I Did Not Know We Have a National Tree
We call it the ‘Merbau’ aka Malacca teak, Borneo teak
Merbau tree is a strong, sturdy towering tree. It is similar to the pine trees of the West. It was named the national tree of Malaysia in 2019.
But shame on me. I did not remember hearing this announcement. How did I miss it when it was all over the news.
Characteristics of Merbau tree
You can find Merbau trees in the Southeast Asian rainforests. It typically grows around the forest’s lowlands and can grow to a height of at least 50 meters and a trunk diameter of 1.5m.
It is considered part of the Old World tree species and was possibly first found in East Africa.
The specialty of this Merbau wood is its durability. It resists both fungi and insect attacks. I was told that termites hate the Merbau, making this a famous tree for making furniture, flooring, ceiling beams, cutting boards, and even musical instruments.
They are a popular wood for waterworks as it’s able to withstand ocean water.
Illegal logging
According to Global Forest Watch, the world lost 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of tropical tree cover in 2018 — equal to 30 football pitches a minute. Malaysia was among the six countries with the biggest forest shrinkage that year.
Reuters cites that from 2001–2018, Malaysia lost about 7.7 million hectares of tree cover, equivalent to a 26% decrease since 2000.
These shrinkages are due to logging activities, forest-clearing, and fires. It came with no surprise when NGOs in Malaysia indicated concerns of illegal logging of Merbau in this region.
Actions to curb emissions
Besides changes to Malaysia’s forestry legislation, in Dec 2019, Malaysia’s government pledged to plant 100 million trees over the next five years to restore depleted forest areas and meet its commitments to curb planet-warming carbon emissions.
Together with this initiative, several non-profit organizations such as SEEDs Malaysia have started urban farms to germinate Merbau seeds.
These seeds, if successful, will be transferred to find safe homes, protected/reserved lands, or forests.
The beginnings of a Merbau seed
If you are lucky enough to find a Merbau seed, this is what you can try at home(assuming your garden has enough sunlight).
Merbau seeds are relatively flat and have an oval shape, like your spoon. You can plant them in a bed of soil. Remember not to bury them too deep in the sand. Instead, stack them like you would stack your dishes. (Refer to the picture on the left below) It needs plenty of sunlight to survive. It prefers dry or moist soil.
In the right conditions, the Merbau seed will sprout and stand tall like lollipops. Their initial growth is fast, with an average height of 40–55 cm after 10–12 weeks. The new leafy stems will start to appear on the top. (Refer to picture in the middle)
But instead of growing tall as the Merbau trees do, these new stems will curl its way as if it is shy. It creeps and curls like small bean sprouts around the outer seeds.
Once it’s confident and ready to face the world, the stems straighten themselves as it begins its journey to be a tall, proud Merbau tree.
How Kampung Rembau, a village in Malaysia, got its name from the Merbau tree.
The story started with a group of men looking for a place to settle down. This group of young men had climbed down from a mountain and stopped to rest by this huge Merbau tree.
They thought it was an excellent place to start a village. They cleared the land around the tree and started to chop the tree. But after numerous attempts, the tree stood as sturdy as ever. Batin, the group leader, suggested that they say a prayer to ask for permission.
As soon as they finished, the tree started to crumble and fell into a nearby stream. Batin and his group decided to call the place — Kg Merbau Tua (Translation — Old Merbau Village).
Over time, the name changed to Kampung Rembau (Translation — Merbau Village), which has a similar sound to Merbau.
Thank you for reading.
I hope this article compensates for my lack of nationalism for the Merbau tree.
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