Mar 21.06
API founder Charles Goh informs us today: "I found a Chinese newspaper published on the 25th Feb 2006 revealing that a former Sultan of Johor once reared and later released 40 Orang Utans to either the zoos or the forest. Could this be the Colony of 40 Bigfoot mentioned by the Johor Wildlife Protection Society? Could it account for some of the sightings of Bigfoot prints being found? Remember this is Johor forests where there can be so many animals roaming around, therefore you should expect as many different types of 'Bigfoot' prints found as there are as many overzealous Bigfoot Hunters."
(Original headline: Bigfoot just a figment of the imagination )
TEH ENG HOCK is a bigfoot sceptic and he does not mince his words as he tells the world (and the media) to get over the mythical creature.
A giant footprint or three, a few strands of hair, and some torn branches – and the fabled Bigfoot had been getting more media spotlight than any Cabinet minister could ever dream of.
Since the most recent spell of sightings hit the mainstream media in December, there are no signs yet that the coverage will die off. Foreign experts and media have tried to get into the jungles, only to be barred by the state government. Some have sneaked in, such as those from the Singapore Paranormal Investigators and NBC Universal's Sci-Fi Network.
Even the move to restrict foreigners from searching for the legendary being had caught some political headwind; Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the search for Bigfoot is of international interest and he did not see why foreign expertise should be excluded.
The sphere of debate over the existence of Bigfoot had become extremely congested. While experts (and bandwagon-jumping politicians) continue to harp over the fabled creature, precious media space had, to a certain extent, been wasted on such coverage. After all, there are no new developments, nothing concrete to cement Bigfoot's existence.
Usually, the media spotlight would have simmered within a dozen days after development stalls. But no, these claims of Bigfoot sightings, commonly called Mawas in Malay, are similar to the Mawi phenomenon.
Fair enough, Akademi Fantasia 3 champion Mawi was mobbed by fans and snapped by sponsors for product endorsements after his win last year. But the bigger picture can be seen when pirated copies of Mawis's CD and other merchandise, such as t-shirts, posters and caps started hitting the pasar malam stands.
With Bigfoot, it is pretty much the same. Some retailers use ape-like masks to attract customers into their shops, and even the Johor National Parks Corporation (JNPC) has created a web page for the mythical creature.
JNPC even went to the extent of using the public interest generated to attract foreign tourism product buyers during mini-travel marts organised by Johor Tourism Action Council; the first time in Singapore on Jan 9 and again in Batam, Indonesia, on March 6.
It is surprising that no peddler has capitalised on the fad by selling Bigfoot t-shirts. If the fad lives on, perhaps Mawas fan clubs will start popping up like mushrooms after the rain, just like Mawi's.
Although the widespread publicity had caused a Bigfoot craze, there is a suspicion that only a minority truly believe in the legend of the hairy ape-like creature. After all, there were no takers for permits to enter the forest reserves, as disclosed by Johor Forestry director Che Hashim Hassan.
It is time to move on. Precious news pages should focus on consumer sentiments and unusual natural phenomena such as the floods in Shah Alam, and a week later, the twister-like storm in neighbouring Subang Jaya.
This will not be the last story you read about Bigfoot in the local press, as long as X-Files believers are out there. I used to laugh at a former colleague for his belief in UFOs and the paranormal; I now scoff at the idea that a 10-footer can hide in the jungles undiscovered for hundreds of years. Only time will tell who gets the last laugh.
credit: Charles Goh - API
