The Trip to Maliau Basin

1. On the 29th January WWF Malaysia signed a MoU with Sabah Foundation witnessed by the Prime Minister and other dignitaries. The MoU was attempting to address carrying capacity and human resources to manage the protected areas in Sabah. At the same time the Prime Minister was invited to witness the handing-over a cheque of RM 30 millions by the Sime Darby Foundation to the Royal Society of UK. The SDF is represented by Tun Musa Hitam and the RS by Dr. Glen Reynolds. The money was under a programme called SAFE.

2. I will write at later time about SAFE and now I want to describe my journey from Kota Kinabalu to Maliau Basin and back. We started at about noon on Friday 28th. with Dr. Rahimatsah at the steering of the Toyota Fortuner. We passed the Lok Kawi army depot, to Tuaran and Kimanis pass. I was here at Kimanis Pass in the 1980s doing field work. We arrived at Keningau for a refill and headed east to Sook and Nabawan. We passed by the Sook Plain to Sepulut. All along it was marvelous as the road is tarred.

3. After Sepulut we had to travel on the unfinished highway. The surface was good, except for a few areas where the surface subsided. It was the same road that we took in 2006 from Tawau to Maliau when it was under massive construction. I was told the highway was unfinished but the millions of budget was finished. We arrived at the Maliau Gate before 5 pm.

4. At about 6 pm we started to move in as the day was getting dark. This time the road was slippery as it rained the previous two days. We observed other vehicles had problems to move straight but with Dr. Rahimatsah at the steering our vehicle went smoothly in. As we arrived at the Maliau Basin Research Station, I was really surprised as the station is completed. The facilities were superb with hostels, laboratories, chalets, dining rooms, conference rooms, seminar rooms, etc. It is the third generation field station by any standard.

5. Hundreds of vehicles went in for the occasion and 7 or 8 helicopters brought in the VVIPs. It was so noisy that the wildlife especially the Bos javanicus disappeared into the wilderness. Anyway, all the MoUs were signed, speeches given and discussions pursued. I met several old friends including Datuk Henry Barlow, Dr. Chey & Dr. Robert Ong from Sandakan, Dr. Zainal Z Zainuddin & Datuk John Payne from Tabin, Dr. Glen Renolds from Danum Valley, Dr. Stephen Hutton, and many others.