Birthplace of Malaysia's famed Musang King continues to draw visitors
HL: Birthplace of Malaysia's famed Musang King continues to draw visitors
Pic by Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah
TANAH MERAH: The original site of Malaysia's famed durian kunyit in Pulau Raya here continues to attract visitors from beyond Kelantan, drawn by its rich history and deep cultural roots.
The legendary tree, later known as Musang King, was first planted in 1790 by a Chinese immigrant, Chung Chun Seng, who brought the seed with him when he migrated to the village.
According to his great-grandson, Chung Ting Bun, the tree was planted near the family home and eventually grew into a towering presence before it died in 1974.
"My great-grandfather planted the tree after arriving here, and over the years it flourished and bore fruit.
"It became a giant tree, well known to the local community at the time," said Chung when met here today.
The 80-year-old farmer said most visitors were from outside Kelantan.
"They come here because they want to learn about the historical planting site. My wife, Yap Mek Seek, who is 75, and I spend time explaining the story to them," he said.
He added that many visitors, as well as locals, were unaware that durian kunyit originated in Kelantan.
"When the cultivar later gained popularity in Gua Musang, it became known as Musang King, a name that eventually overshadowed its true origins," he said.
To commemorate the site's historical significance, Chung said a small monument had been erected at the location where the first durian kunyit tree was planted.
"The monument serves as a reminder for our children, grandchildren, and future generations," said the father of four.
He added that the site had since become a minor tourist attraction on the small island, drawing durian enthusiasts and history buffs alike.
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The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
'Durian Influencer' Edison Ang is out to educate people about Malaysian durian
At the durian store MyBolehBoleh in KL's tourist-centric Jalan Sultan, Edison Ang is hunched over a durian. He briefly places his gloved fingers over the thorny spikes before hauling it up and sniffing it earnestly. Satisfied, he brings a cleaver down on the fruit and expertly hacks it open, revealing chambers filled with luscious, creamy Musang King. Waiting patiently by his side are Singaporean tourists Frederick Choy and Iris Foo, who are making their annual pilgrimage to KL in pursuit of the best durian. 'We have been coming here every year since he opened this shop,' enthuses Choy. In the background, another gaggle of tourists stand by, cameras at the ready. When Ang is done opening the fruit for Choy and Foo, they come closer. 'We're from China. We're so excited to meet you and try Malaysian durian,' they exclaim. Choy and Foo (left) are Singaporean tourists who make the annual trip to Ang's durian store MyBolehBoleh every year in pursuit of good durian. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star The devilishly handsome Ang flashes them a wide, disarming smile. Over the past three years, Ang has produced an endless stream of social media content dedicated to educating consumers in China about Malaysian durian. He now has over two million followers from China on his Chinese social media accounts like Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Weibo and WeChat. In Malaysia, his Facebook, TikTok and Instagram fans total over one million. And if Chinese denizens like the ones gathered at his shop are enthusiastic about trying Malaysian durian, then he has done his job well. 'Sometimes my followers have said, 'I came here because I wanted to eat durian after watching your videos.' So this is the one thing I like to hear the most because it is proof that my hard work actually brings results and has influenced some of my China audience to come to Malaysia,' he says. But for Ang, this is just the first step in his single-handed determination to help grow and expand the Malaysian durian industry and turn it into an international powerhouse. Getting started Ang grew up in Alor Setar, Kedah. His father owned a souvenir shop, and the enterprising Ang learnt the ropes early when he started selling freeze-dried durian to local souvenir shops when he was in university. But otherwise, he had no real knowledge of durian. Six years ago, Ang got his start in influencing when he started posting funny videos on TikTok in 2019 and quickly gained over 500,000 followers. But soon he felt that what he was doing held no meaning. 'Since I was small, I have been involved in the tourism industry. I always felt like I wanted to do something to boost Malaysian exposure around the world, especially in China. So I decided to switch all my accounts and start from zero again on Chinese social media platforms like Douyin,' says Ang. Ang started producing videos on Malaysian durian for his China followers in 2023 in a bid to educate them about local durian. — Edison Ang/Instagram Ang's presence grew online off the back of his Malaysian-centric videos, and his Chinese accounts gained over one million followers one year later. In 2021 Ang did a live stream for the first time, selling Malaysian products like white coffee and durian and made over CNY600,000 (over RM355,000) in sales in two hours. To him, the big surprise was that over half the sales came from Malaysian durian. So in early 2023, he decided to pivot and refocus his content entirely on Malaysian durian. The durian messenger Since 2023, Ang estimates that he has visited well over 300 durian farms across Malaysia as well as in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Each visit is inevitably a hunt for new content, but inadvertently, Ang has also learnt so much about durian himself and has been able to teach his followers from China everything he has sussed out about Malaysian durian and help change preconceived notions they have formed about it. These preconceptions were partially initiated by the fact that in China, Thai durians have held court for over 10 years and many Chinese are used to these durians as opposed to Malaysian durian, which is more expensive and lesser-known. To develop his content and learn more about Malaysian durian, Ang has visited over 300 durian farms in Malaysia and the region. — Edison Ang/Instagram 'The durian eating culture in China was started about 14 or 15 years ago with the Thai montong durian, whereas Malaysian durian has only gained prominence in China in the past five or six years. So in China, the durian eating behaviour is similar to that in Thailand. 'In Thailand, durian is harvested when it is only 70% to 80% ripe and then they export it to China. So the aroma isn't as prominent and the taste of the durian is firmer – almost crunchy, rather than smooth and creamy like the Malaysian durian. 'Also when Malaysian durian was first introduced to the China market, the first complaint was, 'Why is it so expensive?' Because Malaysian Musang King is about four to five times the price of Thai montong. It's only when people from China eat the Malaysian durian that they realise how much tastier it is,' says Ang. In one of his first durian-centric videos in 2023, Ang went to great lengths to explain to his fan base from China that the key point of differentiation with Malaysian durian is that it is harvested when ripe – specifically, when the durian falls from the tree. 'It was hard for Chinese consumers to understand this concept at first. Also, they had never seen a real durian tree before, so I went to a lot of durian farms to do videos and live streams because people from China were so curious about what durian trees actually looked like. 'In Chinese social media content, the live streamers use fake trees and hang durian from them, so most Chinese had never seen real durian trees before!' explains Ang, laughing. Still, despite the dent he has made in consumers' perspectives in China, Ang says he still has a lot of work to do because he believes that 90% of Chinese consumers still stick to Thai durian, driven by lower prices and the fact that Malaysian durian penetration hasn't yet reached smaller cities in China. A retail presence When his videos started gaining traction, Ang realised that he was limited by the fact that his presence was entirely online. He was telling people about durians, but he himself didn't have anything to show in terms of the final product. Which is why in July 2023, he decided to go full-on into the durian business. In August 2023, he set up his physical durian shop MyBolehBoleh in Kuala Lumpur. In the same year, he also started a durian export business, setting up an office in the Guangdong province in China and working with a factory in Malaysia that helps him process durian for the China market. Unlike many other cheerless durian shops, Ang designed MyBolehBoleh to be a fun, attractive spot for locals and tourists. —SAMUEL ONG/The Star Ang himself helps sell durian through live streams on his Chinese social media accounts. His revenue from June 2023 till the end of the year for the export business was an impressive 20mil Chinese yuan (RM11.8mil), which bolstered him to work even harder, of course. But the road to success hasn't been entirely smooth sailing. Ang says 2024 was a hugely challenging year for him, as it was the year his brother – who had been his business partner – decided to leave. 'It left a huge emotional impact on me because I had to take over everything,' he says. To compound matters, Ang's high standards meant he couldn't find a Malaysian factory that lived up to his expectations for the durian export business. 'If you want to actually export and give a good product, you need to find a reliable factory or supply chain that can support you. But I found that sometimes what I promised to my customers couldn't be fulfilled. 'So this forced me to change a lot of factories – in these three years I've used three factories. But luckily, I found a new partner factory that can really support me this year, so since then, everything has gotten better,' he says. Ang's store mostly sells premium durian from single-origin old farms that Ang himself has visited or dealt with. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star With MyBolehBoleh, Ang says he was driven to open a physical outlet because so many of his followers from China kept asking him where to go to eat good durian on their trips to Malaysia. This coincided with a surge in China tourists to Malaysia in 2023, a nearly 600% increase from 2022. 'A lot of my followers from China who travel to Malaysia will always ask me, 'Where can I eat durian in Malaysia?' And I always recommended that they go to SS2 in Petaling Jaya. 'Then I thought, if I had so many followers that wanted to eat durian, why don't I own my own store and ask my followers to come here? So the first intention was to own this store and ensure customers get good Malaysian durian,' he says. Ang's followers travel from all over China and Malaysia to try the durian at his shop and meet him too, as he's something of a celebrity. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star At MyBolehBoleh, Ang readily confesses that his durian is priced higher than many other stores. This is because he works directly with a network of farms and picks more established single-origin farms that would typically have higher-quality yields. 'We guarantee that our durian is from old farms – in fact, for many of these durian, our staff drive to the farm to collect it directly. And the second thing is we will open the durian in front of you, and if you find that it's not tasty, we can just change it for you. Because we charge more, we have the profit margin to do this extra service for customers. 'For me, I don't want to lower the prices and serve substandard durian. I am happy selling a few hundred kilos of durian a day while giving customers a better experience,' he says. The future Unlike many influential figures, Ang isn't just here to make money and rest on his laurels. He really, really cares about the future of Malaysian durian. Aside from organising the newly minted KL Durian Festival, he also hopes to establish a durian cultural centre in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. 'I find that a lot of tourists come to Malaysia and just eat durian. But I think that durian has a bigger story to tell than the mere act of consumption. So I want to collaborate with government agencies and have a space to showcase Malaysian durian culture so people can learn about durian trees, fruiting season and the farmers behind the fruits,' he says. If you think that's all Ang has in mind, you would be oh-so wrong. Because Edison Ang is truly an unstoppable durian juggernaut. His five-year timeline? He wants to establish a durian university! In the future, Ang hopes to establish a durian university where people can train to become professional durian tasters. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star 'I think it will be very hard to improve the durian industry if we don't have enough skilled farmers and workers trained at a proper university. Like now, the grading of the fruit is not consistent. The farmer might say it's grade A, but someone else will say it's grade B. It's a perennial issue. 'And the second thing is I think a durian university can train durian tasters. Like sommeliers for wine or baristas for coffee, we should have something in place to establish durian experts too,' says Ang, smiling.
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
KLIA poised for growth as MAHB eyes more foreign airlines in 2025
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Megat Ardian said MAHB has been actively engaging with global carriers over the last two years through airline networking events such as Routes World and Routes Asia, as well as direct visits to airline headquarters. "Our aim is to build direct connectivity to KLIA. Every new airline brings new routes and new passenger flows, which either terminate here (Kuala Lumpur) or continue on to other destinations," he said. He said the strategy is similar to a mix of 'hunting and farming' – hunting for new airlines to introduce new routes and farming through sustained engagement with existing foreign and local carriers to increase frequencies and up-gauge aircraft types from narrowbody to widebody, for example. "We work closely with our local carriers and foreign ones that are already operating here to explore capacity increases either by using larger aircraft or operating more flights," Megat Ardian added. MAHB also collaborates closely with Tourism Malaysia by participating in joint sales missions to key markets such as China, the Middle East, and Europe, where the airport operator also engages directly with airlines. Megat Ardian said MAHB supports airlines' planning by sharing extensive traffic data to highlight connectivity opportunities and potential feeder traffic via local partners such as Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Batik Air Malaysia. "Some airlines want to know where their passengers go beyond KLIA. We analyse the behind, direct and beyond traffic to demonstrate how they can connect with the partners here to fill up their aircraft, especially for new routes," he said, adding that MAHB's strategy is heavily data-driven. Megat Ardian also said MAHB now takes a more holistic approach with the input from its new shareholders by looking at both airline and passenger behaviours, including loyalty usage and passenger segmentation. "We analyse which carriers are already operating in Bangkok or Singapore but not yet in Kuala Lumpur. With many of them getting new aircraft soon, we want them to consider putting those aircraft here," he said. He added that the team is currently in talks with several European national carriers that do not yet serve KLIA, while also maintaining engagements with airlines in China and the Middle East. Speaking of the China market, Megat Ardian said the travel demand is rebounding, especially with the extension of visa-free stays to 90 days in Malaysia. "It's been a key market for us since 2018, and we're seeing traffic steadily returning to pre-pandemic levels," he said. India and the Middle East are also fast-growing markets, with the transfer traffic from Indian secondary cities into Australia and the South Pacific via KLIA picking up, aided by strong connectivity provided by local carriers. KLIA recorded 30 million passengers in the first half of 2025, a nearly 10 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, with average load factors hovering around 78 per cent. Megat Ardian said MAHB also maintains ongoing discussions with North American carriers, including U.S. and Canadian airlines, though these airlines are highly focused on ensuring point-to-point and feeder connectivity before committing to a new route. "In our discussions, they always ask, 'Can I fill half my plane with direct passengers and rely on feeder partners for the rest?' That's where we come in by identifying and connecting them with local airlines to support their networks," he said. Speaking on KLIA infrastructure, Megat Ardian said the need for a third terminal at KLIA remains part of the long-term masterplan, which is currently being reviewed in line with projected passenger growth. "For now, the focus is on enhancing services, efficiency, and unlocking optimisation at KLIA (Terminal 1 and Terminal 2)," he said. One of the key initiatives under study is the inter-terminal airside transfer between KLIA Terminal 1 (T1) and Terminal 2 (T2) that will allow seamless passenger and baggage transfer, a crucial requirement to support hub operations. "We've completed time-motion studies for both passengers and bags. "What's next is working with airlines and ground handlers to finalise operational processes," he said. Beyond passengers, KLIA's aviation strategy is also fuelling growth in air cargo. The airport hosts five major cargo terminal operators, which include MASkargo Sdn Bhd, Ground Team Red Sdn Bhd (GTR), Raya Airways Sdn Bhd, FedEx and DHL. KLIA has seen rising air cargo volumes in 2024 up to today. "Increased flight frequencies and new routes mean more (aircraft) belly cargo capacity. We're seeing growth in small parcels, perishables, semiconductors, batteries, and tech-related shipments," Megat Ardian said. While KLIA remains MAHB's central focus, Megat Ardian said other local international airports such as Penang International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Langkawi International Airport and Kuching International Airport are also playing supporting roles. "KLIA is the gateway and hub for international connectivity, but the regional airports are evolving and feeding into the ecosystem. Each has its own development plan under Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd (MASB)," he added. He also said that MAHB remains confident that enhanced connectivity, ongoing infrastructure optimisation and strong airline partnerships will propel KLIA closer to becoming a premier airport hub in the region.
The Star
9 hours ago
- The Star
No changes to mountain climbing rules despite recent deaths
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