Malaysian beauty vs Human development

I’ve spent the past few days traveling across peninsular Malaysia from Kuala Lumpur to the island of Pangkor via the Cameron Highlands and Ipoh. I hadn’t actually planned on travelling through so many places, however just like the Indians, Malaysian bus drivers seem to have a slightly corrupt streak and take what should be private, direct express buses on large detours to pick up passengers from local bus stops for backhanders. Unfortunately too, the weather has been attrocious. It’s been pouring with rain, and i mean pouring, for the best part of 6 hours now with continuous lightening, so photos and sunbathing have been out of the question. All this time undercover has therefore given me some time to reflect on what I have seen and experienced of Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur is quite a city. As I mentioned in a previous post, the development is staggering. There are several mass transit systems including raised monrails, subways and a great bus system. The peope are well dressed and very active – suited and booted office workers mill around on immaculate wide paved streets, sipping coffee in front of their impressive glass skyscrappers. All the standard western shops and cafes are present on every corner as well as inside the air conditioned shopping malls – starbucks, KFC and of course McDonald’s are everywhere. The same can be said of smaller towns like Ipoh and Lumut. Both well developed, clean and clearly wealthy. It’s only when you get out into the country that it all makes sense.

Lumut and Pangkor are some 300km from Kuala Lumpur and lining the main highway, mile after mile after mile are rows upon rows upon rows of palm trees, interspesed with massive processing factories, paddy fields and the odd razed field full of piles of burned or decaying rainforest wood. The scale of it is immense. The main owner, Sime Darby’s signposts appear alongside almost every plantation along the way. The only break in the uniform vertical lines of palms come in the ‘protected’ Cameron Highlands (most of which consist of tea plantations with small areas of forest left for tourist purposes).

The island of Pangkor thankfully remains largely untouched by industry, and retains it’s tropical island status. Large green multi-specied forest covered hills with monkeys, colourful birds and other animals making funny clicking and chirping noises sit against a backdrop of white sandy beaches and emerald blue water. It’s a fairly tranquil island too – very little human activity, although it is the heart of the low season – I stayed in an almost empty hotel for 40RM a night (usual price 100RM). Malaysia still is beautiful – even though the landscape consists of bland lines of palms.

I guess humans can’t have it all. We have to use the available land to produce things of use to us in order to support ourselves. What use afterall is mangrove forest and Orangutans? It’s hard not to just shrug my shoulders and move on. After all, I like biscuits and toothpaste and cakes and transport and everything else which uses palm oil. If it wasn’t palm oil it’d be some other product – wheat or sugar or land for cattle to make nice shoes and burgers. So how can we do it? Humans. How can we live, be prosperous, eat well, live in big houses, but leave land aside for plants and animals to live their lives in an unorganised – non-beneficial-to-humans way?

I think it’s inevitable that there will come a time when nowhere other than areas for tourists or research, will there be natural forests or areas untouched by humans. Just like in the UK, where almost all land is either used for agriculture, human living space or nature reserves run for essentially ‘tourist’ purposes like the National Trust; countries like Malaysia have no option but to use all available land for industrial human supply purposes. The only option I can think of, for anyone seriously serious about environmental protection, is to cut down or eliminate humans. What a choice. Support cancer or HIV research, Tsunami, Earthquake, Hurricane or famine relief, or support environmental causes. Supporting both is a just a contradiction. More humans means less land for anything else.

Maybe that’s it then. Maybe the matrix was right. Humans are a disease, sapping the earth to suit its own needs. Maybe we do need to be controlled or eliminated. Bring on H1N1 pandemics. No more charitable support for humans from David (not that I did much in the first place of course. Pass me those biscuits. I’ve got a plane to catch.