LAHAD DATU: Fifteen years ago, there was another British Royal who
had intended to visit Danum Valley in Lahad Datu, Malaysia’s
well-reserved rainforest.
Arrangements were made to accommodate the royal visit, and the date was tentatively set.
Scores of discussions were organised to ensure everything was fit for a princess.
Yayasan
Sabah Conservation and Environmental Management Division group manager
Dr Waidi Sinun said they made sure everything was in order, especially
when the guest was one of the world’s most influential women, Princess
of Wales, Diana.
“Of course we were all very excited,” he said
when met at the Danum Valley Field Centre over the weekend, adding: “It
was indeed an honour to have such influential person having interest in
our work and the area itself.”
But all hopes were crushed when
Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car accident on August 31,
1997, six months before she was scheduled to visit Danum Valley.
She
and companion, Dodi Fayed, succumbed to serious injuries after the
Mercedes-Benz they were traveling in hit the road tunnel in Paris to
elude paparazzis.
The car driver, Henri Paul, was also killed in
the accident, while the couple’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived
the crash.
But Danum Valley had ‘its second chance’ to play host to British royals.
Fast-forward
just over a decade later, they again received a call that the British
royal couples, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and
wife Catherine Middleton, or fondly known as Kate, had picked Danum
Valley one of the top three rainforest research centres in the world to
end their visit to Malaysia. William is Diana’s eldest son.
Their
visit to the forest was planned because of William’s longstanding
interest in conservation, which also offered the royal couple an
opportunity to experience the ecological wealth of Sabah’s forests and
the importance of supporting the efforts of the scientists working to
understand and conserve them.
Whether the visit was part of
William’s way of fulfilling his mother’s wish is anyone’s guess, but
according to Waidi, “If it was me, I would do it.”
Waidi, who had a
half-an-hour chat with Britain’s future king, however disclosed that
William did say that his father, Prince Charles, has a soft spot for the
rainforest.
“To have Princess Diana’s son at Danum Valley is a
great honour. It is a recognition to the conservation work that Yayasan
Sabah has done, jointly with the Royal Society’s South East Asia
Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP). It has elevated Danum Valley to a
higher level,” he said.
William became a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society during its 350th anniversary celebrations in 2010.
Danum
Valley is older than the Amazon rainforest, which is about 60 million
years old, is a world class ecosystem, home to about 125 species of
mammals, over 300 birds, 72 reptiles and 56 amphibians.
Located in
the southeastern part of Sabah, Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA),
about 82 kilometres from Lahad Datu town, covers an area of 43,800
hectares, and is one of the last strongholds of undisturbed lowland
dipterocarp forest.
Most of the researches are collaborative
efforts between Malaysian and scientists from overseas and mostly based
on long-term research programmes initiated in 1984 between Danum Valley
Management Committee and The Royal Society’s SEARRP, where these studies
have contributed to the understanding of tropical forests.
William
and Kate had an enjoyable three-hour tour at DVCA, trekking into the
rainforest jungle, met up with 25 researchers and Oxford University
undergraduates, and were lifted up 50 metres above the ground to listen
to Semporna-born researcher, Dr Kalsum Yusah’s findings on ants.
Malaysia
is the royal couple’s second destination after Singapore on their
nine-day tour of the Far East as representatives of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II in conjunction with the celebration to mark the 60-year
reign of the Queen of England.
The couple left for Solomon Islands yesterday where they were greeted by warriors in traditional dress.
On
Tuesday, they will arrive in the tiny South Pacific island of Tuvalu
where they will be carried from their aircraft in the island’s
traditional reception for visiting dignitaries.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Princess Diana had wanted to visit Danum Valley – Yayasan Sabah
9/19/2012 02:21:00 pm
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Rupanya ada lagi kerabat diraja British yang ingin melawat tempat menanrik di Sabah ini. Tapi malangnya tidak kesampaian disebabkan kemalangan.
ReplyDeleteputera willian dan Kate telah melaksanakan impiannya.
DeleteKita dapat lihat yang mana sememangnya Lembah Danum ini sangat terkenal di seluruh dunia dengan keindahan alam semula jadi. Jadi kita perlu terus mempertahankan keindahan yang kita perolehi ini.
ReplyDeletesekurang2nya niat dia tercapai juga melalui anak lelaki dia Prince william..
ReplyDeletedari awal rancangan pasangan diraja ini untuk melawat sabah, tidak ada kenyataan mereka yang menunjukkan lawatan mereka hanya untuk memenuhi impian Puteri Diana.. sebaliknya, kedatangan pasangan diraja ini terdorong dengan kerja2 konservasi kerajaan negeri sabah..
ReplyDelete