The BERNAM RIVER

The Ferocious Croc & The Swelling Bernam

The nearest route from our house to Hutan Melintang town was through a narrow costal bush trail bypass, no bigger than ‘lorong babi hutan’ as termed by the locals. The distant was less than a kilometer, compared to a 4-kilometer track through the normal kampong road. The braves would readily opted using the coastal bypass, for a quick journey to town. At times one could be confronted by real wild boars darting out from the secondary jungle, or hear the cry of distant wild beasts especially in the very early morning or during dust. Other obstacles were, when crossing the narrow bridges spanning over the two river estuaries. During high tides the loose flatforms swayed with the currents, impassible to the less experienced. Each bridge, with an average of 50 meters in length, having 3 connecting flatforms supported by pillars.

Except for the area where the two bridges were, the whole estuaries almost covered with thick undergrowth foliage twigs locally known as ‘pokok jeruju’ right to the water edge. The upper banks were covered with overgrown giant plants, such as ‘pokok Berembang’, tall creepers and ‘pokok Gorah’. The estuaries looked deep, with dark murky water, believed by the locals as fertile breeding ground for river lobsters ( udang galah). For whatever it was, as far as I can remember, no local fishermen or enthusiast anglers would dare to venture in, as the dark murky water was also believed to be the habitat of ferocious crocodiles.

I always had this eerie feeling of being snap by one of that scaled monster croc, each time I took the river crossings. I had reason to be so. There was this instant, while on our way to school on one fine morning, we saw a baby croc lying idle on one of the bridge loose flatforms half submerged by the high tide.

It was a relief, when a family later known as Pak Mat Tikus (because his body posture apt a bewildered mice crouching, while surveying the area for stray cats before darting out from its hideout to the open ) built his family home by the river bank next to one of the estuaries.

We nicknamed Pak Mat’s eldest son Abang Darus as Tarzan, after a renowned comic and film (jungle adventure) character of writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. As Abang Darus spend most of his time brought up in the swampy jungle, he fits the title of the Jungle Boy well. We also found out that his prowess stunt was jumping from high treetops to the swelling river or at times swinging from one tree branch to another. He was also a good swimmer, having the physique and posture of the jungle hero akin Johnny Weissmuller or Gordon Scott of MGM's Tarzan fame, although Abang Darus did not possessed the fair skin color of both the famed Hollywood stars. Abang Darus had dark skin complexion with thick lips, more like Kunta Kinte, of the famed Hollywood TV series of the nineties.

One fine morning a tragedy struck the family. As was related by Abang Darus, while bathing with his young brother in the swelling tide of Bernam River, a ferocious crocodile snapped the boy and took him underwater. The news broke out like wild fire. Before noon, the area swamped with neighbors, relatives, friends and sympathizers. Poor Abang Darus, all day he fervently stood unfazed by the water edge ready to plunge in and rescue his brother from the crocodile’s jaw. However, after overnight vigil, no crocodile was seen around, nor do they found his brother’s bloated body anywhere nearby.

Later a Pawang Buaya or Shaman was called. This Pawang Buaya claimed to have the magical power to communicate with the ‘Buaya Keramat’ that controlled the Bernam River, for the justification on the killing. It was also claimed that the ‘Buaya Keramat’ would assembled all the ‘buayas’ to condemn the wrong doings. The culprit ‘buaya’ would be punished and ordered to crawl up the riverbank and surrender. The family would take their revenge and kill the crocodile.

We were curious on the outcome, although most believed; there was no way saving the victim, nor do the culprit ‘buaya’ would surrender itself to Abang Darus and his family. However, the daily vigil continued.

A couple of days later someone claimed sighting the crocodile on some distant bank of Berman River with the boy’s body still stuck to it’s jaw. To this, the Pawang Buaya readily announced that the spirit of the ‘Buaya Keramat’ had communicated to him, ordering him to lock the jaws of the defiant crocodile, to which he immediately did.

After a few weeks of waiting there was still no discovery of the missing boy, nor do a crocodile crawling up the riverbank surrendering itself. Therefore, when the school terms began a couple of weeks later, we had to abandon our vigil, and concentrate with our studies.

Soon than expected, life in the Malay Reservation was back to normal again.
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Till the present day I am still in the doubt as to whether Abang Darus’s young brother was really snapped by a marauding crocodile believed by all or that the boy was suck in by strong swelling under-current of Bernam River during high tide, while Abang Darus was busy positioning himself on a high branch of 'pokok Berembang, for his Tarzan stunt.

Wallahualam.