MARANG: A 60-year-old man from Kampung Rhu Muda stumbled upon an 8kg object, believed to be an underwater plant, washed ashore on Pantai Kelulut a week ago.
Expressing awe at the sight of this unfamiliar marine life, Mahmud Kechik wasted no time in bringing it home.
"I wondered whether it was a plant at the bottom of the sea, as claimed by many people, or some other type of aquatic life.
"Its physical appearance resembled that of a plant because it had roots, but was elastic like rubber besides having a fishy smell.
"All the fishermen I met had never seen marine life like it before, and some fishermen even claimed it might be frozen whale fat."
He added that the strange object attracted many others to come to his house to see it up close.
"I tried burning a small piece of the object and it melted like wax.
"The name and type of the object remain a question as it has never been seen or encountered on the beach before."
Mahmud said due to the exceptionally high tides and big waves, a lot of debris was washed up on the beach.
"It has become my daily routine to go to the beach every morning to look for valuable items washed up by the water, but this is the first time I have come across such a mysterious marine life."
He is also willing to cooperate if there are any parties interested in conducting research on the marine life found and unravelling the mystery behind the discovery.