Malaysian Journey with Jason Scott Lee

Chandra Devi Renganayar

IT is often said that if you want to understand a country, you have to get to know its people.

And that was what Hollywood actor and adventure buff Jason Scott Lee did during his travels around Malaysia.

He traversed almost the entire length and breadth of the country, taking in the sights and sounds, and getting to know Malaysians from all walks of life, from villagers to silat masters, along the way.

Instead of hotels, Lee who is of Chinese-Hawaiian descent, stayed with Malaysians in their homes.

"Travel has always been enriching for me because I'm able to be in any culture and understand what their language means, what their origins are," he says.

"The travelling experience was an education by itself."

Lee's adventure from the state of Pahang in the peninsula to Sabah in Borneo took him to some of the wildest and most beautiful regions in the country.

Intrigued by the traditional Malaysian martial art, silat, Lee's first stop was to pick up some pointers from a local master.

"About 15 years ago, I learned 'jeet kune do' (way of the intercepting fist), the martial art founded by Bruce Lee. I had to perform it to play Bruce Lee in the movie of his life, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.

"Since then, I've remained an exponent. Then I was keen to branch out and try this Malay martial art."

From learning silat, Lee moved to a small farming village in Kuala Medang, to explore the fast-flowing Sungai Jelai as well as experience Hari Raya Aidilfitri, at the end of the Ramadan fasting month.

Lee chose to live with a family who opened their homes to travellers and found the homestay a great way to experience an authentic slice of the Malay lifestyle.

"The people who we stayed with were very hospitable. Simple people, living very simple lives," says Lee.

"You feel much freer just walking around in a sarong or walking about barefoot. It's the kind of culture that actually promotes being real, being simple and not having to impress anybody."

Lee's river exploration brought him to a Semelai Orang Asli
settlement deep within the world's oldest rainforests. His adventure was unlike any other as he had the opportunity to mingle with the indigenous people and learn their way of life.

"Although some modernisation was seen in the settlement (like solar panels), the tribe still holds on to some of its traditional ways like hunting for small birds and monkeys with a blowpipe."

From the peninsula, Lee headed to Borneo to check out this world famous haven for wildlife. He stayed at Menggaris, a small village nestled on the banks of the mighty Sungai Kinabatangan.

With the help of a local who knew the Sungai Kinabatangan and the wildlife along it, Lee stalked primates - proboscis monkeys, long-tail macaques, and other wild animals in their natural habitat.

From Menggaris, he headed to Sinisian at the foot of Mount Kinabalu.

He stayed with a family from the Rungus tribe in their traditional longhouse before climbing Mount Kinabalu, Southeast Asia's highest mountain.

Intrigued? See Lee's adventure unfold before your eyes when you join him on his travels around Malaysia on the National Geographic Channel (Astro Channel 553) - Malaysian Journey with Jason Scott Lee - tomorrow (August 24) at 9pm.

# This is the first in a collaborative series between the 'New Sunday Times' and the 'National Geographic Channel'.