The Ox-Bow Lake - Chapter II

On June 18 I made a second visit to the Ox-Bow Lake near the town of Sg. Mati, Johore. This time I have the company of the President of  the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Prof Dr. Maketab Mohamed. Prof had made a special stop-over to see and hear the feedbacks from Mrs. Yong and other long time residents there, first hand. I believe he was convinced that this humble lake could be developed as part of an eco-tourism project which will benefit this small town and the village folks. Agriculture and planting of paddy are the main activities which form the back bone of the smallish economy in Pekan Sg. Mati. 

The President went away with an assurance to the village community leaders that he will seek out the relevant government officers and departments in charge of tourism located in the state capital of Johore Bahru. MNS have the expertise to provide assistance in areas of  conservation, the selection of the appropriate specie of fruit trees which will attract birds during the fruiting season. The abundance of bird life will certainly serve as a big draw and attract bird watchers, both local and from overseas. Birding and other related activities will help to liven up this otherwise sedate village.


During the tour around the lake I took the opportunity to 'capture' and record the birds along the way. Here are some of the photos taken in under 2 hours.

            Google map of the Ox-Bow Lake 

             Common Iora 

               
              Greater Coucal

           
                 Purple Heron

Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker

          
               Red-wattled Lapwing

             
             Cinnamon Bittern (non breeding)

             
             Lesser Whistling Ducks

The Ox-Bow Lake (Sg. Mati), Muar, Johore, Malaysia.

During May 30 2011 the trippers of the MNS Photogroup's trip to Muar, Pt Jawa and Sg Balang made an unscheduled stop-over in Sg. Mati (literal translation to the English language = dead river) at the kind invitation of Mrs. Yong, Science teacher of Pei Hwa Secondary School, Sg. Mati and water quality project leader.

The Ox-Bow Lake is the only one of it's kind in West Malaysia. The other one being in Kinabatangan, Sabah, East Malaysia. The former is a 9 km loop from end to end. Initial visual observation revealed a thriving existence of avian life which included the Purple Heron, Little Egrets, Lesser Whistling Duck, Moorhens, Common Iora etc etc. Melodious bird calls could be heard throughout our leisurely drive in convoy around the lake. 

There were some expressed concerns about a commercial development plan which has been submitted to the relevant authorities. Approval of the plan is expected at sometime in the near future. The issue is not so much about the development per se but about whether the commercial development will give due and careful consideration to ensure that the rich biodiversity surrounding the lake is preserved. 

I did some research on the origin and history of this Ox-Bow Lake and below is an excerpt from the Wikipedia. 

"Sungai Mati ('dead river' in Malay) is a small town in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is situated between the towns of Tangkak and Muar.

Sungai Mati was named in such a way (dead river) is due to its nature of being an ox-bow lake. It formed or breakaway from main river ie Muar River. The "breakaway" cause by a massive flood in early 1900s (not traceable). Before the breakaway Sungai Mati was on the Muar river bank (northern bank) and was a river port.

Before the breakaway Sungai Mati was named 'li hong kang' 利丰港. It means a prosperous port. Until now, the Chinese community still using the same name, which carries both extreme meaning. In fact it was an inland/river port. Muar River and Pahang River in combination was a very important east-west crossing route for traditional river transport. The route called "Laluan Penarikan", which is documented and available in Malaysia secondary history text. The piece of land surrounded by the ex-bow lake and Muar River in combination is called Pulau Penarik.

In early 1970s, there were some remaining traces of the river port. There was landing of jetty at the end of Jalan Raja, the current location of bridge linking Sungai Mati and Pulau Penarik. On the current badminton and tennis court on the left of Jalan Raja, diagonally opposite incumbent Johor Menteri Besar residence, were old warehouses.

It was a recommended to rename the Sungai Mati into Sungai Penarik or Sungai Serom while retaining the Chinese version of it went unheard by the authorities. Hopefully with it integration into new Ledang District, the new authority may look into this seriously."

Below are photos of different parts of the Ox-Bow lake. Photo credits goes to Mr. Vincent Ng and Mr. Andrew Sia.

             Any excess water is 'drained' into the Muar River (at the background of pic below)

We will be closely monitoring the development in this prime nature enclave. Stay tuned for more updates. Cheers!

                 Behind the scene in the posting of the Ox-Bow Lake

                Group photo with the Ketua Kampung (Village Head) 

            Down to some serious discussion on the history of Sg. Mati aka Dead River

          Followed by discussion with students helping in the water quality project 

       
             Taking notes of the students' presentation