How ‘turtle man’ changed Kg Pulau Libaran

SANDAKAN – Eight years ago, Azil Mohamad, seven, gathered with 10 other children in Kampung Pulau Libaran early in the morning, each with a plastic bag, ready for a “mission”. 

The group of kids were headed to the beach to look for turtle eggs, and it had been their weekly activity in the village for years. 

“About twice a month, we would find freshly laid turtle eggs, and we would split them. Each of us would go home with about six to seven eggs for our families,” Azil said when sharing his childhood memories with The Vibes. 

Azil, now 15, said at the time, he did not know that turtles were endangered animals. He only found out when a man named Alexander Yee came to his village and started “campaigning” about the importance of protecting turtles. 

In September 2014, the villagers who eat turtle eggs were regularly told by a stranger, Alexander Yee, that what they had been doing was illegal. 

Turtle eggs in Sabah are products of the green turtle species (Chelonia mydas) which is fully protected under Schedule 1, Part 1 of Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. 

“We then learned about the importance of protecting turtles in school (Sekolah Kebangsaan Pulau Libaran). And our parents started restricting us from our ‘turtle egg missions’,” Azil said. 

The turtle man converted a village  

Kg Pulau Libaran is the only village in Libaran Island, with 82 houses and 382 residents today. 

Libaran Island is about a 45-minute boat ride north of Sandakan, and 650 acres (263 hectares) in size. 

About 10 nautical miles from Libaran is Selingan Island, one of three islands that form the Turtle Island Park run by the Sabah state government. 

Its proximity with other turtle islands could be why female turtles go to Libaran Island to lay eggs. 

Its village chief Sarief Nasidip Uyung, 61, told The Vibes that before 2013, villagers here would consume turtle eggs regularly as the eggs could be easily found on the beach. 

“It had never crossed our minds that we were endangering the turtles. It was just like chicken eggs, only that this came for free. 

“However, it all changed in 2014 when Alexander Yee, who we saw as a tourism guy, came and told us that he had started a turtle hatchery at the other end of the island, about an hour's walk from our village. 

“At the time, many villagers thought, who is this stranger telling us that we cannot eat what we find on our island? He is not even from this island. 

“But then we witnessed ourselves how he poured his blood, sweat, and tears into protecting and conserving turtles. How he collected all eggs to be placed inside the hatchery and released the hatchlings into the sea.   

“We were educated and enlightened through this man’s efforts, who the kids in the village call the ‘turtle man’,” he said. 

Sarief said that word spread quickly on the small island, where most men are fishermen and women are housewives. 

The villagers became even more supportive when Yee’s Walai Penyu resort, a tourism site that was set up to complement the turtle hatchery, had brought extra income to the villagers. 

"Yee would bring tourists to visit the village as part of the package, and these tourists would buy food, beverages, and handicrafts from us. 

“He also exclusively hired our villagers to run the hatchery and the resort. 

“Yee has contributed a lot to our village. He has earned our respect; we look up to him and we listen to him when he asks us to keep our village clean,” he said. 

Sarief said where once the village had rubbish along the beach, it is now unsullied as the villagers became driven in keeping the village pristine. 

“We now never throw rubbish into the sea. In fact, we would clean rubbish that is washed ashore from other places. We don’t know where the rubbish is from, perhaps from other islands, but we ensure that it doesn’t stay on our beach. 

“Yee told us that it is important to keep our beach clean so that more turtles would land on our beach and would not be harmed in the process,” he said. 

A walk in Kg Pulau Libaran  

The writer’s visit to Kg Pulau Libaran recently found a surreal setting, like a village that was made up of show units or a village set up for film shooting. 

It was so spotless that not a single piece of trash could be found on the ground. 

The houses are about 10 feet away, which provides space for each family to put up their plants and decorations. Each house is decorated with colourful decorations made from plastic bottles. 

The first villager that the writer spotted, Keramin Sarip, 65, said that all houses in the village have plastic bottle decorations because, in the small village, any trend would pick up quickly. 

“Alexander Yee told us to beautify our houses for the tourists. A few of us started learning to make decorations from plastic bottles, and the rest of the villagers followed. 

“Now, all of us know how to make flowers from plastic bottles and paint. We would sell it to the tourists too,” she said. 

When the writer asked about cleanliness, Keramin said that the villagers are very particular in keeping the village clean. 

“We bury and burn our rubbish. Whatever we do, we ensure that the rubbish will not go into the sea,” she said. 

Alexander Yee’s gift to the world  

In 2010, Trekkers Lodge Sdn Bhd managing director Alexander Yee learned that Kg Pulau Libaran villagers have been collecting turtle eggs from the beach of Libaran Island. 

Dedicated to protecting turtles from extinction, Yee decided to fork out his own funds to rent a six-acre (2.4 hectares) land on the island from a private owner to set up a turtle hatchery. 

Events developed quickly as after a year (2011), Yee recruited 11 staff from amongst the Kg Pulau Libaran villagers. Together, they underwent training by Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and were appointed Honorary Wildlife Wardens. 

They can now manage the turtle hatchery on the island. 

Yee set up the Walai Penyu resort, an awareness, and education-driven tourism site along with the hatchery. 

In July 2013, Trekkers Lodge signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SWD on a Turtle Breeding and Conservation Programme in Libaran Island. 

To date, the programme has successfully released over 35,500 green turtles and hawksbill turtles into the sea. 

“We named the hatchery Taman Hadiah, or Gift Garden, because it is my gift to the world,” he said. 

Yee, who has been in the tourism industry for 30 years, also runs a lodge in Kinabatangan and operates the Rumah Terbalik (Upside Down House) in Tamparuli, Tuaran. 

“I have been earning and benefitting from the Earth for many years; I thought that I should give back and contribute to Mother Nature. 

“I am now 53 years old. I want to ensure that when I am not around, the younger generation will continue the effort of turtle conservation, which is why the Libaran turtle hatchery is also open to students and visitors for educational purposes on turtle conservation,” he said. 

Yee became the president of Conservationist and Friends of Sea Turtles Education & Research president in 2013 and is now a well-known turtle conservationist in Malaysia. – The Vibes, July 25, 2021