Deep in the heart of Borneo, near Kapit, Sarawak, I interview an Iban Chief about logging of his Tribal Land. Iban activist Peter John Jaban acts as translator of the Iban Language.
The Iban still live off the Jungle; hunting, fishing and growing crops. They live together in longhouses and were originally known for the practise of headhunting, that is beheading any strangers or neighbouring tribes to maintain and expand their hunting grounds.
I visit the Labaun War Memorial and Surrender Point with local expat Australian Peter Searle.
Peter discusses the Sandakan Death March, the greatest single atrocity committed against Australians in war. It is believed that almost
3,600 Indonesians, 1,381 Australians, and 641 British prisoners died at, or between, Sandakan and Ranau.
At Surrender Point on Labuan, the 32nd Japanese Southern Army surrendered to the 9th Division Australian Imperial Forces on 9th September 1945 which led to the end of World War II in Borneo.
The Australian 9th Division, Rats of Tobruk, were heavily involved in reconstructing British North Borneo and rebuilt and re-established a considerable amount of civil infrastructure. The division developed a warm relationship with the local people and its efforts were recognised by the incorporation of the division’s colour patch in the coat of arms of the new Colony of British Borneo. These arms were used until British Borneo became the Malaysian state of Sabah in 1963.
A big thank you to Historian, Lynette Silver for clarifying some historical points via email. For more information on any of the above history visit:
www.lynettesilver.com
www.sandakan-deathmarch.com
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In 1511 the Portuguese established the first base of European christian trading in Southeast Asia at Malacca in Malaysia. They held a fortress for 130 years until the Dutch captured Melaka in 1641. 500 years later people of Portuguese ancestry still live in Melaka at Ujong Pasir, five km from Malacca City, Malaysia. They are known as the Kristang, a Malaysian ethnic group with mixed Portuguese/Malay and for some possibly Indian or Chinese ancestry. I visit Papa Joes bar to learn more about the Portuguese community and get to hear Papa Joe perform a Fado, a style of song which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal.
Cendol is a refreshing Asian dessert. Made of shaved ice, coconut milk, coconut sugar, kidney beans and cendol, which is made out of flour. Tan of Melaka shows us how it is made
I review my Hyper-Gear Zoom Lens Camera Pouch http://www.hyper-gear.com/page2.aspx?p=59 I have been using this plastic case for all my underwater shots while snorkelling. The stills camera I use in the case is a Canon SX230 HS which I have found shoots great HD video.
Music : Underwater – Martin Schulte + Eric Delay
public domain – http://www.archive.org/details/grat006
After six months on the road it is now time to test some international business concepts. I explore setting up an offshore company on Labuan Island, Malaysia and will explore Geo-Arbitrage in the Philippines. Setting up a company on Labuan will reduce my tax bill to 3% fro any income earned outside Australia. Using Geo-Arbitrage in the Philippines will involve using my $AUD income to employ Filipino video editors at a cheaper rate than in Australia.
My last night in Borneo and I splurge on some fresh seafood, flower crabs and tiger prawns. Total cost of an amazing seafood feast including drinks – less than $25 AUD ( which is around the same in $USD)
Labuan Island, Malaysia is a free trade zone which means alcohol, chocolate etc are all extremely cheap. When one travels they have many opportunities to drink and I feel I’ve reached the stage where I’m now bored with ‘hitting the juice’. To quote my favourite comedian, Billy Connolly, “if you are still seeking that buzz from too much booze once your over 40, it’s a little bit pathetic”
I speak with Peter Searle from http://www.ectrustco.com about why Labuan Island, Malaysia is one of the best places in the world to set up an international company.
Labuan Island is an International Business and Financial Centre. It has numerous double tax agreements with countries such as Australia and provides benefits to international business including ’3% tax on net audited results or a flat rate of Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 20,000 to trading companies; low operational costs; liberal exchange controls; and a host of other advantages including readily available, experienced and professional service providers.’
For more information related to Australian International Business, including musicians, writers and filmmakers -http://www.ectrustco.com/site/documents/Articles/whitepapers/WHY-LABUAN-Aust-Perspective-20090929.pdf
Experiments in style and form. Can a man talk for 13 minutes on a bush walk, and still maintain an audience?
