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ABSTRACT
A quick Google search about Penang durians will immediately showcase a diversity of durian varieties like Red Prawn, Green Skin, and Khun Poh, in the Penang durio-tourism industry. Durio-tourism attracted tourists making Penang Island a hub where tourists could have a farm-to-table experience by learning the art of tasting durian varietals. This connoisseuring focus differs sharply from the situation encountered in durian plantations in other states in Malaysia which focus predominantly on producing and exporting two premium durians to China, Musang King and Black Thorn. However, this paper argues that Penang durian farmers are less committed to diversity than they are committed to ‘following the wind’. In-depth semi-structured interviews with durian farmers, sellers, tour guides and the Penang Department of Agriculture found that durian farmers had been grafting their durian trees to these premium varieties since the 1990s. Using practice theory, this paper explores the rationale of Penang Island durian farmers and agropreneurs’ practices as they ‘follow the wind’. These farmers’ practices grew alongside the structural availability of transportation mobility and governmental plans which led the farmers to create a vibrant and responsive community as they catered to various consumers and markets in the ever-changing landscape of the durian industry.
Acknowledgements
I am deeply grateful to all my interview participants: durian farmers, sellers, tour guides and Penang DOA officials for their time and for sharing their experiences and resources with me. Not forgetting, Dr Khoo Gaik Cheng, my supervisor for her constant support, comments, and academic discussions. I am also thankful to the anonymous reviewers for their comments that helped improve this article.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. The durian species mentioned in this journal article is Durio zibethinus which is the most common cultivated durian (see Brown Citation1997).
2. Officially known by its colonial name Province Wellesley or in Malay as Seberang Perai.
3. As of 2023, DOA (DOA Citationn.d.) listed 17 registered durian varieties on Penang Island but notable durians such as D11, which is Ya Kang (Centipede) and Khun Poh’s progeny, are unregistered. Hence, the total number of durians in Penang remains unknown. Registered durians are catalogued by the DOA where the registration number starts with the letter D followed by numbers, e.g. D175. However, there are cases of unregistered durian varieties that bear the same registration number method, e.g. D11 which was given by the local community. While Penang durians are not catalogued formally, they are well known by the locals and documented by durian fanatics through personal blogs such as Lindsay Gasik from Year of the Durian (www.yearofthedurian.com).
4. For example, Ang Hae produced in Penang has grey-brown thorns and the colour of the flesh has a pearly-pink sheen but when planted in Johor, located at south Malaysia, the same variety has green thorns, taste sweeter and the flesh is bright yellow (Gasik Citation2018a). Additionally, when Penang Island durian farmers cultivate D2, the majority of the trees frequently experience uneven fruit ripening condition when harvested. This variety required to be under a cool weather climate like in Hulu Perak and Penang Island could not provide it as it experiences sea breeze causing warmer temperatures on the farm.
5. For further discussion on ‘following the wind’ refer to Wong (Citation2024, 30–39).
6. On average the durian farms owned by farmers I have interviewed are six hectares. According to the Department of Agriculture (DOA), farms below 12 hectares are considered small farms.
7. Chung Ting Bun, the great-grandson of the Kunyit founder mentioned that this durian variety gain traction in Penang when the East-West Highway (Federal Route 4) was opened (Star Citation2019).
8. Another important road that was built is Jalan Tun Sardon in 1983 on Penang Island. It is a hill road from Balik Pulau to Paya Terubong and has shorter access to the first Penang Bridge compared to taking Federal Route 6.
9. Another possible story of the earliest Musang King tree planted in Balik Pulau is a cover story reported by David Pierson for the Los Angeles Times on Tan Eow Chong, a Balik Pulau farmer committing a biopiracy of a Musang King tree branch in Kelantan in 1985 (Pierson Citation2020).
10. The original name of Musang King is Kunyit (Malay meaning ‘turmeric’) given by Chung Chun Seng, the founder of this durian tree in the late 18th century (Star Citation2019). The birthplace of the Musang King is on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in Pulau Raya, Kelantan (Sharifah Citation2018). Before the mother tree died in 1974, Wee Chong Beng planted this durian in Tanah Merah, Kelantan and later in 1993, registered this durian variety as Raja Kunyit (DOA Citationn.d.). As this well-loved durian variety spread over time around Kelantan, it was also planted in Gua Musang from where it derives its current name. It is known among the community that Tan Lai Fook brought a branch of the Raja Kunyit tree back from Gua Musang using the newly completed highway Kuala Lipis to Gua Musang (Federal Route 8) in 1986. He then grafted it to his durian tree at his farm in Raub, Pahang (Li Citation2020). He renamed it 毛生王 (mao sheng wang) but durian farmers and sellers renamed it 猫山王 (mao shan wang). There is a discrepancy between the name Musang King and the Mandarin name Mao Shan Wang but it will not be discussed here. In my interviews, some Balik Pulau locals refer to Musang King as Raja Kunyit because that was the original name but for easy referencing and standardizing purposes, the name Musang King will be used for this article.
11. This type of grafting is usually performed on matured durian trees. Also known as cantuman dewasa in Bahasa Malaysia.
12. Benny Wong, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, October 25, 2021.
13. Lee Chau Yun, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, October 20, 2021.
14. According to Gasik the founder of Black Thorn is Bagi Kau from Kampung Lima Kongsi, a village in Sungai Bakap, Penang mainland. For years he was unwilling to propagate the Black Thorn mother tree although it was a popular tree among the community requiring a waiting list to eat the durian.
15. John Yip, interviewed by author, Teluk Bahang, December 1, 2021.
16. This approach is commonly practised by commercial durian plantations to standardize their durian care operations as every durian variety may have different needs such as fertilization. Heng Mee Oo, a mechanical engineer turned durian farmer, and the owner of one of the largest commercial Black Thorn farms in Bandar Baharu, Kedah (part of Greater Penang) found success in this approach as compared to cultivating a wide variety of durians on the same farm (Durian Republic Citationn.d.; New Straits Times Citation2016).
17. Harry Lian, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, May 9, 2021.
18. Tan Pak Sin, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, October 21, 2021.
19. Wong Ze Kuan, interview by author, Balik Pulau, October 27, 2021.
20. Chang Chin Hoe, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, October 28, 2021.
21. It is registered as Ochee instead of Black Thorn. Black Thorn is the direct English translation of the Hokkien name, Ochee.
22. Halim, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, March 18, 2022.
23. Tan Kee Tong, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, March 18, 2022.
24. It is easier to export durians to Hong Kong because the phytosanitary requirements are relaxed while China has a stringent list requiring import licence and phytosanitary certificate (DOA Citation2022a, 8, 11). As of 2021, Penang does not have a processing facility for whole frozen durian approved by China (GACC Citationn.d.)
25. John Yip, interviewed by author, Teluk Bahang, December 1, 2021. Hong Kong tourists are also known to fly to Penang for two days one night trip, just to eat durians.
26. Jackie Liew, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, October 17, 2021.
27. Wong Ze Kuan, interviewed by author, Balik Pulau, July 9, 2020.
28. Hoo Leng Mok, video call interview by Khoo Gaik Cheng and author, September 17, 2020.
29. Chang Soi Loon, video call interview by author, February 15, 2022.
30. ‘Golden time’ is a short period after the durian is harvested where the durian flesh (especially from older trees) is packed with flavours and sensation of alcoholic, bitter, floral and numbing when eaten.
31. Eddie and Kate Chong, video call interview by Khoo Gaik Cheng and author, May 19, 2020.