Malaysia, Bajau of the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea

So near, but yet it feels so far.  I born and grown up in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia which consists part of the Borneo Island.  My town faces the Sulu Sea and adjacent to the Celebes Sea which is sometimes called the Sulawesi Sea.

Since young age, I had been out to the sea a lot with some of the local islanders as my father owned a couple of fishing boats.  They as the fishermen and the fish morgers, live along the coast of the islands across from Sandakan town.  I am no stranger to them and their culture as I spent almost every single Hari Raya at these islands.  The people who live here are truely the people of the sea.  Their kids we met growing up, knowing how to dive without equipment.  Yes, they need no bull-shit diving stuff.  They just dip in all the way to the sea floor.  They are the Bajau, the sea gypsy of the world.

In many way, the sea is the home of the Bajau people.  They live on the sea at all time. They can dive, without anything, upto 30M to the sea floor for upto 5 minutes.

Documentary from BBC on the Bajau

for the episod Ocean in a series called Human Planet

In the context of 100 Places To Remember Before They Disappear, the Bajau life and culture will be disappeared as they are migrating their live to the land.  Now, life is getting tougher on the sea for the remaining 10% of these sea gypsies for climatic reason. Global warming has raised the temperature and the sea level of the Sulu-Sulewasi Sea. With the raising of sea water acidic level, the coral reef is dying causing the disappearing of fish, seaweed, sea cucumber and other food sources on the sea floor in which the Bajau people depends on.

Video Clip from 100 Places To Remember Before They Disappear on 

Bajau of the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea