Remembering Borneo's Tarzan

By: Mary Chin



OF all the locals who participated in the 1937 Johnsons movie "Borneo", one person stands out among the rest. With his good looks and well-chiseled body, Candiah Logan looked like he had stepped out of the comic strip of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs.

In fact, Logan who later converted to Islam and took the name of Abdul Salam, looked every inch a Tarzan of the Bornean rainforest and those who knew him readily attest that he never shied from playing this part.

His son, Ahmad bin A.C. Logan, 53, said he was 12 when his dad related the story of the Johnsons film to him. That was in 1968.

He recounted his dad telling him how he "fought" with a crocodile in the film in which he acted as the Tarzan of Borneo. The film was shot in the Kinabatangan area, 17 years after the Johnsons' first visit in 1920.

"I remember him telling me about two beautiful ladies who were his 'heroines' in the film. One of them was called Geeli. Geeli sudah mati (she is dead). I don't know the name of the other lady," said Ahmad, referring to Feeli, a frizzy-haired maiden.

On how his father became involved in the Johnsons' movie as an actor, interpreter and guide, he said:

"He was good in both English and Malay. He could also speak local dialects like Hakka, Bajau and Suluk.

That is why when he went for an interview, they took him in as a head interpreter and an actor."

Ahmad also recalls his father telling him how good and kind-hearted couple Martin and Osa Johnson were.

"Tuan Martin sangat baiklah. Dia memang orang yang bagus, suka tolong orang kampung. Itu dia ceritalah (Martin was really a good person and liked to help the kampung people (villagers). That was what my father said.

"According to my Dad, Martin made a house over a raft that could be tugged along the Kinabatangan river.

"When I asked my dad how this couple came to Sandakan, he said they used their own airplane which could move over water. They had two or three crew members."

Apparently, Martin had promised the people in Kinabatangan that he would return to Sandakan with the film when it was ready to be screened in the cinema. Everyone involved was looking forward to viewing it, but it was not to be.

1937, about a year upon returning to the US, Martin died in a commercial plane crash while on his way to California to edit the "Borneo" film starring Logan, Geeli and Feeli, among others, that they made for Hollywood. Following the tragedy and with Osa (who was accompanying him in the plane) in a wheelchair for several months, the Hollywood producers decided to release the film with an entirely different script than that which was prepared by Martin.

According to Ahmad, Logan was very sad and disappointed at the tragic turn of events. "I believe my Dad had also hoped to be paid for his acting role on Martin Johnson's next visit."

"Saya sendiri pun tidak nampak itu filem. Mau tengok itu story, tapi apa boleh buatlah. Dengar khabar Martin sudah accident. Cakap pun tidak guna (I myself also did not see the film. I want to see the story but alas, we heard the news that Martin Johnson was involved in an accident. No use talking)."

At this point, Ahmad became emotional, overwhelmed by nostalgia.

"My father told me that he was devastated when he heard the bad news in 1937 that Martin died. He was very sad because there was no more hope of watching the film. He had also wondered whether the film was also destroyed in the tragedy.

"Why isn't the film shown to the people of Sabah? We would be very proud to watch it. Is it still available for screening? Who is keeping it?" he queried.

"In bygone days, people were simple-minded and less demanding. I did ask my dad whether he was given any payment and he replied, 'Belum ada' (Not yet). That much I know. By right, they should have been given some kind of consolation for their contribution."

According to the Martin and Osa Johnson Museum, the Johnsons paid all cast members as well as helpers at that time. Of the three Borneo films that the Johnsons made, only the one titled "Borneo" is still available. Their first called Jungle Calling about wildlife and tribals in the Kinabatangan shot in 1920 was the world's first wildlife film and is not available in original copy but in footages while a travelogue called "Jungle Depths of Borneo" shot alongside the "Borneo" film is believed to have been lost in Martin's ill-fated crash]. According to Logan's red identity card, which was issued in 1974, he was born in 1914 and his home address was Jalan Labuk, Bt 2, Sandakan. But what is puzzling to his surviving children is that Putatan is stated as his birthplace.

"Dad never told us where he was born. Apa nama kampung, kami tidak tahu (what the name of the kampung is, we don't know). Neither did he ever relate how and when he came to be in Sandakan.

"The family always believed that he was born in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and came to Sandakan when he was young. Tapi dia tidak pernah pulang ke Sri Lanka (But he never returned to Sri Lanka).

"I remember vividly that my dad had two siblings, an elder sister and a younger brother. I was about 10 to 12 when I met my aunty and uncle. My aunty died in Sandakan while my uncle had returned to Ceylon.

"Maybe my dad had a family in Putatan before he moved to SandakanÉwe really don't know.

"Could it be that my father was born in Putatan after his parents migrated from Ceylon and set foot on North Borneo (now Sabah)? If so, why is his identity card red in colour? Is it because my grandparents were from Ceylon so my Dad couldn't have a blue identity card? We are in the dark," Ahmad said.

In his reminiscences, Ahmad said his father once mentioned that he had also worked at the railway station. "But we don't know the period."

Describing his father as a serious person, Ahmad said the former rarely talked about his work as a policeman, except to say that the British treated him well.

He first served under the British Constabulary, and later had the rank of Inspector while in the Malaysian police force.

"Orang di Sandakan memang respect Logan (Indeed, people in Sandakan respect Logan." One of his father's village friends once told him that Logan had extraordinary strength.

"Dia orang kuat (He was strong). When our Landrover had a tyre puncture, he could lift the car up for us to change the tyre without having to use a jack."

Apparently, Logan once demonstrated his physical prowess by allowing the wheel of a vehicleto run over his chest.

"I am not sure when this took place - before or after the film shooting. I was told that he was not hurt at all. No bone was broken. The older generation in Sandakan would know about this episode."

When Ahmad was about 16 or 17, his father told him how proud he (Logan) was when while in service he was given the honour, among others, to lay the wreath at the memorial in front of the Sandakan balai polis.

"My Dad would do it during Merdeka Day and Hari Polis. When I was a youth, my father had a musical band where he played the violin. He was fond of P. Ramlee's lagu keroncong."

Going by his elder sister Noriah's birth in 1946, Ahmad reckoned that his dad must have married his mum (Rokiah binti Buntak) before or after the war. "But I have never seen their wedding photo," he said.

"My Dad then became a Muslim and adopted the name Abdul Salam."

He and wife Rose bt Abdullah, 52, have four children and three grandchildren. They are Riz Faizal, 31, Riz Rizal, 29, Fazilah, 25, and Mohd Arafat, 19

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