Today’s A Journey
through Aesthetic Realms
will be presented
in Bahasa Melayu,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Hungarian, Indonesian,
Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Malay,
Mongolian, Persian,
Portuguese, Russian
and Spanish.
Peace be upon you.
Welcome to
Tasek Merimbun
Heritage Park.
Halo,
eco-conscious viewers,
and welcome to
A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
On today’s episode,
we are delighted to visit
the gorgeous land
of Brunei Darussalam.
Nestled on
the northeastern shore
of Borneo Island
in Southeast Asia,
it is home to some of the
best preserved rainforests
in all of Borneo.
Her thriving ecosystems
support not only
a diverse array of wildlife
but also flourishing
indigenous human
settlements with
unique cultural traditions.
One of
Brunei Darussalam’s
national prides,
the Merimbun Heritage Park,
also known as
Tasek Merimbun,
will be the focus
of our program today.
My name is
Untong bin Madah.
I am
the former village chief.
I’ve retired for three years.
I’ve worked and lived
here in Tasek Merimbun
with my family.
We’ve been here since
the days of our ancestors.
Tasek Merimbun is situated
deep in a remote area,
far away from town
and other known places.
There’s a lake here; it’s
called the Merimbun Lake.
It is the largest lake
in Brunei.
We’ve seen
the original scenic views,
the more we see
the more beautiful it is.
The villagers like it.
A pair of
twin freshwater lakes
connected by
a narrow channel form
the central feature
of the Tasek Merimbun.
The surrounding
wetland habitat
is teeming with
precious flora and fauna.
Archeologically
significant remnants of
the Dusun ethnic group,
still living in the area,
have been found on
some of the lakes’ islands
that date back
500 years ago and longer.
In order to protect
the natural and cultural
heritages of this area,
a national reserve was
established here in 1984
and declared as
one of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Heritage Parks.
It is currently managed
by the Brunei Museums
Department of
the Ministry of Culture,
Youth and Sports.
Our guide and officer
of the Tasek Merimbun
Museum,
Mr. Shahdan, took us
for a fascinating boat tour
of the lakes and showed us
the surrounding area.
We’re now in the area
close to the lake
and we shall use the boat
to go around
in the Merimbun Lake.
We’re now in
the Merimbun Lake area.
There are two lakes here;
the first one is
about 100 hectares and
the one over there has
an area of 120 hectares.
The water in this lake
is naturally black
because of the plants
or withered leaves
that fall into the lake.
We’re now
crossing the river
called Sungai Piasau.
We’ll get to the second lake
which has an area
of 100 hectares.
On our right side
we have an island
called Pulau Batu.
And here on this side,
we call this island
Pulau Merah.
We are now
in the nature trail area;
it is a trail system with
a network of jungle paths.
There are two Merimbun
botanical trails.
The second one is
Banunih Trail.
Among the park’s research
and tourist facilities,
there is a central hilltop
exhibition hall
with a panoramic view
of the lakes
and the surrounding area.
We have this exhibition hall
to give introductions.
It displays
the important researches
in Merimbun Heritage Park.
We have
the Natural History section,
Archeology and
Ethnography sections.
All three sections
are closely related
to each other in projecting
the uniqueness of
Merimbun Heritage Park.
The Natural History
section is in the form
of pictures from the wild.
The Archeology section,
this field emphasizes
the historical background
of the early settlements
in the interior sites
of Tutong District,
mainly Pulau Jelundong
and Pulau Labu-Labu.
The Ethnography section,
this field emphasizes
on cultural and economic
efforts of the villagers
of Tasek Merimbun, whose
livelihood traditionally
depends on the food
collected from the jungle.
With a maximum depth
of 4 meters,
the seasonally flooded
Merimbun lakes
and their surrounding
marsh forests form
the largest peat-swamp
wildlife sanctuary
in northern Borneo.
In a survey
of 4 of the 7,800 hectares
of the park,
no less than 800 varieties
of plants were identified.
Although much of the park
is yet to be fully studied,
a rich diversity of fauna
has already been reported,
including 50 kinds
of freshwater fish,
68 types of mammals,
148 varieties of birds,
and hundreds of species
of reptiles, amphibians
and insects.
This exhibition also shows
a type of red ape
found in Tasek Merimbun,
called Meragang.
These Meragangs
eat only young shoots,
leaves and certain fruit.
We display pictures
of these Meragangs.
They are so attractive
in Tasek Merimbun,
especially
when you notice them
in the morning,
about 5:30 am;
they are calling their group,
making the sound
“ko... ko... ko...”
to invite other members
of the group to collect food.
There are about 9, 10 or
13 members in a group.
Here are examples
of their pictures taken in
Merimbun Heritage Park.
has a variety of animals
and it is also capable of
sustaining the livelihood
of these animals.
We should be able to
protect these animals
and take care of them.
Otherwise the animals
would be growing lesser
in number
or even become extinct.
For conservation
and research purposes,
the park has been zoned
into three
distinct protected areas:
a conservation area,
a low-intensity
visitor use area,
and an intensive
visitor use area.
The first two categories
are reserved
only for education
and research purposes.
In addition, the national
Wildlife Protection Act
is in full effect along with
a continuing public
awareness campaign.
Besides this,
we have to follow the rules
per the instructions
on the signboards
that have been put up
to protect the area.
The data
collected by researchers
needs to be reported.
And we’ll make this data
as reference materials.
These will be made
available to people
from overseas and those
from within the country.
Conservation measures
facilitate active
scientific projects which
generate important data
about the ecosystem and
its residential life forms.
This habitat, which has
birds that fly around, is
part of the research area.
Research is currently
being carried out by
the Museum Department
in Bang Dua area.
The aggregate of
our counting of the birds
from 5:30 pm till 6:45 pm
is about 1,000.
We also have observations
at about 6:45 pm
on the Night Heron,
also known as “uruk.”
Our research on the uruk
is done in the area called
Pulau Uruk over there.
We will also
do an observation
on the Oriental Darter,
also known as
“nisan buaya.”
Our count on
the number of the birds
in the research
is about 70 plus.
We carry out research
on “banduk” too.
The bird is known as
the Purple Heron.
Our research is carried out
during the period
when these birds lay eggs,
starting from the month
of October to February.
Before
the official opening of
Merimbun Heritage Park
on May 27, 2000,
the Museum Department
had already started
their research
from 1982 to 1983.
After the official opening,
more and more researchers
have shown their interest
in Merimbun Heritage Park,
such as those
from overseas schools,
and also people
from within our country.
Studies on
early human inhabitants
in the Merimbun Lake area
have also generated
interesting findings.
We now see an island
called Pulau Labi-Labi.
And behind it
we see Pulau Gayuh.
In this area, we do
archaeological research
on the early inhabitants
in this area
and their influence.
Among the findings
here are pottery and some
traces of wooden poles
left in Tasek Merimbun.
The fertile land
and abundant jungles
have provided
a source of livelihood
to human inhabitants
until the present day.
It’s said that
a person called Imbun
discovered this place
that had plenty of food.
He brought his family here
and other people
followed suit
to build homes here.
Over time, the lake and
its surrounding areas were
called Tasek Merimbun
as a tribute
to the founder, Imbun.
It was later changed to
Merimbun Heritage Park.
In the olden days,
we worked on our own
self-sufficiency; we didn’t
have any other jobs,
only planting paddy
and tapioca.
Every year, farm produce
was used to feed ourselves.
We used to find all types
of herbs from the jungle
and brought them home.
Children were left at home
while adults
went into the jungle
to search for food.
We followed the guidance
left by our forefathers
to find edible herbs, roots
and other plants
from the jungle
while waiting for
the ripening of the paddy.
We tried to gather
all the food from the jungle
to last for
about three months
until the paddy ripened.
Nowadays we have
less need for this
as our children are
allowed to stay in town
to continue their studies
after six years
of early studies here.
Whatever current farms
that we have,
we cultivate them for
the residents who remain.
Local villagers wish to
cultivate the largest orchard
that has white durians,
yellow durians and so on.
We’re used to the life
by the Merimbun Lake.
We still like the jungle
in front of us
which has been there
since a long, long time ago
until today.
For hundreds of years,
villagers have lived
in harmony with nature.
Their creativity is reflected
in the elegant handicrafts
made with
locally available materials.
We’re now in
the ethnic research section,
the Ethnography section,
where heritages
in Tasek Merimbun,
such as handicrafts,
are displayed.
The handicrafts,
like “takiding,”
“saging Lembatung,”
“saging Suangan,”
“gandang sedaman” and
baskets, are all found in
Merimbun Heritage Park.
These are handicraft
products of the villagers
in Tasek Merimbun.
The enchanting nature
and rich cultural traditions
make Tasek Merimbun
an ideal destination
of ecotourism.
In fact, it has become
one of the country’s
main tourist attractions
for wildlife watching
and holidaying.
The view
in Tasek Merimbun
is changing.
It’s now getting
more beautiful with grass,
a variety of flowers;
even the lotus
is now being grown.
We like it,
both young and old.
We’ve lived here
for generations
and we’re grateful.
Our hope is to be able to
continue living here and
to welcome the tourists
who come to visit.
Hopefully Tasek Merimbun
will have a bright future
and be more prosperous
with the increase
in the number of tourists,
not only people from Brunei
but also those
from other countries
who come to see
the natural beauty
of Tasek Merimbun.
We always
wait for your visit
because we’re proud
to share with you
our traditional heritage.
Thank you.
Our sincere thanks,
Mr. Untong bin Madah
and Mr. Hj Ramlee
Hj Shahdan,
for your fascinating tour
of the incredible
Tasek Merimbun
Heritage Park.
May the Great Allah
bless the gentle people
of Brunei,
your beautiful culture,
and exquisite
natural environment
to continue
to thrive evermore,
immeasurably enriching
our wondrous planet.
Gracious viewers,
thank you
for being with us today
on Supreme Master
Television’s
A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms.
Coming up next is
Vegetarianism:
The Noble Way of Living,
after Noteworthy News.
May your days
be uplifted through
your inner connection
with the Divine.