MALAYSIA
July 2004 - The Island of Borneo
Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, is not what comes to mind when one thinks of Borneo, an island once famous for head hunters. Now there is nothing primitive about Kuching; it is clean, safe, and green. The Muslims and Christians live together in peace and harmony. The tribes no longer hunt heads. There are national parks nearby with pristine jungle, lovely beaches, and even orangutans.
Malaysia snubbed the IMF during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, and the economy recovered better than other Asian states. Compare to Indonesia. Good news for Malaysia. It's a nice place to visit. Unfortunately however, logging, mining, and palm-oil plantations have drastically chopped away at the jungle. Thus, the orangutans are endangered. I challenge anyone who doesn't believe in evolution to spend time with orangutans! They are intelligent apes, and the main reason I stopped in Borneo on my way to Indonesia. Very cool :^) Their genetic proximity to humans is obvious. But giant corporations care more about profits than orangutans, and this institutionalized greed threatens civilization as we know it. If we cannot save the wild orangutan in Borneo, then all hope for future humans is lost. The least we can all do is vote for GREEN political parties. Conservation efforts are urgent.
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