Dedicated to Globe Saviour - Api-Api

13Friday

JK's Digest No. 14 of August 2007 (239 of 2007) Dedicated to Globe Saviour - Api-Api


This is exciting as I learned something so special at the Workshop of Organisation Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) held at the STAR on 14th August 2007.


Dato' Tan Kar Meng presented a paper on "The first coastal Saviour in Malaysia" about Mangrove Swamp rehabilitation of Sungai Besar, Sabak Bernam, Selangor, Malaysia. Dato' has also given me a special collection of beautiful set of three thick brochures on this Globe Saviour using the Pillowtube and Api-Api - much appreciated and treasured.

Although there maybe over 60 plant species for the mangroves land, it was the special hardy type Avicennia (Api-Api) amongst 4 surviving species that were applied to revive the mangrove swamp area and now the project is declared a Globe Saviour.

The fact that Api-api was mainly used in this project is significant in the context of Malaysia and Sabah in particular Jesselton & Kota Kinabalu. Soon after independence in 1963, Jesselton (from the British) was renamed Kota Kinabalu but the new capital of Sabah is still fondly known as Api- Api. We still have the State seat known as N15 Api-Api today and I stood as an Independent candidate with the tiger head logo in 1986.

It has been speculated that it is known as Api-Api for two reasons. Api-api can mean in local language as a great fire that could have occurred in Kota Kinabalu. So it is likely that Jesselton unoccupied once, was once habitated by the mangrove plant known by that name and such trees could also attract fire flies at night with great sentimental value. Now it is likely near extinct in Kota Kinabalu.


When Api-api plant can be considered an agent for globe saviour, then we should be proud of our name for the world. So this should now be used as a trademark for our tourism promotions awakened by the tsunami of 26 December 2004 which had sort of inspired Dato' Tan to venture into this pioneer project in his village in Selangor.


Joshua Kong (proponent of MIGS and WON) http://migs-mega-icc-group-sabah/
http://migs-sabah.blogspot.com/
http://forum.cari.com.my/viewthread.php?tid=285771&page=1&extra=page%3D1#pid16300759 for MIGS
http://won-borneo.blogspot. com/; http://malaysian-elections-2004.blogspot.com/
http://www.e-borneo.com/col/jkong/