TENOM: Voters in this Sabah's Murut heartland here are polite to candidates - they entertain all five contestants but give away little when it comes to their political inclination.
BACK to exciting travel writing as a roving reporter. The usual thing is everybody travels to places. What about travel to hearts and minds to see what unsung folks in Sabah’s Murut heartlands are thinking and doing?
In so doing, I was stunned by a core of real conservationists doing real conservation among people one least expects – Murut Tahol in the middle of nowhere set to monetise their stock of belian treasure standing rather than logged and cut down for short term money!
That happened December 3, 2021, in far flung valley-bound Kampung Salinatan, Pensiangan, hemmed in by pristine forests and soaring hills by the bank of crystal clear River Saliu.
After a scintillating afternoon boat battle up pure river Saliu against multiples of roaring rapids steered on by unbelievably skilful Murut lads, sights of undisturbed riparian reserves impressed all the way, sheer jungle, a stock of 500 year-old famous hardwood belian trees soaring by the river bank, e