Malaysian Biospeleological Bibliography - new book

My new book, published May 2025 -

 

Malaysian Biospeleological Bibliography (up to 2024)

50 pp. Published by BHB, Berlin 2025.

This volume features over 1,100 entries with short annotations as well as a general overview on the cave fauna of Malaysia. It is the only existing compilation of all sources on the Malaysian biospeleology and intends to support biodiversity exploration and conservation.

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To buy , contact me or contact Berliner Höhlenkundliche Berichte (BHB) in Germany, click on 2025 and then Vol 91. 

Panching snail featured in book on extinction

" Lost Wonders: 10 Tales of Extinction from the 21st Century" by Tom Lathan et al was published by Picador in Sept 2024. It features 10 species that have become extinct since the turn on the 21st century. And one of those species is the Bukit Panching snail, from Pahang, Malaysia.

See more here.

Mulu ISCA conference 2024

 

The 2024 International Show Cave Association Conference will be held in Mulu National Park, 28 September – 6 October. There will be pre- and post conference activities and trips. See more on ISCA  Vol 24 July-Aug newsletter and Vol 25 Sept-Oct newsletter. This will be the first ISCA conference in SE Asia.

See more on ISCA.

And see Archives 2024 on my webpage for media links.

Sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur 2024

On 23 Aug 2024 an 8 m deep sinkhole suddenly opened in Jalan Masjid India, in Kuala Lumpur. A visitor from India fell in. A major search and rescue operation began but still hadn't found her 6 days later. The Fire and Rescue Department's scuba unit were involved.

Photo from The Star 26 Aug - 

27 Aug sniffer dogs were used to try and find the victim. "Two English Springer Spaniel dogs are being brought in to assist in locating the victim due to their excellent detection capabilities in the water.". And four people from Indian NGOs conducted religious rites to aid the search in finding the victim. Yellow chrysanthemums will be released into the river as a form of offering to the victim (The Sun 28 Aug). 

Meanwhile another sinkhole opened early on 28 Aug, about 50 m from the first one.

On 30 Aug, the 8th day, the efforts were to clear a backlog or 15-metre blockage. Later the search at the sinkhole was halted but will continue at the Pantai Dalam IWK sewage plant.

The search for the victim was called off on the 9th day, Sat 31 Aug 2024, The Star report. 

Niah Cave now a World Heritage Site

 In July 2024 the Niah Caves Complex in Sarawak, Malaysia, was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site. See UNESCO page. 

There were many reports in the media. See my blog for links to some of them.

Gunung Kanthan monastery petition video

 Gunung Kanthan's Last Defence : Save the Monastery, Save Gunung Kanthan (For Petition).

The video has been reloaded on youtube and can be seen here.

Cave racers mating

In 2000, in Dark Cave at Batu Caves in Malaysia, I saw 3 cave racers mating.  I put some photos on my cave website -

The cave racer used to be classed as Elaphe taeniura but is now known as Orthriophis taeniurus. It inhabits limestone caves all over Asia ranging from China, down through the Asian mainland to Malaysia and Borneo. It is commonly seen in caves. There are around 10 species.

I wrote a note on the mating racers in The Malaysian Naturalist, 2002, Dec, 56(2)8 -

In 2023, on 25 Oct The Thaiger (in Thailand) published this article "Explorers ‘rattled’ with excitement as rare Blue-tailed Cave Racer snakes spotted mating in Krabi". It records two Blue-tailed Cave Racer snakes mating in a cave in Ao Luek district, in Krabi province, in southern Thailand. 

The article describes these snakes as endangered and a rare protected species listed in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). However when I looked on CITES, Elaphe taeniura is not listed in the CITES Appendices, nor are other species of Elaphe genus. Orthriophis taeniurus is not mentioned either.

Kanthan Sakyamuni Caves Monastery & other cave temples protection

Some months after the change.org petition to save the Sakyamuni Caves Monastery at Gunung Kanthan, there is finally some good news. This applies not only to the Kanthan monastery, but also to other cave temples and religious sites in general.

On 27 January 2024, change.org issued an update "A Commitment to Protecting Sacred Sites: Prime Minister's Pledge to Safeguard Religious Monasteries".

There is a link to this Facebook page -

And this leads to the next link -

It is encouraging news. Let's see what happens as a result.

There was a further update on 21 Feb in FMT "Century-old monastery seeks to nullify company’s land lease extension". This was also shown on change.org on 22 Feb "LATEST FMT NEWS : Century-old monastery seeks to nullify company’s land lease extension". 

The Edge 28 Feb "Old Perak monastery fails to set aside APMC's eviction notice".

Change.org update 28 Feb "Sakyamuni Caves Monastery Gunung Kanthan" . Latest news : The Edge.

Meanwhile The Star 28 Feb had this article about cave temples in Perak - "Limestone cave temples to stay, says Perak exco".

Chinaraj Cave monastery aka Thai Monk Cave, Gng Lanno

Thai Monk Cave at Gunung Lanno is now known as Chinaraj Cave monastery. It is located at ground level on the southwest side of Gunung Lanno in Perak, not far from Kong Fook Ngam temple. 

I first visited in May 1996. At that time it had a concrete path leading up to it and inside the cave. But about 10 m in there was a locked gate and we could see the cave continuing. There was a store room. To the right was a series of cement tanks/gours and a passage to another entrance. The cave is by a bend in the Sungai Raia. 

My next visit was May 1999. The cave had been developed since my first visit. Half a dozen cars were parked inside the first chamber of the cave. A concrete walkway with electric lights goes through to a wang, with a pond. A new "temple" has been established - more of a meditation place for the monk.

Next visit was July 2001, on a recce for the 2001 Gunung Lanno expedition. The gate was locked but a man was inside and let us in when we spoke to him. The place is only open on Sundays when people come to the monk, although people look after him during the week. He lives alone, from Thailand. We went through to the house and pond. Lots of catfish and they aerate the pond. It is a long distance to the opposite side of the wang. There is a pond and swamp outside the front of the cave. After this visit I named the cave as Thai Monk and gave it the register number of Prk 18/07.

The Gunung Lanno expedition took place in November 2001. We were unable to survey the cave as we couldn't get access. However a nearby cave was surveyed, Gua Kera Mati aka Dead Monkey Cave, Prk 18/32, and this was found to connect into Thai Monk Cave.

During the expedition, we were able to hire a 4-seater plane and fly around Gunung Lanno. From the plane we could clearly see the flooded wang of Thai Monk Cave. 

2001 views -

Sg Raia outside the cave

My next visit was in May 2014. A building had been constructed inside the cliff and the swamp is part of the garden. There is an ornate metal fence outside. 

The Sungai Raia

The track that leads further around the hill was closed off by a large gate by the temple -

Now (2024) the cave is known as Chinaraj Cave monastery - a Buddhist temple, Tokong Siam. I don't know when this was established. In Feb 2022 The Star referred to it as Persatuan Penganut Agama Buddha Chinaraj. It was one of 19 caves in the Kinta Valley to receive an eviction notice, to vacate in 30 days. However a few days later the notices were revoked. 

According to Google Maps, the temple is open mornings and evenings. There are hundreds of photos on the page. 

Cave location 4°31'8.12" N 101° 8'18.01"E.

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See my Cave Register .

Gunung Kanthan cave monastery in danger from destruction 2023

It looks like the Dhamma Sakyamuni Caves Monastery at Gunung Kanthan, Perak is in danger again. The Court of Appeal’s recent decision means the likely forced eviction of the occupants of the monastery. The Court has made a unanimous decision in favour of Associated Pan Malayan Cement (APMC), a subsidiary of YTL, in a land dispute case under Order 89, against the Malaysia Dhamma Sakyamuni Monastery. APMC won its appeal after the company sought a High Court order in Ipoh in January 2022.

Once again there could be imminent destruction of the century-old monastery and also the Gunung Kanthan unique distinctive karst landscape, as well as the endemic flora and fauna.

On 13 Sept 2023, Badan Warisan issued a media statement about their concern on the Court of Appeal’s decision involving the forced eviction of the occupants of Dhamma Sakyamuni Monastery at Gunung Kanthan, north of Ipoh in Perak. See the statement.

There is also a petition "Save Sakyamuni Caves Monastery, Save Gunung Kanthan ", which needs as many signatures as possible.

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Media reports :

FMT 8 Sept Cement company wins appeal to evict century-old Perak monastery

NST 9 Sept 100-year-old Buddhist monastery in Perak faces eviction after losing court battle

NST 12 Sept Preserved by a century old monastery, five-million-year-old limestone hill may now make way for cement factory

NST 12 Sept Abbot of century-old Buddhist monastery expresses disappointment over court eviction 

NST 15 Sept Abbot of century-old Perak Buddhist monastery not moving out, will continue fight

NST 16 Sept SAM disappointed over court decision to evict Buddhist monastery in Gunung Kanthan

FMT 17 Sept Perak govt sets up panel to study eviction of century-old monastery

NST 17 Sept Special committee to study Gunung Kanthan monastery issue

Star 17 Sept Committee formed to look into Dhamma Sakyamuni Caves Monastery, says Perak MB

Astro Awani video on youtube 18 Sept Consider This: Gunung Kanthan — Perak’s Quarrying Dilemma

Star 18 Sept Kanthan land dispute case to be mediated by state govt

FMT 26 Sept We’re not budging from cave monastery, says abbot

SUN 1 Nov Research work on tropical limestone karst landscapes to protect Malaysia’s unique heritage

Star 1 Nov Research on tropical limestone karst aims to protect Malaysia's unique heritage

Batu Caves now part of a new Geopark

 In March 2023 it was announced that the new Gombak-Hulu Langat Geopark had been established. This is in Selangor, Malaysia. The Geopark includes Batu Caves and Damai park, as well as Bukit Takun, and the Klang Gates quartz ridge.

The Gombak-Hulu Langat Geopark (GHL) was certified as a national geopark on 13 March. 

See article in The Star 23 April "Malaysia's new geopark is a geological wonder that's just an hour from KL". 

It is the 7th national geopark. Others with karst area are Langkawi, Kinta Valley and Lenggong.

Thaipusam 2021

Thaipusam was 28 Jan 2021. But this year it was more or less cancelled, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Malaysia was under a lockdown, so the MCO (movement control order) meant there could be no celebrations. In Kedah the State government cancelled the Thaipusam public holiday. 

In Kuala Lumpur the famous Thaipusam chariot was allowed to travel from the Jalan Bandar temple to Batu Caves but without a procession. 

Photo from The Star -

I don't know what the entry fee is, I assume it is for a car.

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See my 2007 blog on Thaipusam.

Gunung Kanthan media updates 2016 - 2020

I haven't posted anything on this blog about Gunung Kanthan since 2015 (apart from Tony Whitten's memorial) so thought I should do an update. However I have been putting some news on my Caves of Malaysia wwww : Archives 2020, Archives 2019, Archives 2018 Geopark, and Archives 2016.

11 July 2017, LafargeHolcim published an article, " LafargeHolcim accelerates biodiversity efforts in Southeast Asia". This is a general article, not directly related to Kanthan. 

2017 Lafarge study on snails at Kanthan.

2017 Rimba report on the snail study.

Zookeys report on the snail study.

In 2019 YTL acquired LafargeHolcim’s entire 51% stake in Lafarge Malaysia Bhd and LafargeHolcim exited the Malaysian market.

YTL website published a feature story "Kanthan Biodiversity Initiatives" on 20 Oct 2020. It says "YTL Cement continues to play its role in the biodiversity conservation by developing rehabilitation plans at the Associated Pan Malaysia Cement (APMC) Kanthan Quarry site located in Chemor, Perak.". It sounds good but I wonder if anything is actually being done. 

There is a really nice diagram about Gunung Kanthan, its quarrying, flora and fauna etc on Coogle -

YTL Executive Chairman's Letter to Stakeholders 2020 -
In the section BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION says "YTL Cement and Malayan Cement Berhad have continued to invest in conservation and biodiversity initiatives. These include preserving endemic species of flora and fauna in the limestone reserve of Gunung Kanthan and other karst outcrops.".

Guar Kepah skeleton, Kedah, Malaysia

Not cave related, but still interesting. 

A human skeleton was found at the construction site of the Guar Kepah archaeological gallery in Kedah, on 17 April 2017. Guar has nothing to do with a cave, and the word doesn't translate into English. 

The skeleton was sent to Florida where it was dated at 5,710 years old, which makes it Neolithic. Scientists also found the person had eaten a shellfish diet. Photo taken from Borneo Post -

In addition to the skeleton, a 5.49 m high shell midden was found at the base of the site. This contained artefacts such as pottery, stone tools and food remnants. The finding of this midden revealed the human burial process in the Neolithic age. It is the only evidence of a burial under a shell midden in Malaysia.

The only other skeleton found of a similar age was Perak Woman found in Lenggong in Perak, but this one was buried in a cave. It was dated at 8000 years old. 

Guar Kepah historic site is older than the Bujang Valley and Sungai Batu in Kedah, and is the only location in Peninsular Malaysia which shows evidence of ancient human settlements close to the sea.

See more on the Guar Kepah skeleton in NST and the shell midden in Malay Mail 2013 .

Langkawi Geopark status revalidated

 Langkawi became SE Asia's first UNECSCO Geopark in 2007. See more on Langkawi Geopark.

Then in 2014 it was announced that Langkawi was in danger of losing the Geopark status due to lack of conservation measures etc, see more on my website. In 2015 there was a threat to Gua Pinang from quarrying by Lafarge. Also there was a lot more in the media about the general threat to the Geopark status.

Then things went quiet until 2019 when Friends of Langkawi Geopark wanted to promote it in advance of Visit Malaysia Year 2020.

The revalidation of the Geopark status was done and this certificate covers the period 1 January 2020 until 31 December 2023.

Memorial issue to Tony Whitten

Tony Whitten tragically died in a road traffic accident in Dec 2017. In March 2020 the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology produced a memorial issue dedicated to Tony, Supplement No 35. See more on my website.

Tony was very actively involved with trying to protect Gunung Kanthan from quarrying, see this blog. The hill and caves are home to the endemic Liphiustius kanthan.

Some relevant articles in the RBZ special issue :

BROWNE, Stephen (2020) Foreward. RBZ, Supplement No. 35: pp v-vi.
This has an interesting piece about Tony and Liphistius kanthan.

LIEW, Thor-Seng &  CLEMENTS, Gopalasamy Reuben (2020) Whittenia, a new genus of land snails from Perak, Peninsular Malaysia (Gastropoda: Diplommatinidae). RBZ, Supplement No. 35: 143–148.
"This paper proposes a new genus, Whittenia, for a group of irregularly coiled land snail species hitherto placed in the genus Opisthostoma. Whittenia differs from congeners in Diplommatinidae based on both molecular phylogeny and shell morphology. We reassign two previously described species (Opisthostoma vermiculum and O. gittenbergeri) to Whittenia. Both species are endemic to the limestone karsts of Kinta Valley in Perak, Peninsular Malaysia."
This genus is named after Tony Whitten.

ANON (2020) The Tony Whitten conservation prize. RBZ, Supplement No. 35: pp 15–16.
One recipient of a prize was Junn Kitt Foon, for his work on conservation and taxonomy of land snails in Malaysia. Tony had a particular interest in snails.

FOON, Junn Kitt & MOHAMMAD Effendi Marzuki (2020) Two new species of land snails of the genus Rahula from Peninsular Malaysia (Gastropoda: Euconulidae). RBZ, Supplement No. 35: 137–142.
This paper describes 2 new snail species, one of which is named after Tony, Rahula tonywhitteni .

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Malaysian taxa named for Tony Whitten , RBZ, Supplement No. 35: p 9 :

Plectostoma whitteni Liew, Vermeulen, Marzuki, & Schilthuizen, 2014: 63 (a micro-landsnail from
Malaysia)

Rahula tonywhitteni Foon & Marzuki, 2020: 141 (a land snail from Malaysia)


Whittenia Liew & Clements, 2020: 144 (a land snail from Malaysia)

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See more on my website, on Archives 2020.

Jeff's Cellar aka Tambun Hot Springs Cave, Perak

I don't seem to have blogged about Jeff's Cellar at Tambun, Perak. When I first knew about it, it was still a bit hush hush, but now it is openly publicised.

On my website under Uses of Caves, I have written "A cave in Tambun, Perak was taken over as a private wine cellar. Prior to conversion the resident bats were all killed and the natural entrances blocked and large air conditioners installed, so I would imagine the atmosphere inside has changed considerably. On 24 Jan 2010 The Star did a feature on one of the Tambun caves being used for relaxation and meditation as part of a luxury spa complex. This has since been well published in the media. The wine cellar cave became part of this complex. The wine cellar has since been expanded into a fine dining restaurant.

I first went to the cave in May 2003. I wrote in my diary "the cave is opposite the hot springs, on the corner of the hill. Duck under an arch then steps up to 2 chambers with bats. Nice stal in the larger chamber and a passage leading off. The entrance of the cave was covered with a bat net and had many dead bats in it." I collected a few of the bat skulls and they were identified as Eonycteris spelaea. I called it Tambun Hot Springs Cave, register No. Prk 38/04.

I went back in Aug 2003 and "the entrance steps had been cleared, and lighting installed inside with a switch box at the entrance. The net had gone. The bat chamber was completely empty of bats. The main chamber is roughly 200' long and one whole wall is stal, but dirty and black. Few bats at the end and I collected some collembola from he guano in the gour pools. The cave would be really nice if the stals were clean. I wonder if the net was there to trap the bats to get rid of them".

My next visit was Nov 2003, there had been no progress. A couple of bats in the bat chamber and fruit bats at the end.

I didn't return until Jan 2006. The site was gated and the cave called Jeff's Wine Cellar.

In Feb 2008 I was able to have an unofficial look inside the cave but could only take 1 photo. It was being used as a private wine cellar, Jeff is Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, head of Sunway.

"Steps lead up to the wooden doors, there are toilets on the left and a pantry on the right and the Japanese torture chamber. There is a wood floor throughout and the place has air con. There is a karaoke room in the lower chamber. The passage turns right into the main chamber and is quite stunning as all the stal is gently lit and looked great. Several seating areas, a couch with mirror, and more seats directly over the hidden wine cellar. Some material "sails" covering the ceiling. Lots of empty wine bottles throughout, some concrete covering the walls and air con units hidden. 14 seater dining table. Main passage has the stal dividing the passage going out. Main bar here. This entrance, where the bat net was, is totally covered by glass,restricting the area. Balcony looks out. Went back and the stairs by the portraits led up to the main bar. A wishing well outside". I wondered if the air flow would be badly restricted.

I haven't been back since. The bar has been turned into a fine dining restaurant and there have been various press reports.. The Malay Mail 28 July 2018 “Fancy dining in a cave? Head on over to Tambun” is a detailed article with lots of photos. The Star 23 Jan 2019 "Silver state’s impressive tourism finds".

Sinkholes in Kuala Lumpur

At the end of Nov 2019 there were 3 sinkholes within 3 days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The first one was in Jalan Maharajalala and was 3 m wide and a car fell in. Photo from the NST

Sinkholes are not uncommon in limestone and much of KL is built on limestone, but apparently these 3 sinkholes occured in the Kenny Hill formation, which occurs over a large part of the city.
“This is quartzite and phyllite — very strong, hard rocks that have weathered over hundreds of million years."

The holes are thought to have been due to fast flowing water.

See more on NST on 30 Nov.

Judi Dench visits Gomantong

In July 2019, ITV on English TV showed a 2 part documentary on Dame Judi Dench's visit to Borneo. I wrote about it on my webpage, "Judi Dench's wild Borneo Adventure". In the second part of the programme, there was a few minutes coverage of Judi's visit to Gomantong.

I took some screenshots :

The famous guano pile that every documentary covers

A photo taken from my Gomantong blog, showing the same guano pile

Update on the writing in Gua Datuk, Gng Rapat

The Star on 27 April 2019 had an article about writing found in Gua Datuk, near Ipoh, in Perak, Malaysia. See my blog.

On 2 May The Star had a further article, "Japanese writings found on cave walls". There is an interesting photo of some of the writing with the translation.

"The cave, where the Japanese writings were discovered, is believed to have once housed a temple started by a Nichiren Shu priest.
Nichiren Shu is a Buddhist school in Japan, founded by Nichiren Daishonin, that teaches and practises the Lotus Sutra (Buddha’s teachings) more than 750 years ago.
Experts from the state Park Corporation, Tourism Perak, Minerals and Geoscience, Heritage and Museum departments visited the cave last Friday.
Penang Nichiren Shu Temple committee member and a researcher (for the temple) Alexandar Ang said that he and several members discovered the inscriptions in 2011 after an extensive nine-year search.
This had come about after a priest mentioned to them about an old temple located within a hot spring area in Ipoh.
Ang said the inscriptions were in kanji, a system of Japanese writing using Chinese characters.
There was an inscription stating the “second year of Taisho era in 1913”, which was a form of Japanese calendaring, he said.
“The temple was founded in 1913 by a priest referred to as Rev Baba from Kumamoto, Kyushu in Japan.
“It was named Ganryuzan Hokekyoji, and at a point in time the temple had 290 devotees comprising 80% local Chinese and Indians, 5% Japanese and 15% foreign nationals,” he said.
However, local experts and historians have yet to verify the writings.
There are currently three Nichiren Shu temples in the country – Klang, Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
Ang said the temple served as a place to learn and practise Shakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma.
Another committee member, William Tan, hoped that the writings would be preserved as a living heritage.
He said the cave was mainly used as a temple to propagate Buddhist teachings.
Last week, state Tourism, Arts and Culture Committee chairman Tan Kar Hing had spoken about the writings found in the cave.
The inscriptions, he said, were made before World War I.
He said the soldiers at the cave were probably intelligence troops then.
The cave is not open to the public for now."