Submitted by Pendekar Timur: Is the Johor Bigfoot a product of Orang Asli/Malay folklore or is it part of Johor’s 240-million-year-old rainforests? Although there have been reported Bigfoot sightings since the early 19th century, there has been no effort to organise a scientific study. Earlier media reports indicate that the Wildlife and National Parks Department and other authorities had collected footprints and faeces samples of Bigfoot in the 1900s.However, the fear of being ridiculed stopped the authorities from pursuing the matter. Records of this evidence could be lying in the department’s archives.It is, therefore, timely that the Johor Government, through the Johor National Park Corporation (JNPC), launched a full-scale scientific expedition to determine the existence of Bigfoot.JNPC director Onn Jaafar had yesterday completed a week-long visit to the Endau-Rompin National Park to gather evidence and obtain accounts of the creature from the Orang Asli.The operation, mounted by rangers from JNPC, Johor Wildlife and National Parks and Forestry Departments, was organised ahead of a full-scale scientific expedition next month.The State Government’s move follows a New Straits Times report on Dec 14 about the sighting of a family of three Bigfoot at Kampung Mawai in Kota Tinggi, which stirred worldwide interest.Television and radio stations in Britain had on Monday broadcast reports and video footage of the Bigfoot footprint sightings. The footage was filmed by a BBC television crew, which investigated reports of early morning howling heard by villagers of Kampung Lukut at the Gunung Panti foothills, last month.According to researcher Vincent Chow, the most interesting factor in this renewed interest in Bigfoot is that Kampung Mawai has traditionally been linked to Bigfoot, which is referred to as Mawas in Malay.
View: Full Article | Source: New Straits Times
