ON TRAIL OF THE HISTORY OF KUNAK - PART 1

PART 1: 140,000,000 BC - 30,000 BC

Little is known about Kunak, a little town in the east-coast of Sabah. Yet evidence of ancient human activities dated back to around 30,000 BC had been found by some archaeologists in the area. An article in the book, South East Asia: From Prehistory to History by Glover & Bellwood (2004), mentioned of "an unusual industry of chert bifaces of possible Late Pleistocene age in the Tingkayu area. 

The District of Kunak covers an area of 1144 square kilometers and consists of two mukims namely Mukim Madai and Mukim Pangi. It is situated at 4^o 40’ 60 N; 118^o 15’ 0 E.

This part of eastern Sabah is said to have appeared above the surface of the sea during the Cretaceous period (140 million to 65 million years ago) although the island of Borneo really begin to push its way out of the sea about 15 million years ago.  Thus, the large limestone massifs of Sabah are mainly found on the east coast. One such formation is the Madai Cave in Kunak.

During the Pleistocene period about 2.5 million years ago, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Celebes and Peninsula Malaysia were all joined together, along with many smaller islands and they formed a continent known as Sundaland. At times when the sea level was low they were all connected to mainland Asia and it would have been possible to walk from here to Ireland without crossing sea. This ancient land bridge had the effect of enriching the flora and fauna of Borneo. The seas rose again separating Sundaland, leaving Borneo to evolve separately.

During the Miocene period, 10 to 15 million years ago, a large mass of molten rock intruded beneath the marine sediments that were eventually to form the Crocker Range of mountains. Mount Kinabalu (4010 m) was formed just over a million years ago when the cooled and hardened molten rock forced its way upward from beneath the earth’s surface. The island of Borneo found its present coast line only about 10,000 years ago as the gigantic blocks of ice formed during the last ice age melted away and raised the sea level.

Back at the east coast in Kunak, around 30,000 BC, Mount Mostyn erupted. The lava flow blocked part of the Tingkayu River forming a lake.  Many years after the molten rock cooled down, the bank of the lake and its surrounding became so fertile and flourished with tropical plants. Soon, bountiful animals congregated to the site to forage young shoots and slurp on the crystal clear water of the lake. It became a first-class hunting ground.

Note: Many of the images shown here are for illustrations only. The source is shown under the respective image.

A group of people who by many generations had travelled though continents by the “land bridges” finally arrived at the spot.  They looked around and saw some limestone caves. They must had been tired and hungry and decided to make those caves their home. After a while, the women and the children went out gathering berries and fruits for lunch. With the lush flora in their surrounding, it did not take them very long to come back with full pelts.

Meanwhile the men put up fire, gathered some flat hard stones and started to pound on them. They were making tools for hunting.

LUFFA AEGYPTIACA

I was first introduced to ketola (Luffa aegyptiaca; formerlyL.cylindrica) in Kampong Kersik, Jejawi, Perlis by Encik Mohd Fadzil Husin on March 27, 2oo9. I was on a working tour with the State Assemblyman of Kunak, Encik Nilwan Bin Kabang and my colleagues from UPKR N51 (the official body representing the local State Assemblyman). Our mission was to study the feasibility of ketola cultivation as a side-income venture for the people of Kunak.

Global demand
The use of ketola fibre as body bath scrub is becoming more popular around the world, replacing synthetic sponge, especially among health-conscious consumers. At the moment the company represented by Encik Mohd Fadzil is preparing 600,000 units of ketola fibre bath scrub to fulfill the contract with a client in Australia. They have to decline requests from Japan and the United States due to inadequate supply of raw material.
Research studies being carried out in local institutions also indicate the potential use of the fibre as vehicle dashboard, sound absorber for audio studios and water filter element. A preliminary research at USM (University of Science, Malaysia) revealed some chemical properties in the seeds of the ketola that can be used to treat diabetes.

Cultivation
Encik Mohd Fadzil gave me some ketola seeds. I kept 25 to myself and distribute the balance among my colleagues. Shortly after returning home to Kunak (Sabah), I immediately initiate my own little cultivation trial. Here is the progress so far:

• April 1, 2009 - A tray with 25 cavities was filled with soil. The seeds were then embedded halfway into the soil with the germination pore facing down.
• April 3, 2009 - Two days later, some seeds had germinated.
• April 4, 2009 - Germinated seeds were transplanted to the field. Transplanting was done with care to avoid damage to the newly emerged radicle(sprout). After covering the radicle with soil, sticks were stuck into the soil around the planting hole in pyramid-shaped formation. This was to prevent intrusion by domestic animals to the seed (as the field was located close to a residential neighborhood).

According to Encik Mohd Fadzil, the ketola plant shall blossom 30 days after planting. The flowers shall develop into fruits that ripen 45 days later.

• April 15, 2009 - The first leaf appeared.