Malaysian Update
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 12th, 2006
The story out of Malaysia today is pegged as an update, but there’s not much news in it.
Bigfoot: Johor to verify new info
New Straits Times
12 Jun 2006
By R. Sittamparam
————————————————————————
JOHOR BARU: Queries about the Johor Bigfoot continue to pour in from all over the world, with many Malaysians claiming to have seen the creature.
State Tourism and Environment Committee chairman Freddie Long said the State Government’s Bigfoot Steering Committee had recently received some new information.
“However, we have to conduct more studies and get scientists to verify the information collected so far,” he said.
“A lot of people in Johor have reportedly seen the Bigfoot or its physical evidence such as giant footprints.”
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Malaysian Nature Society Johor branch on Saturday, Long said he had received lots of email queries on the matter.
“Once the study is completed, we will provide a report to the scientists overseas.”
Long said the State also looked forward to working with non-government organisations such as MNS Johor to study and preserve the rich biodiversity of its ancient forests.
“Our immediate co-operation with MNS Johor is in setting up a bird sanctuary at the Bunker Trail in Gunung Panti. The site has become famous worldwide as a premier bird- watching spot.
“I have instructed the State Forestry Department to demarcate a 120ha area, which is home to about 300 species of birds, for the sanctuary.”
He added that the bird sanctuary would be part of the Gunung Panti National Park, which would be gazetted soon.
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.
Another nice drawing by Peter Loh.
However, I fail to see the point of a bird sanctuary in the context of the Mawas activity — except to draw attention away from the lack of evidence and/or to provide a set up excuse for the research into the animal to be deemed a lessor “priority” than the avians by the Johor government in the hope that public interest will eventually die down — giving the perpetrators of a probable hoax a graceful exit.
The longer they delay the evidence, the more it seems like an attempt at boosting tourism.
bird sanctuary = land set aside = good for all critters…
but otherwise, yeah, not a lot here.
Hmmm, not to seem like a downer, but we’re almost halfway through June and where is the much-anticipated “book”?
It has been stated many times that the “June” date was incorrectly given, and Chow has been clear the book will be some time in the writing.
Thanks for the update Loren. The one thing I did like about the story they said they were going to give the evidence to scientist so I would say they maybe have something of interest. Maybe Loren you will get a look at the photos before the book becomes public.
So there’s only one of them, eh? He needs to do a better job of hiding if he wants to live very long…
I have been interested in our Malaysian mawas since 1974.While on hunts for wild boar, we have often encountered folks who swore that they saw the Mawas in our jungles. Most descriptions resemble that of a tall black haired gorilla ,and not orangutan. Last time I went searching for one was in 1994, and centered around the 24/26 mile of Kota Tinggi. The rumoured footprints, unfortunately washed away when we arrived. Though one member of our team caught sight of something dark and tall crashing through a patch of jungle, when our dogs were released to flush out game. Reports of such sightings were also obtained from the Orang Asli tribe in Northern Malacca State, near Tampin, where their Chief reported seeing an ape like creature (with an upturned nose ??) taking shelter under a palm tree during rain. I firmly believe in their existence, albeit only a small but viable population in our Primary Jungles. Like the okapi in Africa and the recently discovered Laotian antelopes, there is much in our jungles that’s still undiscovered. Don’t forget, the rarest animal is one that we have yet to see.
The Mawas or now called the Malaysian Bigfoot may be that very rare creature. It pays to keep looking.
Dr. Jan