I met a Norwegian named Immanuel Vigeland in the Esplanade, Penang Island in around 1972. At that time he was staying in Mariners' Club, Light Street near Esplanade. He often went to the seaside of Esplanade nearby, so di I. As we met often, we later became friends. Later I knew that he was a marine biologist and had some work for University of Malaya. In fact he was a professor. He had a Malay assistant called Sulaiman. Sometimes he invited me to dine with him together with Sulaiman. Later he brought another Indian friend and introduced him to me. His name was Xavier Ganesh. So the four of us were quite often together. Once the four of us went to Jeniang, Kedah as Mr Vigeland had some work there. He had a raft in the sea near Jelutong where he studied the algae of the sea. We all had been to his raft. His mode of transport was a Volkswagon. Sulaiman once went with him in his Volkswagon to Phuket Island Thailand. I was also invited, but I could not join him because of work. However I had a chance to go to Singapore with him and Sulaiman in his Volkswagon. I stayed in YMCA Singapore. Later Sulaiman also followed him back to Norway during a winter and came back several weeks later. Sulaiman told me the weather in Norway was so cold he became difficult to walk. In about 1974 he moved his raft to Singapore. Later I visited him in Johor Baru and stayed in Rasa Sayang Hotel in Johor Baru. At that time he had a new Malay assistant. As he was so far away from Penang and highway did not exist at that time, we seldom met but I knew he was still doing marine biological work in Malaysia. About 15 years ago, I got some news about him and knew that he was still living.
Today, I typed his name in a search engine in the internet. and found an article about his activities in Pahang. The article was as follows:
Norwegian who hunted Bigfoot for over 20 years
Shahrum SayuthiBANDAR MUADZAM SHAH, Jan 5:
Interest in the "Bigfoot" phenomenon is not new to Felda settler Abdul Hamid Wahab, 57.
He and a Norwegian scientist spent almost three decades searching for the elusive creature in several forested areas in Pahang and Johor from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s.
"I first met Professor Immanuel Vigeland, who was then in his 60s, when he came to my village in Kampung Mempelas in 1972," Hamid said, when met at his home in Felda Chini 2 near here today.
"The professor was at that time on one of his expeditions into the jungle here and had stopped at my village for a friend’s wedding."
Hamid said Vigeland, who spoke fluent Malay, became his close friend and regularly visited his home. Almost all the time, he would ask Hamid to accompany him into the jungle. "He said he was impressed with my knowledge of the jungle."
The marine biologist, who was conducting shipping-related research in Tanjung Pagar, Singapore, was an avid environmentalist who spent his free time studying local flora and fauna.
MY DEAR FRIEND: Hamid showing the framed newspaper cuttings on Vigeland. The one on his left was an article in the NST in 1989 while the other was from a Norwegian newspaper.
His enviromental work had been highlighted several times by the New Straits Times and the Norwegian media during his stay here.
"But his actual passion was finding this creature which the newspapers in the past few weeks have been calling Bigfoot," said Hamid, who became a Felda settler in 1982. "Every time there was talk of a sighting, my friend would get me to accompany him into the jungle in that area."
Vigeland had started his search for Bigfoot much earlier, soon after he came to Singapore in 1958.
In 1976, he set up a biological research field station in Kota Tinggi with the help of Universiti Malaya and hired Hamid as his assistant.
This was the same area where Bigfoot was said to have been sighted recently.
"Rumours about the existence of the giant hairy creature were also heard in that area, with several Orang Asli claiming that they had seen it in the jungles at Gunung Panti, Gunung Muntaha and Gunung Sisek," said Hamid.
"The two of us spent many days in the jungle in the hope of running into it but luck was never on our side. We never even got to see the creature’s footprints."
The duo spent so much time in the jungle, especially around Gunung Panti, that the Orang Asli community there nicknamed Vigeland "Orang Putih Gunung Panti" (the white man of Gunung Panti).
BIGFOOT BOON: The reported sightings of "Bigfoot" in the jungles of Johor and the media publicity it generated have pushed up sales of masks resembling the black, hairy creature. Kenneth Lim, owner of a fancy costume outlet in a shopping complex in Johor Baru, said he sold 20 of the masks this week alone. — NST picture by Shahrul M. Zain
Hamid quit his job at the research station in 1982 to join a Felda land scheme but this did not end the duo’s quest.
Vigeland moved his shipping-related research to Kuantan port in 1989 and the two friends resumed their sojourns into the dense Pahang jungles whenever they heard stories of Bigfoot.
Hamid said Vigeland even resorted to employing a famous bomoh from Jerantut to track down the creature after a report that it had been sighted at the National Park in Kuala Tembeling.
"Honestly, I am more of a sceptic but Vigeland never wavered in his belief that the creature exists. He kept on saying that we must find it or prove it doesn’t exist."
Their last expedition in search of the creature was in 1998 in the same National Park area.
Shortly after that, Vigeland, who remained a bachelor, fell ill and returned to Oslo to recuperate. He never came back.
Hamid spent two months at his friend’s house in the Norwegian capital in 1990 and last spoke to him over the telephone in 2000.
"I wanted to call him later on but I couldn’t afford the cost of the phone call," said the father of 10.
"My friend would definitely be excited about all this talk of Bigfoot if he’s still around."
