Exclusive: Chinese Release More on Johor Pix
Posted by: Loren Coleman on July 16th, 2006
The following has been passed along by the API and permission granted to publish this English translation on Cryptomundo:
July 23, 2006 Edition The International Chinese Newsweekly
The Mystery of the Malaysia Nature Park Bigfoot by Lim Yu Soon
The Orang Asli tribes in Johor believe in a mystery creature that they called Hantu Jarang Gigi. According to legend, this creature is about 12 foot tall, with a body covered full of hair, having long arms and stout legs, who move speedily.
In December of 2005, Vincent Chow, an adviser to the Johor Malaysia Nature Society discovered big footprints as long as 17 inches in the Johor jungle. He believes that the 248 million year old forest holds a key to human evolution.
Vincent Chow stirred up the interest of the media and experts in the Johor Bigfoot.
In May of this year, many local and foreign media, through arrangements made by the Johor government, went on an expedition to the Johor jungle, but unfortunately could not find anything.
Johor Bigfoot Editoral Committee coordinator Lee Khai Shun expressed that there are many sightings of Bigfoot in Johor, and their stories tallied, whether from southernmost Panti or Middle Kahang. This [fact] made him believe in Bigfoot. The jungle logging must have caused the Bigfoot to migrate in search of food.
The Johor Wildlife Protection Society’s Wei Poh Chin has been following the Johor Bigfoot for 17 years. He said that while working in Pengkalan Hulu Perak at that time, he have contact with the communist guerilla and knew about the existence of Bigfoot from them.
He stayed in the jungle for long periods of time as he wanted to observe the activity of the Bigfoot. In Peninsular North Hua Hua Ling, Pengkalan Hulu Perak and Southern Johor he personally saw Bigfoot.
He said that the Bigfoot can be big or small; the big ones can reach 9 – 12 feet tall. There are males and females, and even juveniles.
He said that the Bigfoot has intelligence and knows how to use wood as weapons. Other than the fact that they do not have organizational ability, their behavior is quite similar to humans.
He said, "Bigfoot know how to create a vortex in the shallow river to make the fish dizzy and catch them. Although they eat live fish, they don’t like blood and will wash [the fish] clean before eating. Also they will tuck the fish under their arms. They like to eat fruits as well as wild boar."
But as there are many skeptics, including the state government and Johor Regent, who believe that the Bigfoot are remnants of the 20 orangutans released by his grandfather earlier, Wei Poh Chin recently handed over 14 photographs to the Johr Sultan and the Chief Minister, hoping that they will do some action to protect these endangered Bigfoot. Four photos will be released in the upcoming book (Johor Bigfoot). If these photos are certified to be true, then it will be the first time in the world that close up clear shots of Bigfoot are available.
"Johor Bigfoot" Editorial Committee Lee Khai Shun told to this Chinese Newsweekly that from the photos, Bigfoot is indeed a large creature, somewhere in between ape and man. One photo shows a male adult Bigfoot, squatting down, with a hand holding a stone, deep in thought. The male Bigfoot has very long and thick arms, and when he squatted down, his scrotum touches the ground. The other photo shows a female Bigfoot with an angry face, big breasts and a body full of hair.
But Wei Poh Chin refused to say where, when and who took the pictures of the Bigfoot, resulting in much skepticism of the pictures.
Botara University Darlan said that there is no background to the Bigfoot pictures, and therefore it is not known whether it is taken in the jungle or not. Also there are comments from some people that it is unusual for the Bigfoot in the close up photo taken to be in a still mode and full of expression.
But palaeoanthropologist Sean Ang thinks otherwise as there are no close-up photos of Bigfoot breasts and scrotum in the world and that the photos are probably real. He said that is is not easy to imitate the squatting posture with a stone in [its] hand and also [its] red eyes. If allowed by the state government, Sean would invite experts to examine the pictures.
Darlan also expressed that the Johor jungle is extensive and has an abundance of food and suitable for the existence for Bigfoot. Darlan has followed the expedition to find Bigfoot, although he found only big footprints.
But from the length of the Bigfoot prints, he estimated that the Bigfoot is as tall as 9 – 12 feet and as heavy as 365 – 400 kgs. He thinks to see Bigfoot, you would need a long period of time to adapt to the jungle, and not short expeditions of only a few days each.
Sean Ang is very interested in Bigfoot after being invited by Vincent Chow. He said from the hair samples and the footprints, the Bigfoot should be a hominid and not apes or other animals, most likely Homo erectus. Vincent Chow believes that the Johor Bigfoot could be remnants of Homo erectus now in Malaysia, via their migration from China/Indonesia.
Sean and Chow will publish their research in an international journal later. In the meantime they have setup a website johorhominid.org to let Bigfoot enthusiasts and scientists discuss Bigfoot.
Click on image for full-size version
Wei Poh Chin is more concerned about the protection of the Johor Bigfoot and the interference from people who will hunt and kill Bigfoot.
Like The China Wildman or the Himalayan Yeti, Johor Bigfoot all share a few similarities: big, hairy and agile. But until now, we do not have sufficient proof that they exist. Perhaps the Johor Bigfoot would be like other Bigfoot in other parts of the world, continuing to be a mystery for generations and generations.
Translated by API’s Raymond Goh from The International Chinese Newsweekly.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
What more can possibly be said about these pics? I will reserve my comments for the day that the actual photos are released. All this speculation is pointless, in my opinion. I’m just as anxious as anyone else to see them, but I just feel that its quite silly to go on with all of the speculation. Even after the photos are released, they may not live up to everyone’s expectations. The longer we have to wait for the release of the photos, the higher the expectation of their content is going to be. I’m not trying to be pessimistic, but I’m hesitant to get my hopes up at this time.
details continue to trickle out- bigfoot breasts and scrotums – and a better description – the plot thickens.
Now it’s starting to look like Trog.
Taking into account that they won’t say when, where or by whom these photos were taken, all this speculation is moot. If you do not have these things, you have nothing. They could be pictures of anything or anyone, that is if they in fact exist at all.
Im hopeful but remain skeptical.
Cut the cackle and the BS! Just show us the pics, boys!
I believe that even if the pictures are quite detailed, they will be considered too good to be true. Without backgrounds and detailed info on where they were taken, should they be received as truly authentic? These pictures will most likely not be the final proof needed for the skeptics to believe in Bigfoot.
“red eyes”, that’s a new detail to me. Haven’t heard that one yet, but I bet it is just the typical “red eye” seen in photographs (light reflecting off of the retina). Or, I wonder if he means they actually have red eyes? Any known primates have red eyes? I’ll research…
I’m still very, VERY skeptical. Chow and Ang have yet to capture my interest again like they did when this story first broke. They haven’t proven any credibility to me. Nope, nada, zilch.
As Snag says, show us the pickies. No doubt they are being held back so we’ll buy the book, but how about a teaser?
And why is it a “Bigfoot”? This is an American term for their local variety of large man-ape. Worldwide the local names range from the Himalayan “Yeti” to the Australian “Yahoo” with many more. How come the US one has migrated to China?
I found it disturbing that Wei Poh Chin who handed over the pictures to Chow has posted an appeal on Apr 19 on a Chinese newspapers asking for photographic evidence. As you know, Vincent himself leaked out the existence of close up photos using telescopic lens in early May at a press conference.
Here is Wee Poh Chin’s appeal on Apr 19 published in Sin Chew News
JWPS’s Appeal for More Bigfoot Data for Research
http://www.sinchew-i.com/article.phtml?artid=200604192707&data=scnews&spid=38754
JWPS Wei Poh Chin said, recently there are many claims about people seeing Bigfoot, even having photographs. JWPS is now asking anyone with BigFoot data to come forward and contact the society, and let the researcher use these data to study further. Also the data can be used to hold BIGFOOT exhibitions and seminars.
Wei and JWPS Secretary Tay Ting Wah told Sin Chew News that recently a friend from Segamat said he seen 6 Black and White photos of Bigfoot 30 years ago. At that time the friend was still a primary school student and once he played truant and ran away with another boy to the other boy house. At the house, he saw the bigfoot photos, one big bigfoot and one small bigfoot and also footprints.
When the friend read about the bigfoot news in Johor, he remembered about the incident 30 years ago at his old childhood friend house. So he called up the childhood friend, but the childhood said he have already thrown away the bigfoot photos when he moved house.
This Segamat man said he still has fresh recollections of the photos he seen 30 years ago at his childhood friend house, it showed a furry animal and bigger than gorillas. His childhood friend’s father is a logger and once at Kuala Yen Pin (?) while cutting log, the animal came into their tent to eat and so they took the pictures.
Wei further disclosed that according to loggers’ community, there are many loggers in Johor who have heard or seen Bigfoot, but very few told the press about it and fewer want to share the information. Perhaps in the past there is no organisation to collect this kind of information, and also people does not know what to do with these kind of Bigfoot data.
He said Johor State Minister Datuk Abdul Ghani met JWPS committee members and agree to JWPS’s proposal to build more fruit trees around areas where Bigfoot are spotted. JWPS has got the approval from the state government to handle and collect Bigfoot data and use it wisely for Bigfoot research.
He said JWPS has reached an research agreement with researchers. Currently the local researchers are in a dilemna as there is lack of data and information.
But if someone is willing to give BIGFOOT pictures, hair samples etc, it will be very useful for BIGFOOT research.
After JWPS has collected all these data, they will pass to experts to analyse the data.
Those with actual experience with Bigfoot can also contact him, JWPS will send people to interview the witness and record the evidence.
——————-
Equally disturbing is that Wei Poh Chin from the Johore Wildlife Protection Society have earlier in Jan wanted to encourage more tourists to look for Bigfoot.
Quote from report :
Wei Poh Chin explained that those spots where Bigfoot are sighted will become tourist hotspots, and the wooden huts left over by the logging company can be resting points. So far they has helped Johor Nature Park trained up to 60 guides preparing to lead tourists into the forest to find Bigfoot.
Johor Malaysia Nature Society also propose that the government investigate the Bigfoot, at the same time they can imitate the Loch Ness Case to incite the interest of the world to Johor Bigfoot, so that Johor Nature Park can become a global biodiversity tourist hotspot.
It is disturbing that these same gentleman are now trying to “protect” Bigfoot when they stirred up the media attention and even encourage tourists to look for it in the first place.
I can only hope Chow and Chin’s motives are compassionate and protective of the Johor Hantu Jarang Gigi. We all know how wantonly predatorial men can be when offered a million dollar prize for bringing in the first verifiable corpse.
I can imagine these two scientists having to walk a very fine diplomatic line. On one hand they must deal with the gorilla fighters who took the pix and whose political cause would probably benefit immensely from a million dollar cash injection. Now they must surely know the potential value of the pix they took.
Apparently these gorilla fighters would already know just where to bag a fine specimen or two to top up their revolutionary revenue stream.
On the other hand there are the independent carpetbaggers who, for the right money, could probably hire just about anyone among the locals to lead them to their quarry and an appropriate kill shot. Trinkets anyone?
Being ‘discovered’ means having to somehow survive the gauntlet of opportunists who want the pictures, the movies and broadcast rights, the corpses, the DNA and, finally, the steel cages to imprison and display them in. And we haven’t even gotten to the actual scientific interests yet.
I encourage all to pay particular attention to the descriptions of the creatures’ intelligence that is offered by the witnesses in the above article. They’re saying pretty plainly that they’re not apes. Still worse, they’re describing them precisely the same way as did that idiot did who wrote “The Locals”. 🙂
best to all,
thom p.
The media should ignore Chow unless he publicises his “proof”. It’s July already and most of us have enough hot air.
Dudlow:
I believe you mean “guerilla” fighters. Big difference from “gorilla fighters!” 🙂
These alleged photographers are “former” guerillas, anyway. They’re not currently fighting anything or anyone.
Was there a sceen in 2001 of one sitting down holding something? Maybe not but anyway I agree with the rest we should ignore Chow and Ang until they release a photo.
Enough of this monkey business! I know a carny tease when I see one…
HEY RUBE!!
“If allowed by the state government, Sean would invite experts to examine the pictures.”
So the state is refusing to allow the photos to be released?
JW, as often happens with Sean Ang’s or Vincent Chow’s or the Malayasian or the Chinese media’s harshly constructed sentences, I think you are misreading the meaning here.
I believe what is being said is that “If Vincent Chow or Sean Ang, per a request of theirs, are allowed to do so by the Johor government, they would invite government-sanctioned experts and/or officials to examine the photographs.”
Bottomline, it appears, Chow can show the photos to whomever he wants. He obviously is discriminating against some people, but showing the photographs to others, despite protests against their release. Why, for example, are government officials and Sean Ang shown the photos and readers of Cryptomundo not?
For the latest on the composite of what one of the photos may look like.
ok, now I see… yeah, it’s no “Pepsi brings your dead ancestors back to life” but those translations are a booger sometimes