‘Pasta dolce vita': Luxuriate in a rosemary sausage fusilli that any Italian mamma would approve of
KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 – My best friend from Italy is coming to town this weekend. We have known each other for over two decades now (and counting).
So what better dish to whip up for this 'Weekend Kitchen' than a pasta that even his Italian mamma would approve of.
My rosemary sausage fusilli has ingredients one might associate with Italian cooking – a tri coloured fusilli pasta (a nod to the green, white and red of the Italian flag), sprigs of fresh rosemary – and some that aren't as indelibly linked, including Italian sausages, which are in fact an American invention.
Tri coloured fusilli pasta — Picture by CK Lim
Still, it is the thought that counts. (Or do I mean the taste?)
This is a dish that is a celebration of a friendship across borders, spanning two continents and twenty-plus years. And a dish you ought to make in your own home, to savour its intense flavours and to exult in la vida dolce – Italian for 'the sweet life'.
Indeed, may you luxuriate in this pasta vida dolce!
Rosemary Sausage Fusilli
You can use any type of pasta you like but I have always had a soft spot for fusilli thanks to how its corkscrew shape retains so much of the sauce.
Here I have used a tri coloured fusilli; the Italian flag is officially known as the Italian Tricolour, after all. The green comes from the infusion of spinach purée; the white is the original pasta colour, which is more yellow-hued thanks to the addition of egg yolks; and the red from tomato paste.
Sprigs of fresh rosemary — Picture by CK Lim
There's nothing quite like fresh rosemary from one's garden or from a small pot on your warm kitchen windowsill. Its scent goes well with the Italian sausages, which are typically seasoned with fennel.
From the more Asian side of my pantry: chilli paste and king trumpet mushrooms. The former is far more fiery than Italian peperoncino; the latter more easily available than porcini or chanterelles.
King trumpet mushrooms — Picture by CK Lim
Ingredients
1.5-2 litres water
500g tri coloured fusilli pasta
2 tablespoons salt
A handful of bacon bits
3 Italian sausages, sliced into chunks
Olive oil
1 tablespoon chilli paste
2 large garlic cloves, sliced thinly
2-3 king trumpet mushroom, sliced
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves only
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
More fresh rosemary leaves, for garnishing
Method
Using a large pot, bring the water to a boil before adding the salt. Wait until the water returns to a rolling boil before adding the fusilli pasta.
There is no need to add oil to the water; simply stir the pasta constantly for the first minute or so to prevent them from sticking. Cook till almost al dente, as the pasta will continue to cook when tossed with the hot sauce later; approximately two minutes less than the cooking instructions on the pasta box or packet.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a large pan gently over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, reduce the heat and add the bacon bits.
Italian sausages are typically seasoned with fennel — Picture by CK Lim
Stir the bacon bits and allow the fat to render. Once the bacon bits have started to crisp and develop a golden brown colour, remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and allow to drain dry on some kitchen paper towels.
If there is enough rendered fat remaining in the pan, add the chunks of Italian sausages directly into the pan. If the pan looks a bit dry to you, add some olive oil and allow to heat up before adding the sausages.
Stir occasionally, ensuring to clip the sausage chunks to allow for even browning. Once they are cooked, remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add a bit more olive oil and heat again over medium-high heat. Add the chilli paste and stir until aromatic before adding the sliced garlic.
The pasta is well spiced with chilli paste and aromatics — Picture by CK Lim
Stir again until the garlic is aromatic, then add the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are well coated with the chilli paste and garlic, add the rosemary leaves; we add these near the end to allow them to perfume the sauce but not get burnt.
The idea here is to ensure the pasta is eventually well spiced with chilli paste and aromatics.
Once the pasta is ready, drain and transfer directly to the pan of sauce. Toss the fusilli with the sauce; add some reserved pasta water, if necessary, to loosen the sauce.
Taste and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Plate the pasta and garnish with some fresh rosemary leaves. Serve immediately.
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Daily Express
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‘Second Death March' in Murut heartland
Published on: Sunday, June 01, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jun 01, 2025 By: Kan Yaw Chong Text Size: Rubin and Tham beside a huge boulder at Lanut Carved Rocks Garden. WAGE a war, lose it, and you are a soldier of the vanquished empire – the victor will grab and march you to death, no mercy. Sabah actually holds a track record of two different WW2 death marches, when we became a battleground for hegemonic control. Here's the first, and most publicised. Advertisement The 1945 Sandakan-Ranau Death March wiped out 2,434 Allied prisoners of war, merely six survived – 99.8pc killed! Why? Britain lost, Japan won, in a battle for Malaya and Singapore, allied captives bundled to Sandakan to build an airport for the victorious Japanese empire which eventually marched the captives to death At least though, Aussies and Brits converge in Sandakan each year, to remember their dead, with large information generated on the fate of nearly each one collected and assembled by historian Lynette Silver. But, here is the second death march, far deadlier, yet almost unknown, when the fortune of the two empires in war reversed. The untold 2nd death march This is the untold, or untellable 2nd Death March. Starting with 6,000 Japanese soldiers deployed in deep interior Pensiangan and ordered to march to surrender when Japan lost, it ended with a mere 400 alive in Beaufort! The tragedy – nobody remember them, dying in vain! And information on them and the event is practically zero, the whole story muted, probably on account of shame and disgrace. I just had the luck. One day in early 2023, I was working on a story of the Rundum rebellion, I googled for info, suddenly the most unexpected snippet popped out. Here it is, and probably the one and only brief account on the suppressed 2nd Death March, written by American anthropologist and ethnographer, Thomas Rhys Williams, who was in North Borneo 1960-61 to do a very rare research on Murut Customary Behaviour. Thomas later published an article entitled 'The Form of a North Borneo Nativistic Behaviour'. Note, however, the American researcher and author never used the words '2nd Death March' which was later coined by author Maxwell Hall but the number of deaths was apparently so big or the survivors so drastically reduced, that it didn't escape his attention while more famous British historian like Owen Rutter avoided it completely. Vivid account by American on what happened Here it is, Williams' writing, quoted verbatim: 'On Dec 17, 1941, the Japanese invaded North Borneo with a force of 25,000 men. The main centres of occupation was established in Murut area at Tenom, Keningau, and Pensiangan. For three years large patrols of infantry regularly moved from these points through Murut territory, conscripting labor for construction of airfields, women for army prostitution centres, commandeering rice and other foodstuffs, imposing head taxes, fines and punishing offenders. In late 1943, allied guerrilla agents, parachuting into the area, enlisted Muruts in a force for raids on Japanese Patrols and outposts. Reoccupation of North Borneo by the Australian 9th Division led to heavy fighting through Tenom and Keningau. The 6,000 Japanese stationed in Pensiangan were ordered to stack arms and marched 150 miles to the coast and Beaufort to surrender. Australian army records show (only) 400 Japanese reached Beaufort. The remainder were killed by Muruts along the line of March (Tregonning 1958:221).' Died in the nether gloom for nothing There it is, as clear as it can be – there was actually a 'Second Death March', which I first published on February 5, 2023, in a Daily Express Sunday Special Report entitled 'Mystery of Sabah's 2nd Death March unravelled', although Thomas did not call it a '2nd death march', possibly because he wasn't aware of the first. Assuming Thomas' numbers were dead accurate, a death toll of 5,600 is far worse than the 2,434 Allied POWs dead in the 1st Sandakan-Ranau Death March, most of whom (about 1,400) actually died in Sandakan POW camp. For the eventual Japanese losers – all died in ignominy – public shame and disgrace covered up, accorded zero mention, compared to the annual heroic commemoration treatment for the Allied POWs killed in Sandakan-Ranau death march. That's war for domination, a zero sum game – losing soldiers die for nothing. Generals and emperors who order them to battle in the nether gloom of hostile distant jungles to cut down enemies for control and power, abandon them in the end. Track records: Two harbingers of death This is the sobering geopolitical lesson for serious reflection, in a world now simmering with war hawks in high places calling for a battle for national supremacy, beating up war drums and actively preparing war, instead of diplomacy for common prosperity. Since unsung Sabah had hosted the horrors and sorrows of two killer death marches, these are harbingers of death – omens, signs, symbols that foreshadow possibly a march towards worse recurrence approaching us and beyond, if the solid track records of two death marches in Sabah are not remembered and taken to heart and finally inspire no transformative impacts. So, maybe there is more value to peace-making to highlight lesson from Sabah's two death marches – two killer track records driven by relentless hostility, cruelty ending in deliberate, wilful mass slaughter. Eloquent venture capitalist Eric Li who understands investment risks best says he trusts only proven track records. Here is little Sabah, which hosted two track records of death marches where two empires take turn to lose wars and suffered. So, who won? Map on 2nd Death March route So, I was determined to dig into what this obscure 2nd Death March is all about, after being over exposed to the first. When Tham Yau Kong invited a trip to visit Tenom last Tuesday to see the little known Lanut Carved Rocks Garden yonder further down famed Sapong, somehow, this field experience magnified what was a pure academic interest two years ago. The reality of the 2nd death march escalated from what I published on 5 Feb 2023 purely as head awareness. First, like the Aussie army Mud Map which plots the whole length of the 1st death march that Lynette gave Tham in 2005, leading to a full identification of the direction of the track, Tham gave me Maxwell Hall's map from his book 'Kinabalu Guerrillas'. This map indicates main connecting dots Maxwell calls the '2nd Death March', as follows: Pensiangan-Rundum-Kemabong- Sapong-Tenom-Beaufort. Field trip to Layan Carved Rocks Garden Glad to be back to my old love as 'roving reporter', 28/5/25 headed for outback destination Layang Layang, 8km from Sapong and 28 km from Tenm town. Arriving, you see first a flourishing cabbage farm stretching far yonder, dubbed second Kundasang. Our real interest, however, was the carved rock garden – a one kilometre walk into a jungle one kilometre above the cabbage farm. Rubin Kumuah, land owner of Layang Layang, led the uphill trek. We came to a big boulder – one of a scattered dozen that was covered by green moss. Botak, Rubin's loyal decades-old Indonesian worker, cleared the mosses, carvings surfaced but they looked like abstract art to me. Straining harder for a mind of the carvers, I saw possibly a deer head and other guesses. Rubin: 'My parents reported many Japanese here' So what did land owner Rubin Kumuah had to say about Lanut Carved Rocks Garden which he owns? He cited his parents: 'Papa dan ibu saya cakap banyak Jipun berkhemah di kawasan ni.' Translated, it means 'My father and mother (Lanut) said many Japanese army camped here'. To pit camps in the rock garden, the Japanese must have walked on existing tracks that passed by here. So, even though Layang Layang is not marked on Maxwell's map, it could well be a passage or approximate track of the 2nd death march, which gives us at least a mental grip about the reality of this major WW2 episode in Sabah. Of course, the inevitable question is: who did these rock carvings? Rubin said again: 'According to my parents, the Muruts of old did it but according to my brothers, when words were out that they were treasure maps carved by passing Japanese troops, treasure hunters went digging but found nothing'. Prospects for tourism The question is, can a combination of rock carving, Japanese camp site and passage of the 2nd death march be developed into a tourism product? Tham answered: 'In 2019, Rubin introduced his Rock Carving Garden to us, it attracted a few groups of hikers but when the Covid Pandemic struck with strict movement control, hikers stopped completely.' 'When we restarted trekking in mid-2024, we discovered no less than 10 carved boulders and when Rubin suggested this site be named after his mother, we came up with 'Lanut Rock Carving Garden'. Rubin's goal: 'I wanted to conserve these carved boulders for future generations who may benefit from rural tourism development.' Tham added: 'The Layang Layang area has at least 20km of tracks used by Muruts to walk from village to village, British officers used these as pony tracks to go from Tenom to Kemabong.' Heavy presence of Japanese in Murut heartland As Thomas Phys Williams noted, the Japanese military deployed a strong presence in Tenom, Keningau and Pensiangan – all Murut heartlands. In the case of Tenom, they set up a military headquarter in Sapong, complete with an airstrip in its rubber estate into which General Baba flew into and out. To deploy 6,000 soldiers in Pensiangan, they only way then was to walk 150-mile over pony tracks or hunting trails from Tenom to Kemabong, Rundum to reach Pensiagngan and vice versa later, on the 2nd death march. In my maiden visit to Pensiangan in December 2021, local Murut leader, Ansom bin Putiang recalled Japanese military camps studded the banks of the Saliu river downstream Wreckage of Liberator bomber In the end, Tenom, Sapong, like all other owns of North Borneo were heavily bombed. Tham recalled in in the 70s, he saw near the Perkasa Hotel ¾ of wreckage of a Liberator bomber, either shot down or crashed during such bombing runs but in 2000, he saw only chunk of metal left, the rest all cut as scrap metal. The point is, given such big military deployment in deep interior of Sabah, Japan, had reasoned that as a rising industrial power , they had the right to colonise foreign lands, just at Britain, USA and all the European power had done. They had planned and no doubt expected to colonise entire Borneo long term but alas, after just 44 months of occupation, America whipped up a complete surprise – dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by a hydrogen bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, and Japan surrendered abruptly on August 15. Pensiangan too far for 9th Division to attack Although Japan formally surrendered on August 15, their forces in North Borneo continued to fight and elements of the Aussie 9th Division which landed in Labuan on June 10, continued to face combat in Tenom, Keningau and Beaufort was not taken until Sept 11, 1945. Pensiangan was apparently too deep going for the 9th Division which apparently did not target it for attack. What we know is, as Thomas Williams reported, 'the 6.000 Japanese stationed in Pensiangan were ordered to stack arms to march to Beaufort to surrender' but only 400 arrived . Maxwell Hall coined '2nd Death March' Maxwell Hall was the author who explicitly called this 'a second Death March', this time involving the Japanese and Muruts '. He wrote: 'The Murut warfare continued… When the Japanese soldiers left Pensiangan to march northwards to surrender to the Australians, they marched fully armed. By this time, the Muruts were masters of the route, which extended two hundred miles from Pensiangan to Beaufort….Death and dying spread out the whole way…..When they surrendered, the survivors were suffering all forms of tropical disease. It was a death march of Japanese… Just another example of bloodshed that took place…' In a discreet conversation in Pensiangan in December 2021, one time Murut headman, Ansom bin Puntiang, told me the locals were distributed guns towards the end of the war, what they did with it Ansom declined to say. Neither did Maxwell explain what he meant 'by this time, the Muruts were masters of the route'. 'All empires become arrogant' – Commentator Has the world learnt from the horrors of wars for power and control, like Sabah's two death marches? 'Fundamentally no,' says Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, Canberra. 'All empires become arrogant, it is their nature,' observes Edward Rutterford. 'The earth is littered with empires that once believed they were eternal,' noted Percy Bessshe Shelby. On a parting note from Cliff James: 'The temple of empires comes tumbling down, the names of the mighty forgotten. Here is a parable: Power never last.' Transformative tip from the 'Good Samaritan' So what virtues and values last? When will the nations drop their hostile minds and lust for power and domination? Here's just one transformative tip from the story of the Good Samaritan, who not only lived by extraordinary kindness but radically blind to ethnic superiority and racial barriers.
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