Police Forensics Investigating the Black Paint Incident in Malacca

A primarily East Malaysian Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Church in Seremban was attacked today with a firebomb, leaving scorch marks on its front doors. The attack did not affect the church interior and was believed to have occurred early this morning. This incident marks the eight attack on Malaysian churches.

Yesterday in Taiping, Perak 2 cases of church attack were reported. The All Saints’ Church at Jalan Taming Sari and the SMK Convent along Jalan Convent became targets of arson attempts. Both suffered no damage. In Miri, Sarawak it was reported that the Good Shepherd Church had its glass windows shattered after being thrown with bricks, while the Malacca Baptist Church in Durian Daun was with splashed black paint.

“So far the attacks have involved stone throwing and arson attempts. There is no serious damage,” said the Home Minister, referring to the latest report on the surveillance on places of worship. He further added, ““Situation is under control and not as exaggerated by the foreign media, SMSes and the Internet,”

The government reiterates that all incidents were isolated and not coordinated. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Scorch marks on SIB Church, Seremban

All of the 8 victimized churches suffered only minor scorch marks or no damage, excluding the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, that left the whole ground in charred. Latest updates shows that the RM500,000 fund from the government to the Metro Tabernacle Church is actually for building a new RM1.5 million church in Batu Caves. Yesterday, Datuk Nazir Tun Razak, the younger brother of Malaysia premier cum the CEO for CIMB Group announced a RM100,000 donation to the same church.

“What happened was only caused by a small segment of the people. It was great to see people of all communities, faiths and social levels reaching out to help. It really reflects what Malaysians are about,” said Metro Tabernacle church senior pastor, Rev Ong Sek Leang.

Six Muslim NGOs — Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM), Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, Badan Amal Tarbiah Sejagat Malaysia, Pewaris, Islamic Information and Services Foundation, Perkasa — yesterday offered their assistance and support to their “Christian brothers and sisters”.

PPIM executive secretary Datuk Nadzim Johan said the NGOs, which have 60 volunteers, and Rela are prepared to give a hand to their Christian counterparts should they need assistance.

Naked-Malaysian: The cowardly acts of vandalism towards the Malaysian churches did not discriminate whether the concerned churches were from Roman Catholic division or not, showing a high level of ignorance towards Christian faith and church bodies in Malaysia. Although all forms of attack to places of worship should be condemned, it was obvious these vandals are barking at the wrong tree.

Technorati Tags: Allah, Christian, Church, Islam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Malaysian, Miri, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Roman Chatolic, Sarawak, Seremban, Taiping

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3. Malaysia ‘Allah’ Ban Overturned

Mess with the best, die like the rest

The religious polemic about who has the right to use the name Allah in Malaysia just added a new twist. The government website for Malaysia judiciary court was cracked by an unknown hacker going by the name Brainwash for a brief moment last night. The hacker then defaced the (http://www.mahkamah.gov.my) website with a short remarks threatening the Malaysia judiciary system to drop the recent ‘Allah’ judgment. The said website however has been duly restored at the time of this posting.

————————————————————–>>< <————————————————————

TakeDown by Brainwash!

Allah only restricted to muslim only. Dont touch us as we dont touch you. Unless…..

“Mess with the best, die like the rest”

p/s: To the court, Brain know you postponed it but if you wise enough then you should drop it

————————————————————–>>< <————————————————————

Naked-Malaysian: Mess with the best, die like the rest? Come on man! You are joking ‘rite? What’s about all the other serious words? An appropriate Surah relating to the issue maybe? Your skill for hacking doesn’t match up with the requirement not to be cheesy at the wrong time. Next time draft a good statement prior to hacking will you?

Technorati Tags: Allah, hacked, mahkamah, Malaysia, Malaysia Court, Malaysia News, Malaysian, polemic, Roman Catholic

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2. The Fuss over the Name Allah
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In Malaysia, religions are not supposed to communicate with each other or all hell will break loose. Another religion or belief that has crossed into the Malay belief  in Malaysia is those practiced by the Chinese.

Wearing a Kopiah (head cap) and sarong and holding Keris in its right hand, this idol clearly depict a Malay

A majority of the Chinese in Malaysia claim to be Buddhist or Taoist, though the lines between them are often blurred and, typically, a syncretic Chinese religion incorporating elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and traditional ancestor-worship is practised, with the fact that each individual follows it in varying degrees. About 9.6% are Christian (Mainstream Protestants, Catholics and other denominations including a fast-growing number of Evangelicals and Charismatics) and a small number (0.7-1.0%) profess Islam as their faith.

To put it simply, other Asian religions is based on local belief and the nature to worship. Datoks could be remnants of pre-Islamic era in Malaysia. Before the Islamic religious authorities started to clearly define what Islam is and is not, the worship of Datoks and Keramats were widespread among Malay and Indian Muslims. By that time, Na Toks worshipping have taken root in the local Chinese spiritual beliefs. In Malay pagan spirits are usually called jin kafir while guardian spirits are called penunggu. Penunggu usually means watchman, guard or attendant. The worship of Datoks among Malays and Indian Muslims have declined steadily after the authorities clamped down on such activities and nowadays are secluded.

Datoks and Keramats were seen as an alternative power to help in spiritual healing and grant protection. Mediums (Bomoh) were engaged to enable communication between worshippers with the Datoks and Keramats. The Datoks and Keramats include spirits residing in trees, stones and even the spirits of well known local Muslim religious teachers (worshipped at their graves).

It is not clear why the Chinese, having their own earth deity can easily accept the Datoks into their religious pantheon. May be they need a local deity to gain more spiritual protection. Datoks are known to grant winning TOTO or lottery numbers to worshippers. That could be one reason Datoks were absorbed into the Malaysian Chinese religious pantheon.

Malaysian Chinese’s definition

To most Malaysian Chinese, the Na Tok Kong / Na Tuk Kong (Hokkien : Da Tok Kong) is a local guardian spirit that resides in trees, ant hills, caves, riversides and in strange stone formations. A Na Tok Kong worship usually begin after a person is granted vision of the Na Tok’s spiritual form. Some common forms are a white tiger and the form of an old man dressed in white. A Na Tok Kong can also be ‘invited’ to reside outside (never indoors) a family home for spiritual protection and luck. Some people build small shrines by the road for this deity.

Strictly Local and Halal offering for a Muslim Deity

Dato Haji Keramat

The local Malay word ‘Datok Keramat’ means deity of the shrine, translated to Chinese as Na Tok Kong (Datok; Chinese pronunciation Na Tok and Kong is a call of respect). Datok Haji Keramat is believed to be a very powerful local earth deity that help many people who sincerely pray for him and known to hate any form of liquor.

There are various Na Tok Kongs. Datok Panglima Hitam is associated as a fierce guardian of villages. A Datok that resides in trees is called Datok Hijau. Some Datok even have their own personal names, which are revealed to worshippers during trance session. Their identity can be ascertained by looking at the banner at the shrine. Usually, the Datoks’ name and the shrine’s date of establishment would be stated there. Among other known Malay Na Tok Kongs in Malaysia are Datok Ali and Datok Samsuri.

Worship

The Na Tok can be worshipped on any day. The basic offerings are a pair of white candles, 3 joss sticks and burning gum benjamin (kemenyan). Na Tok worshippers prepare special offerings for the Na Tok on Thursday evenings. A set of betel nut leaves complete with lime (kapur), sliced betel nut (pinang), Javanese tobacco (tembakau Jawa) and palm cigarette leaves (rokok daun) are offered together with fruits and the basic offerings.

Every Na Tok has different individual feast days. In the Northern States (Perlis, Kedah & Penang), worshippers usually slaughter chickens, and sometimes goats to honour the Na Tok on the feast day. The chickens and goats MUST be slaughtered by a Muslim so as to make the offering allowable for the Na Tok. The meat is later cooked in curry and offered to the Na Tok together with turmeric rice (nasi kunyit). This offering is also done when worshippers get their wishes granted (e.g. winning lucky numbers requested from the Na Tok previously).

Offerings

Worshippers can place offerings of shredded tobacco, areca nut flakes, betel leaves with lime paste and fruits. Strictly no pork, beer, wine and alcoholic products (due to the Islamic nature of the Datoks, although Datoks has been incorporated into the local Chinese belief system, which has nothing to do with the Islamic religion whatsoever).

Naked-Malaysian: This post’s title itself is in contradiction to everything’s that is Islamic. In Islam even the great prophet Muhammad PBUH is only regarded as a messenger and not to be worship. To look at this at from a Chinese political angle would equal to blasphemy at the highest order since the Chinese are known to be anti Ketuanan Melayu (Malay superiority), as to worship the Malay deities would equal upholding Ketuhanan Melayu (Malay Godship). To be in Malaysia is to be in the most ironic country in the world.

Technorati Tags: Bomoh, chinese, Islam, Kedah, Keramat, Ketuanan Melayu, Malay, Malaysia, Malaysian, Na Tok Kong, Na Tuk Kong, Penang, Perlis

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3. The Fuss over the Name Allah

Allah is the standard Arabic word for God. While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to “God”. The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.

The concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) differ among the traditions. In pre-Islamic Arabia amongst pagan Arabs, Allah was not considered the sole divinity, having associates and companions, sons and daughters – a concept which Islam thoroughly and resolutely abrogated. In Islam, the name Allah is the supreme and all comprehensive divine name. All other divine names are believed to refer back to Allah. Allah is unique, the only Deity, creator of the universe and omnipotent. Arab Christians today use terms such as Allah al-’Ab (“God the Father”) to distinguish their usage from Muslim usage. There are both similarities and differences between the concept of God as portrayed in the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible.

It is true the name Allah predates Islam? The popular view is that Islam is exclusively associated with the revelation of Prophet Muhammad SAW roughly 1431 years ago. Among the core teaching of Prophet Muhammad PBUH however involved believing Islam as the continuation to the religion of Isa PBUH (Jesus), Musa PBUH (Moses), Ibrahim PBUH (Abraham), and going all the way back to Adam PBUH, the first human on earth. As Islam views it, to say something predates Islam would literally means to predate all humanity.

In relation to the usage of the word Allah in Malaysia Roman Catholic publication, it is very important to get the facts straight.

1. Regionally, Christianity had only flourished in Borneo long after Islam has established itself, with Christian missionaries actively converting pagan tribes in Sabah and Sarawak during the Rajah Brooke era.

2. The calling of god as Allah in local Christian teachings got nothing to do with Arabia pagan god, the Christian term for god was purposely localized to imitate the name of existing native god, the god of the majority, which is the god of Muslims. Furthermore not one Orthodox Coptic Arab Christian Missionary ever laid foot on Malaysia soil to justify calling god as Allah. All missionaries were from England and other European countries.

To be technical one can says the name Allah predates Prophet Muhammad PBUH, but at the same time, the same name was also non existence in any Roman Catholic Bibles produced in the country(s) where all the Christian missionaries had came from. The local Muslims reservation on this issue is not entirely baseless.

It is important to know exactly where both side stand on this matter. Its common for Muslims to back the Islam side, and Christians backing the Roman Catholic side. However, to have another large group of Muslim unopposing the Christian view on this matter is something worth sinking our mind into.

According to Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader for Parti Islam Malaysia (PAS) cum Chief Minister to the state of Kelantan, a key figure in the opposition coalition, Islam is a blessing to the universe, that translates into Islam is for all (Arabic; “Rahmatan Lil-Aalamin”). The one god in Islam is also the universal god of all religions. Other religion should be welcomed to call their god by Islam name.

Technorati Tags: Borneo, Christian, Islam, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Malay, Malaysia, Malaysia Insider, Malaysian, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Sabah, Sarawak

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Ruling on a lawsuit filed by a Malaysian Roman Catholic church publication, the Kuala Lumpur High Court said on Thursday that the home ministry’s ban on the use of the word “Allah” was “illegal, null and void”.

Judge Lau Bee Lan said the term was not exclusive to Islam, adding that all Malaysians had the right to use the word under the constitution which guarantees freedom of expression and religion.

The Herald had filed for a judicial review after it was temporarily ordered to stop publishing in 2007 for using the word “Allah”.

The government had argued that the word was exclusive to Islam and that its use by other religions could mislead Muslims and harm national security.

The church disputed this and argued that the word predates Islam as a term for God and is used in many places in a non-Muslim context.

It added that in Malaysia, the term is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak.

No threat to security

The church also argued that the ban goes against the principle of freedom of religion and religious practice enshrined in the federal constitution.

Lau ruled on Thursday that the home ministry had failed to show how the Herald’s use of “Allah” could threaten national security.

Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Catholic weekly, said outside the courtroom that he was “very happy” with the decision.

“We called out for justice and we got it,” he said, adding: “It is a victory for all Malaysians.”

Thursday’s ruling could open the door for other non-Muslim publications to use the word “Allah” as a translation for the word God in Malay language publications.

Hishammuddin Hussein, the home minister, said the government would appeal against the decision.

Source: AlJazeera

Technorati Tags: Allah, Islam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Malaysian, Roman Catholic, Weird

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”My job, as required by the law, is to determine whether the prosecution has succeeded in establishing a prima facie against the two accused. In this case, both are identical twins.

”Arresting officer Chief Inspector N. Sekaran, when identifying the first twin, was sceptical, but when asked by counsel, said that he needed some time and yet was still not so sure when identifying the first twin.

”A member in the arresting team, Kpl Mohamad Sidek Paiman, at first could not identify, but later asked for both the twins to stand and said there was a difference in their height. However, he identified the first twin as the one wearing spectacles.

”The question is, which of the twins was arrested first. Is it the one wearing the spectacles because at the time of arrest both were not wearing spectacles.

”Mohamad Sidek said he only identified them from the shirts they wore on that day,” she added.

Sathis Raj and Sabarish Raj were charged with their brother, R. Deva Raj, 43, now deceased, with two counts of trafficking in 166,336gm of canabis and 1,762gm of raw opium at a house in Jalan SS 2/19, Petaling Jaya, at about 4.05pm on Aug 5, 2003. Justice Zaharah said that based on the testimonies by the two policemen, there were doubts and the prosecution had failed to determine which of the twins was in possession of the drugs.

“One of the accused should be called to enter his defence but the question is which twin, because even the DNA cannot be used to determine the identity. On the day of the incident, both were not wearing spectacles. Otherwise, that could have been used as a basis for Mohamad Sidek to identify the first twin.

She said that although one of them was indeed in possession of the drugs, she was acquitting both because she could not afford to send the wrong person to the gallows.

After Justice Zaharah delivered her judgment, the twins, both clad in white shirts, cried and hugged each other.

Deputy public prosecutor Rosidah Abu Bakar prosecuted while counsel Gurbachan Singh appeared for the twins. – Bernama

Source: Star Online

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Who will survive 2010?

Every coming of new year we set out new resolution we hope to accomplish, but with each passing year, we never really achieved anything. Even though each year we promised to be a better person, we are never that serious to change ourselves, or the people surrounding us, and far away from changing the world. Everyday we are still polluting the earth, ignoring our neighbors, turning a blind eyes to people in need, etcera etcetera. We easily forget our promises because that’s what human do, …and then we came to another coming of new year. For a short while we paused to reflect at what we have been doing all year long and then started out new promises while our past ones are left unfulfilled. Every year we stayed in that infinite loop and managed ourselves to going nowhere.

The term ‘Happy New Year’ has become such a cliche that it is now merely a tradition to signify the presence of hope. What is so ‘happy’ and hopeful about the coming 2010? One can senses a dark aura of doom lurking around the corner. The world is in hopeless state. Nations are still in conflicts, innocent lives are being killed on daily basis to justify unholy wars and the ‘leader of change’ is just another western rethoric that promise only false hope. No concrete solution has been achieved to previous and current crises in the world, and yet we are heading to a direction where more crises will arise while the current ones will escalate further.

Religion is getting less relevant and the world population is getting more corrupted with lust, selfishness and greed. Ironically, the more human forget about religion and about God, the more God will make aware of His presence. That will simply translates to more disasters and tragedies. How else can human perceive God without being subjected to losing control to his delicate life and forced to accept that there is higher force at play.

In Malaysia, politicians are painting the country’s future black. Desperation and clinching for power has left the country in embarassing state. Personal gains sacrifice the good of many and the people are left to fend for themselves. 2010 will bring inflation and higher cost of living with the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

So as the citizens of earth are being jovial and about to partying all night on December 31, as some of us are getting drunk and forgetting ourselves and everything else, please try to remember we are a step closer to, and are celebrating our own destruction.

The world and our biological body are destabilizing every second, minute and hour, politically, environmentally and in every other aspects known to man. We will eventually reach a saturated point where our total destruction is inevitable and shall meet our ultimate doom.

So (smirk) to all friends and strangers, Happy New Year!

Technorati Tags: 2009, 2010, Christmas, GST, Happy New Year, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Malaysian, New year resolution

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Not one but two jet-fighter engines, each worth RM50 million, were stolen from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Sungai Besi. Both engines served as powerplants to the F-5E Tiger II fighter and RF-5E Tigereye reconnaissance jets. Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said the two engines were discovered stolen in May last year. RMAF had lodged a report with the police on Aug 4 last year.

He said the first engine was transported out of RMAF’s Butterworth base to the Sungai Besi base in June 2007 while the second engine was moved out five months later in November. Both engines were to be kept in a warehouse at the Sungai Besi base before being taken out for maintenance. The engines were taken out of the Butterworth base by the same private defence contractor handling its maintenance.

Both engines were only discovered stolen along with their maintenance records when RMAF officers wanted to service them in May last year. RMAF lodged a report with the police after searching for the engines at all its airbases.The case was later handled by the PDRM Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department in Bukit Aman. It was learnt that the engines were sold to arms dealers on the black market.

Armed Forces chief Gen Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin said although the jet was discovered missing in 2007, the case could not be made public as several actions, as well as internal investigations which also involved the police, had to be conducted. “Investigations are still being carried out by the police and the outcome will be announced soon. We are leaving the investigation to the police and will not interfere,” he added. (Resource: NST Online)

RMAF Northrop F-5E Tiger hawks over Malaysia air space

F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and F-5E/F Tiger II is widely used as a “light supersonic fighter aircraft”, designed and built by Northrop in the United States, starting in the 1960s. There are hundred of units that are still serving in the air force around the world in the early 21st century. Production stopped in 1972 for the type of F-5A and 1987 for the upgraded version of F-5E.

In 1975 Malaysia received 14 of F-5E units and 2 units of F-5F (training version) for Royal Malaysian Air Force to replace the F86 Saber Avon that had served since 1969. Malaysia F-5E/RF-5F’s are among the most advance jet fighters in Asean region during its era and has served in the Royal Malaysian Air Force successfully as the main fighter craft for more than 20 years. Its roles in the air was then taken over by the A4 Skyhawk in the 1980s.

Originally served as a jet interceptor, it was later also used for ground attack, to bomb PKM camps and hideouts during insurgency era. RMAF F-5E’s were operated by 11th. and 12th. Squadron in Butterworth, Penang. Among its most memorable tasks was intercepting unauthorized entrance of Vietnamese MiG’s into Malaysia air space. The 11th. Squadron was later disbanded and absorbed into the 12th. Scorpion Squadron. Current operational status of F-5E is somewhat vague but it was reported that 7 aircraft have been restored with enhanced capabilities. Other report suggest that it now serves mainly for tactical reconnaissance.

Later on, in an effort to minimize the number of unoperated military assets, the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Malaysian government have agreed to reactivate 7 nos. F-5E units as second line fighter starting late 2006/07. Although not the best in terms of capacity compared with Mikoyan MIG-29N Fulcrum, Sukhoi SU-30MKM Flanker, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet or the BAE Hawk Mk108/208 but it’s still a significant threat to whoever tried to provoke the country air space.

NEWS UPDATE
A brigadier-general and 40 armed forces personnel were sacked over their alleged involvement in a fighter engine missing case, a local newspaper said here on Monday. An internal inquiry has found the brigadier-general and the 40 personnel were involved in several other logistic irregularities amounting for several million ringgit, the newspaper quoted a source as saying. RMAF spokesman however denies this news is related to the missing jet engines case. (Resource: NST Online)

The RMAF F-5E fighter jet missing engines was found sold to an international company based in South America, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He said the company was believed to have hired an agent to bring the engine out of the country because the price was cheap, as it was a spare part categorised as faulty and would be repaired. The Defence Minister said his ministry will take legal action at the international level to charge the company involved. (Resource: Bernama)

Technorati Tags: BAE Hawk Mk108/208, Butterworth, F86 Saber Avon, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Malaysian, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18, Mikoyan MIG-29N, Northrop F-5E, Penang, RMAF, Royal Malaysia Air Force, Sukhoi SU-30MKM, Sungai Besi, TUDM

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This is not Muniappan, but a Malaysian Indian nevertheless

One day a tourist from Pike County, USA named Bob has just arrived in Malaysia for a short summer vacation. Anxious to know what Malaysia is all about, he decided to chart a taxi for a short tour in KL before checking-in to the hotel.

The name of the taxi driver that day is Muniappan,  an army retiree. As all other proud Malaysian, Muniappan want to impress Bob with Malaysia rapid development and decided to show the top few landmarks in Kuala Lumpur.

As they arrived at Dayabumi, Muniappan entered his tourist guide mode and started to explaine “Mr. Bob, here we are at Dayabumi, one of Malaysia prominent landmark. This building was completed in 1984 and the first to use all out white marbles finishes”. “Oh, really? interesting! How long they took to complete it?” asked Bob. Muniappan hesitates, but being a proud citizen he didn’t want to be seen as ignorant, so he bluffed,” I heard someone said 11 months”. Amazed by the answer, but reluctant to be seen as so, John replied, “Oh we got building like this back in the States, using the latest in construction technology it would take only took us not more than 7 months”.

After that, Muniappan brings Bob to KL Tower. “On our right side is Menara Kuala Lumpur, currently the fourth highest tower structure in the World, but when it was first completed,it ranked no. 1″. “How long was the construction period?”, asked Bob. Trying to outwit Bob this time, Muniappan answers,”exactly 6 months sir!”. “That’s like forever, the Chicago Sears Tower only took 4 and a half months, but that was like in 1932″, bragged Bob.

So this time Muniappan heads straight to Petronas Twin Towers, but upon arriving he purposedly shut his mouth. Amazed by the elegant architecture as he looked from the window, Bob asked,”So what is this twin building here?”

Muniappan casually replies, “…err I don’t know sir. IT WASN’T HERE WHEN I PASSED THROUGH YESTERDAY!”

Bob was then as silent as a dead corpes until they arrived at his hotel.

A top minister recently slammed Malaysia's taxi drivers, saying they were more of a problem for the tourism industry than the nation's notoriously filthy toilets

Technorati Tags: Dayabumi, KL Tower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Taxi, Malaysia Travel, Malaysian, Petronas Twin Tower

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Is this the real Pygmy elephant?

The origins of the pygmy elephants, found in a range extending from the north-east into the Heart of Borneo, have long been shrouded in mystery. Their looks and behaviour differ from other Asian elephants and scientists have questioned why they never dispersed to other parts of the island.

But a new paper published today supports a long-held local belief that the elephants were brought to Borneo centuries ago by the Sultan of Sulu, now in the Philippines, and later abandoned in the jungle. The Sulu elephants, in turn, are thought to have originated in Java.

Javan elephants became extinct some time in the period after Europeans arrived in South-East Asia. Elephants on Sulu, never considered native to the island, were hunted out in the 1800s.

A family of Bornean Pygmy Elephant

“Elephants were shipped from place to place across Asia many hundreds of years ago, usually as gifts between rulers,” said Mr Shim Phyau Soon, a retired Malaysian forester whose ideas on the origins of the elephants partly inspired the current research. “It’s exciting to consider that the forest-dwelling Borneo elephants may be the last vestiges of a subspecies that went extinct on its native Java Island, in Indonesia, centuries ago.”

If the Borneo pygmy elephants are in fact elephants from Java, an island more than 1,200 km (800 miles) south of their current range, it could be the first known elephant translocation in history that has survived to modern times, providing scientists with critical data from a centuries-long experiment.

Scientists solved part of the mystery in 2003, when DNA testing by Columbia University and WWF ruled out the possibility that the Borneo elephants were from Sumatra or mainland Asia, where the other Asian subspecies are found, leaving either Borneo or Java as the most probable source.

Radio-collaring Pygmy elephants in Sabah, Borneo (June 2005)

The new paper, “Origins of the Elephants Elephas Maximus L. of Borneo,” published in this month’s Sarawak Museum Journal shows that there is no archaeological evidence of a long-term elephant presence on Borneo.

“Just one fertile female and one fertile male elephant, if left undisturbed in enough good habitat, could in theory end up as a population of 2,000 elephants within less than 300 years,” said Junaidi Payne of WWF, one of the paper’s co-authors. “And that may be what happened in practice here.”

There are perhaps just 1,000 of the elephants in the wild, mostly in the Malaysian state of Sabah. WWF satellite tracking has shown they prefer the same lowland habitat that is being increasingly cleared for timber rubber and palm oil plantations. Their possible origins in Java make them even more a conservation priority.

“If they came from Java, this fascinating story demonstrates the value of efforts to save even small populations of certain species, often thought to be doomed,” said Dr Christy Williams, coordinator of WWF’s Asian elephant and rhino programme. “It gives us the courage to propose such undertakings with the small remaining populations of critically endangered Sumatran rhinos and Javan rhinos, by translocating a few to better habitats to increase their numbers. It has worked for Africa’s southern white rhinos and Indian rhinos, and now we have seen it may have worked for the Javan elephant, too.”

A mother and baby Pygmy Elephants

Important Facts
* Borneo pygmy elephants are smaller than mainland Asian elephants. The males may only grow to less than 2.5 meters, while mainland Asian elephants grow up to 3 meters. They also have babyish faces, larger ears, longer tails that reach almost to the ground and are more rotund. These elephants are also less aggressive than other Asian elephants.The scientific name is Elephas maximus and they are sometimes refered to as Elephas maximus borneensis, although they have not been officially determined to be a separate subspecies from mainland Asian elephants.
* The elephants are found primarily in the state of Sabah in Borneo Malaysia, with a few individuals having a part of their home range across the border in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
* Large areas of Borneo’s forest are being rapidly cleared and replaced with tree plantations for rubber, palm oil and timber production and satellite tracking has found that the pygmy elephants prefer the same flat, lowland forest as commercial industries do, leading to competition for habitat.

The original article can be read here at WWF Malaysia; Extinct Javan elephants may have been found again – in Borneo. All right reserved.

Naked-Malaysian: If an extinct Javan elephant sub-species can even be found in Malaysia, why the necessity to accuse another country for commiting cultures theft? Many Indonesian ethnics also migrated to Malaysia in ancient times. To justify and preserve the same sentiment would require another accusation of Malaysia’s ‘claiming‘  the Bornean Pygmy elephants.

Technorati Tags: Bornean Pygmy Elephant, Borneo, cultures theft, Ganyang Malaysia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia News, Malaysian, Sabah, WWF

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