into us, since we had been able to overcome all that he had thrown at us so far. Mike, Sharon and I were last to arrive at the arena. The rest had reached the top (120) or were half-wayleaving Ann, Stephanie and me on the ground. Sharon decided to pass because of an injured finger. Yea, the mighty tree (Seraya majau ) stood mightily tall and imposing before us, challenging us. Not ones to give up easily, we got going. Ann was first to go, climbing liked she had stayed there for years. I went next, without breaking a sweat. Stephanie brought up the rear. All of us were a bit shaken inside, but as I saythe trick was never let them see you sweat. The second half was even easier, because the top platform was sunnier and drier. That was when the girls noticed the leech marks on my back left shouldernot one but two fangmarks, red and swollen. Jimmys beckoning broke my musings. The descent was even swifter and surernothing to it. So, all of us conquered the last fear factor. Soon we were packed, strapped, and ready to go. Parting is always such sweet sorrow, but Ill be back.

JULY AUGUST 2003

Tomb Hunter
by Stanley Chee n the morning of 31 July, I went online to check for Sabah Societys latest e-newsletter (No. 72) which had been sent by our lovely secretary Grace Tsang a week before. Luckily I was not that busy that day, so I read through all the articles in the newsletter. Then, after the last article. I saw a very interesting letter from Mr St. John-Jones from the United Kingdom who needed help in his research into Sabahs history. In order to help him, one had to go into the cemetery and look for peoples gravestones. Due to the influence of the newly released movie Tomb Raider, I decided to take this mission alone as a test of my own guts. First, I went to check the exact location of the cemetery with our companys land surveyor, Mr Loh. He also had never heard of Jesselton Cemetery before. However, he knew there was an old cemetery just behind Sri Gaya at Jalan Istana. I wrote down all the names of the nine men on a piece of paper and prepared to go to the cemetery the following day. Next morning at 10:30 am, I arrived at the cemetery and immediately started my mission. For the first fifteen minutes, most of the gravestones I found were quite new and in Chinese styles. Those werent the old gravestones that I had in mind (a traditional English style or a simple cross), so I changed my searching strategy. I walked down to the other side of the cemetery, which is just beside Wisma Fook Lu Siew. Surprisingly, on my right-hand side, there were some old gravestones. I ran down and checked the names on each gravestone carefully. In the fifth row, the name on a gravestone looked very close to one of the names on my list. He was Mr Donald Mcdonald. Mr St. John-Joness list said only Mr Mcdonald. Immediately, I checked the next gravestone. Bingo!!! The name was Mr H.W. Webber. His name was on the list. This had to be the place where they were buried. The rest of the gravestones that I discovered later were those of Mr V.A. Stookes, Mr Le Gros Clark, Mr S.G. Hill and lastly Mr R.S. Abbott. But where were the gravestones of Mr Cho Huan Lai, Mr Bunte and Mr Kribbe? On the spot, I called Grace to check whether any information had been left out. According to Grace, the gravestone of Mr Cho Huan Lai had been moved back to China right after the war. As a result, the number of names on the list was cut down to eight. To complete my mission, I quickly inspected most of the gravestones around that area. Still, no trace of Mr Buntes and Mr Kribbes gravestones. Suddenly, I noticed a fallen gravestone on the right-hand side of Mr Donald Mcdonalds grave. I didnt know what to do next because it seemed like moving somebodys gravestone wasnt the right thing to do. But my curiosity overcame my fear; and I decided to go for it. While lifting up the gravestone, I kept thinking that I was doing this for Sabahs History, not trying to disturb him. Finally, the lift paid off in a big way. It was Mr Knibbes gravestone. Refering back to Mr St. John-Joness list, the name he gave was Kribbe. However, I thought they were the same person. Right, only Mr Buntes gravestone was missing. Since the cemetery had been beside Wisma Fook Lu Siew for quite a long time, I expected that I would be able to find the answer there. I thought Wisma Fook Lu Siew was the party which managed this cemetery, but I was wrong. One of the workers from Wisma Fook Lu Siew told me that the cemetery was under the management of the Anglican Church situated beside Kota Kinabalu Police Headquarters. Without any delay, I headed toward that Anglican Church. There I was directed to see Miss Lily Liaw as she is the only person with the records of burials at Jesselton Cemetery. After a short conversation with her, my last hope had faded. All her records are from 1969 onwards; nothing was recorded before that date. Furthermore, she had no record of Mr Buntes gravestone having been moved out of the cemetery. Like the case of Mr Cho Huan Lai, there was a possibility that Mr Buntes gravestone had been moved back to his own country or somewhere else. This last piece of puzzle really needs help from every member of The Sabah Society to solve it. In conclusion, I was very excited to find those gravestones. In fact, I never thought that the discovery could be that easy. But the feeling of success was awesome, definitely better than hitting a jackpot. But we have to remember that we still didnt know where Mr Buntes gravestone is. I hope any member who has any good idea or information on the location of Mr Buntes gravestone could share it with me, so I could further my search. In addition, after I studied the locality plan, I noted that the name of Jesselton Cemetery has already changed to S.P.G. Cemetery.

Directions to S.P.G. Cemetery: Turn off Jalan Tuaran into Jalan Percetakan, go straight until the parking lot of Wisma Fook Lu Siew. On the left-hand side, there is a staircase leading up to another small parking lot on the small hill. Go up the staircase and walk straight; you will see the cemetery. Start counting from the hillside or your right-hand side; the fifth row is the place where you can find their gravestones. (The cemetary can also be accessed from Jalan Istana, but the condition of the road is much wose than Jalan Percetakan.)