The Malaysian Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Sazmi Miahis is fighting with Johor’s Tourism and Environment Committee Chairman Freddie Long over the “reality” of the “Johor Bigfoot.” The debate has turned ugly in the papers in Malaysia on December 16th.

Forgotten in the debate, apparently, are all the footprints, confusing as the picture may be, that have been found, including ones dating back to the 1970s of the Orang Dalam.

This track, photographed on November 17, 2006, is the “one” mentioned my Minister Sazmi. But what of the others? See below.

According to the New Straits Times, the country’s Ministry says that the Johor Bigfoot is “a hoax” which has “no concrete evidence to back up the creature’s existence [and] no droppings or hair of the creature had ever been found.”

The paper continues by noting;

…the state Wildlife Department had been monitoring the jungles of Johor for the past 40 years and there was no firm evidence to prove the creature’s existence. Remote-sensing cameras were also set up in the jungles a few years ago to capture animals’ movements and, so far, the only sightings were of known animals.

The ministry’s parliamentary secretary, Datuk Sazmi Miah told the New Straits Times:

“If there’s truly a Bigfoot, there would have been firm evidence of its existence or the cameras would have captured its image or movements.”

He believed the hoax was perpetrated by certain quarters to generate interest among foreign scientists who were interested in obtaining the jungle’s lush flora and fauna.

To a question, Sazmi said eyewitnesses, who claimed to have seen the creature, could have mistaken an ape (mawas) or sun bear for a Bigfoot.

“To date, the evidence has been a so-called footprint. Don’t tell me that the creature walked on one leg? That’s not possible,” he scoffed.

Meanwhile, Johor’s Tourism and Environment Committee chairman Freddie Long said the state government was keeping an open mind over the creature’s existence.

“No one can simply dismiss its existence. Our jungles are 248 million years old with numerous species yet to be discovered. How could he (Sazmi) make such a sweeping statement?” said the irate Long.

He said the creature’s existence needed some time to be verified. “We are very keen to pursue this and welcome researchers and scientists to contact us on their investigations into the Johor Bigfoot.”

He pointed out that the Loch Ness monster in Scotland had never been proven, but that did not prevent droves of tourists from trying to catch a glimpse of the creature.

“Similarly, with the Johor Bigfoot, it has created a lot of interest and we have seen an influx of tourists coming in.”

Source for above: “Bigfoot? It’s all a big lie” by Eileen Ng, New Straits Times, December 16, 2006.

But what about the other footprints – the different kinds of them?

Nothing in 40 years? What about the evidence from the 1970s…below, which seems to have produced more consistent footprint finds:

Photo: Close up of the track of the Orang Dalam on a Malaysian sandbar found during Harold Stephens’ expedition.

Click on the above image for fuller-sized version.