Farewell,
turtle warrior
The man known as PakSu Cherating dedicated his life to saving the turtles. Now he’s watching out for them from somewhere in heaven，writes Intan Maizura Ahmad Kamal
T
HENotharitengokbukueggsthenantiaja-lahpenyu,pan.shouldanak-anak(OtherwiseKalautengokbeintidak,thekitadalamsand.satunak releasingkeluarpapers,bulanPakofthedepanSu.babiesThe(Don'ttostorytheforgetsea.willbetooutbuynextthedaywhenourchildrenwanttoseeturtles,they boardedmyvantoreturntomyhotelaftera canonlyseeinbooks).ThisiswhyI'mdoing magicalnightofturtlewatching,ledbyhisson, this.Forthefuturegeneration.Makesureyou FadhiLThe59-year-oldhadnoddedcontentedly getthemessageoutIntan."
Click.Therecordingcomestoanend.And suddenlythere'ssilence.Butit’spiercedbythe mournfulcrescendothat'srisingfromwithin me.PakSu'sfinalmessage,whichI'drecorded duringourmeetingonabalmynightinPantai TelukMakNikinTerengganuonlylastmonth, hangsintheair.
Desperately,Itrytostiflethatheavyfeeling oflossfromenvelopingmeasIgrapplewiththe realisationthatthemanwhosevoiceI'dbeen listeningtoforhoursandwhoseinterviewI'd beenpatientlytranscribingforastorythatwas notsupposedtobethisone,isgone.
AriffinHassan,fondlyknownasPakSu Cherating,passedawaya fewdaysago ‘ whileon his flight backfrom Koreato Malaysiawherehe’dgonetovisithissecond son.PakSu,theguardianofRimbunDahan TurtleHatchery, locatedalongthesweeping beachfront of Pantai Chendor, and whose tirelessworkinturtleconservationgainedhim themoniker,TurtleWarrior,wassupposedto readabouthisstorythisverymonth.
Pak Su and the Rimbun Dahan Turtle Hatcherypurchaseturtleeggsfromthelocal villagerswhosellthemforasourceofincome.
Subsequently,heandhisbandofvolunteers would re-nest (bury) the eggswithin the sanctuary'sfenced protected nestingarea.
There,they’dmonitorcloselythe incubating eggsandhatchlingsaswellastheeventual
"JanganlupabelipapertauPakSu.Story
month)," I recall gaily hollering to him as I
onebeforethrowingmeajauntywavefromwhere hestoodinthecocoonofthedarkness.
ButIguesshewon'tbereadingmystory now....
—'A
SU ^
- - 一十 一_ 烹.
A proud legacy
FROMPAGE23 villagerswouldenduptakingtheeggs.So shehatchedaplantoestablishherown hatchery.Sheneededsomeonewhomshe couldworkonthisprojectwith.Peopletold hertolookforme.”
Whenthehatcherybegan"operations"
in2014,thatyeararound5,000eggswere successfully saved, recalls the Negri Sembilan-bornPakSu."Thefollowingyear wesaved6,000.Itwasin2016thatwehad thehighestnumber—around25,278eggs.
ThatyearwespentmorethanRM60.000 justbuyingbacktheeggsfromthevillagers whoweresellingthematRM2.50apiece:
Wheredoyougetallthemoneytobuy back the eggs, I wonderaloud. "Kaya- nyePakSu!"Itease.Hechucklesbefore replying： "Takkaya manapon【I’m not rich).WhatI'mdoing atRimbun Dahan hasbeenpossiblebecause ofdonations and programmesthatwe runthat help togenerate income.Wedon’thave any supportfromthelocalgovernment. For example,weallowpeople toadopt our nests.OnenestisRM200andtheeggs number between 50 and 100 pieces.
WhoeverwantstoadoptjustpaysRM200 andwhenthey'rehatched,wetakepictures andgivetoyou."
Truly in his element now, Pak Su continues："Thespeciesthatcometoland herearetheGreenSeaturtle(Chelonia Mydas). Lastyearwegottosaveabout 14,000eggs；thisyearonly8,000dueto thelowlanding.However,thisyearwe've beenabletosavealotofseaterrapineggs thankstothelocationofournewhatchery (in Pantai Chendor), which is nearthe confluenceoftheriverwheretheyliketo swim."
ALONGJOURNEY
Thenightisturningnippy.Inthedistance, somewhereintheinkydarkness,comes theincessantbarking froma straydog.
"11.30pm0readsthetimeonmywatch.I prowlbackandforthrestlesslyastheneed to"pee'growsstronger.Thepublictoiletjust acrossthestreetlooksominouslylocked andasilentwailescapesme.Scattered araundme,someswayinggentlyonrickety swings,andothershuddledinananimated duster,aremembersofthemedia who havecomeforturtlewatchingonPantai TelukMakNikorMonicaBay.We’vebeen waitingformorethananhourforthesignal thataturtlehaslanded.
•Vuduksini\ntan(Comesithere,Intan),"
agruffmalevoiceinterruptsmyreverie.
Themanpatsthevacantspacenexttohim onthewoodenbench."Lamalagia?/(IfUbe awhile),"headds,beforetakingalongdrag ofhiscigarette.Justbehindhimishisyoung assistant,anintern,who'sengrossedina call.••Nantidahsampai,diaorangpanggiilah (Onceitgetsthere,they’llcall).Let’schat first,•’saystheman,histonelanguid.
Happily, I take myseat next to Pak Su,theman behindthisturtlewatching exercise.PakSu,I'ddiscoveredduringthe rideherefrommyhotelinKijal,isalegend intheseneckofthewoodsandbeyond.He's thego-tomanforanythingturtle.Aman whohasmadeithislifemissiontosave andprotectturtles.
“PakSu,ceritalahsikittentangperjalanan PakSusementarakitatungguni(PakSu, whydon'tyoutellusaboutyourjourney whilewe're waiting),.’ I coax, as fellow media members begin to amble over sensingastory.
He takes another long drag of the cigarette before replying： "When I first startedout, itwaswitharchitect Hijjas Kasturi'swife,MadamAngela.Shehada resortinCheratingcalledKasturiwhere manyturtlesusedtoland. Becausethat stretchofbeachwasn'tundertheFisheries Department, she knew that the local
i (A
Beforehebroughtvisitorstothispartof theworldforturtlewatching,PantaiTeluk MakNik,locatednotfarfromCheratingand beforeKemamantown,wasprettylowon theradarformanypeople."Nowyoujust Googlethenameandsee,"exclaimsPak Su,pridelacinghisvoice.
Chucklingheartily,hepointsacrossthe road：“Startfromheretothere,pergitengok apanamajalanni(goandseewhattheroad
TtM；
nameis).ItsJalanPakSu!I don'tknow whodidit. Myfriendsjokethatbiasanye orangbaginamajalanuntukorangyangdah mati,nimuhidupLagi(normallystreetsare namedafterpeoplewhohavedied；you’re stillalive)!"
atthehatchery.I'dbeenspendingmynights sleepingtheresoIdecidedtocallthisyoung manforhelp."
"FadhildahmasukdalamdengartPokDin (FadhiLhasgoneinwithPokDin),*'myears catchhiswhisperedwordstoPakSu.The oldermannodsknowinglybeforeturning tome,saying："Taklamalagini(notlongto Lastyear,PakSusharesthattheyhad manyvolunteersfrom Hong Kong and China. Volunteers normallystay forat leasttwoweeks.Internsmeanwhilestay forthreemonths."Thisyearnotsomany AHELPINGHAND
Theblanketofdarknessaboveuspartsto revealafullmoon,bathingoursurrounds in itsethereal glow. PakSu pausesto admireitsbeautybeforeturning tothe youngmanbehindhim."Thisismyintern.
Myvolunteershadallleftsothere’snoone go).
)akSu checking on the nests.
onCLOCKWISEFROM LEFT:Pa/?5w
spent almost all his waking moments at the hatchery;
PakSu with Angela Hijjas
(centre) and fellow
\ conservationist
；Helen Bong Sze
\ Wai； Fadhil, Pak :Su’s son, who :will continue the :legacy his father :built
. Guardian of Rimbun ^ - Dahan Turtle Hatchery.
BELOW：
Turtje hatchling.
★
CTWN^
.一
andsometimesseetheGreenturtleeggs beingsold,I'mnotsoupset.Butrecently Iwent,Isawpeoplesellingthesesmall eggswhichcouldhavebeentheeggsofthe HawksbillorOliveRidleyturtle.Thatupset me.Becausethesespeciesarecritically endangered.
A hush descendsaswe ponderthis disturbingreality.Suddenly,thechimingof someone'shandphonebreaksthesilence.
ItsPakSu's."Udahmari?'Icatchhimsay, beforeheclicksthephoneoff.Turningtous, hiswearyfacenowwreathedinarelieved grin,hedeclares："Jomkepantai,penyudah mari(let'sgotothebeach,theturtlehas landed)!"
ofamotherturtlewhenshewaslayingher eggs.Itwasintact,withhandleall.Twice I’veseenthis.Onetime,someoftheeggs cameoutwereblackandsmelledbad.We weredumbfounded.Thenwetooktheeggs, cleanedthemanddiscoveredthatitwas
、:
crude oil/'
■‘么
thebeachtolookforturtles,thentheturtles LIVINGFORTHETURTLES willfeelthreatenedandnotcomeup.Itwas
"Sayangpenyu(Loveforturtles].That’sthe importantthatguestsdon'tdisturbthis onlyreasonwhyI'mdoingthis,”repliesPak animal.Ifeltcompelledtodosomething.
Su,hisvoicelow,whenIaskhimwhyhehas Andthat.swhentheturtlewatchingtrips dedicatedhislifetodoingthis.Tmnotfrom started.In20141startedmyownhatchery."
thispartoftheworld.Sayaorangnogori[\'m Softly,headds： "Kalaubuatbaikdengan fromNegriSembilan)!ItwasonlywhenI bendsnibolehjadisdtusumberrezeki[\fyou moved herethat I got acquaintedwith dogoodforthesecreatures,thenthey turtles." becomeyoursourceofblessing).I'vebeen
Hiseyeslighting upin recollection, doingthisforalongtimeandhave PakSu,whoalsoranhisownroticanai tiredofit。Becausesayangdenganpenyu stall at one time with his wife before [lovefortheturtles].Thisisourheritage."
ceasing operations due to the latter’s
deterioratinghealthcondition,continues： legislationpassedbanningthetakingand 'Atthebeginning,Iwasjusthangingout sellingofeggsfromALLturtle
atthebeachnearCherating
Wewalkincompanionablesilence,the soundofwavesgentlycrashingagainst theshoregrowing louder.SuddenlyPak Su stops. Expression earnest, he turns tomeandwithurgencyinhisvoice, he confides：“WhatIdoisn’tlikedbymany parties.Butnoonedisturbsmebecause theyknowwhatI'mdoingistherightthing.
Ifit'swrong,Icanalwaysstop.Itsnoloss tome.ButI’vealwayssaid,Iwanttogive somethingbeforeIgo.Atleast,peoplewill remembermylegacy".
Thelegacythathehasbuiltwillcontinue toliveon—throughhischildrenandhis many supportersandfriends.Together theywillensurethathisdreamneverfades
—justliketheirpreciousmemoryofhim.
Al-FatihahfortheTurtleWarrior.
intanmfanst.com.my
:V十
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••化can never
•1:分
Givenonewish,PakSuwantstoseea species.
PahangandTerengganuhavedifferent nothing to do. I enactments. That's the problem. In Terengganu,they’veoutlawedtheselling timethey had some ofLeatherbackturtleeggs.YangBelimbing turtlewatchingactivities dahtakde,apayangnakdijuai(there's
and I had friends moreLeatherbackturtle,sowhatstosell)?
whousedtotake lamentsPakSu."WhenIgotoPasarPayang visitors. There’d
be times when they needed to take the visitors backand would ask
’ remember at the
GotoRimbunDahanTurtleHatchery'sFacebookpageto seehowyoucanplayyourparttoprotectourturtles.
no
m.. \
nextbatchto helpin.That’sbring,howtheitmMmm
‘ml
began.Chuckling, the father- of~fiveadds： “Atthattime, around1998,1couldbarelyspeakEnglish.
Justenoughtoofferbasicexplanation.By 1999,1boughtavantostartoffonmyown, lookfortouristsaroundtheCheratingarea.
In2003,1gotmyecoguidelicensesoIwas abletoworkasafull-timeguide.”
Atthetime,turtlewatchingwasoneof thepopularattractionsintheeastcoast.
But accordingto PakSu,people fromaroundtheworldtoseetheturtles buttherewerenoorganisedmethods
ways thesegueststojoinanyturtle PakSugivingabriefingtoboth/—
nestingtrips. Ifeveryonesimplywentto DahanHatchery,pixby.drchenpelfnyok y
came. We ________
had people from China,
Spain, the UK, Korea.
Yemen,theyhelpedoutatthehatchery."
Theirdaybeginsearly.Inthemorning, theyhavetosweeptherubbisharoundthe area,cleanthehatchery,andchangethe waterforthebabyturtles.Intheevenings, they're involved in baby turtle release activities.Andatnight,theyhelphimwith turtlewatching.
"\doalotofbeachcleaningtoo.It’svery important.We'veseenplasticcomingout
came or
