Disappearing rainforests

When I first visited Maliau Basin, or Sabah's Lost World, in 2001, I was struck by its pristine and raw beauty. Even the leeches looked pretty - I could not kill these creatures even when they had their "mouthful" of my blood. I learnt about the forests' fragile existence. While having stood millions of years, they were on the fringe of being destroyed by Man. It's easy for greedy politicians to de-gazette a forest so it's no longer protected. Maliau was in danger of that. Underneath the majestic trees may be rich lodes of coal, maybe gold. Australia's BHP had carried out prospecting work.