Giant footprints cause stir
DARO:
Villagers here were shocked by the discovery of two extra large footprints near the fence of an orchard at a rural village. They probably resembled those mentioned many times in foreign reports in claims of sightings of the mysterious ‘bigfoot’. The shocker had been spreading like wildfire in Daro district for the past few days and among those drawn to the phenomenon was local businessman Tan Soon Kuang. Yesterday, Tan, 42, e-mailed the images of the mysterious creature’s footprints. He said he personally went to the village (which he refused to name out of respect for the wishes of locals) to check on the truth of the story. “The truth is in the photographs that I have taken with my camera,” he said to The Borneo Post in a telephone interview yesterday. According to him, the footprint measures 47 inches from heel to toe and 17 inches sideways, clearly too gigantic for any normal human being. Asked when and how he went to the village and took the photos, Tan answered: “I went there last Wednesday, June 11 after I heard about the news. “I drove about five minutes from Daro town to the village. Then, I walked on foot along a footpath for quite a few minutes to the place where I met many villagers who were gathered there. “Then some villagers pointed to the big footprints. I was shocked to see them and was excited as I took those photographs.” On his conversation with the villagers, he said: “When I asked the villagers the first time they discovered the two big footprints, they told me it was last Monday, June 9. “They also told me that they now recall that before they came across the footprints, the villagers had, a few months ago felt uncomfortable and sick as if there was something ‘unclean’ in the air. “They said they decided to look for a ‘bomoh’ (medicine man) who told them to go to an area, dig a small hole, then build a fence around it. The bomoh further told them to make offerings outside the fenced area. “And then last Monday morning the villagers saw the two big footprints outside the fenced up area.” Tan further said: “When I asked the villagers if they were afraid or not they told me some were afraid; other just curious. But all of them apparently believe that the place was ‘unclean’. “The villagers were now clearing up the footpath leading to the large footprints in anticipation of more people coming to have a look at the footprints. “The villagers also told me that it was not the first time that they saw such mysterious big footprints in their village. In fact, the first time they saw such big footprint was about 50 years ago.” Asked if there is any possibility that the footprints were man-made or false, Tan said it would be tough act for a person to do, to create such a mark on the hard ground. Jemoreng assemblyman Abu Seman Jahwie when contacted yesterday said he heard about such discovery somewhere in a village in Daro area. Asked if he thinks it is real, he replied: “Sorry, I can’t say. It could be just rumours. I have not been to the place. I am now in Matu.” The story has spread to Sibu. Here, Abdul Aziz Pung, who is very familiar with Daro, when contacted for his comments, said he had heard about the footprints from friends and relatives. “Yes, they said it is true. Initially I laughed it off, but then some of my friends who came down to Sibu town convinced me that they are real. I may be going there soon to see them for myself.”
