Spearing in Malaysia

[Milkjug]

Hey ya'll, My family is making a trip to Malaysia this coming winter, and I would like to do some spearfishing! Wanted to know if anyone had any knowledge they could help me with, as I know nothing about this. Thanks!
-Yan

[IyaDiver]

Forget it.

Speargun in Malaysia need an equivalent of fire arm licence, don't even think of even carrying one in your luggage.

If you do transit in Singapore ( malaysia's neigbour ), the same but stricter law applies.

Just enjoy your dive there............. :thumps:

[Milkjug]

Bummer, well at least I found out from you instead of airport security! I guess I'll have to rod-'n-reel it the whole time. Do you know if the in-shore visibility is good enough to make it worth while to bring snorkling/freediving gear? Thanks for the reply.

-Yan

[t-rocks69]

iya are you sure about that. my dive instructor in KK talked alot about spearing around KK. might Sabah be diffrent in its laws even though its the same country? i know a lot of there other laws are different and they have a more relaxed attidue then the rest of malaysia.

[IyaDiver]

Hello Milk,

Malaysia is divided into two parts. The one "connected" to Singapore has two seas, On its west coast it gets the Mallaca Straight.........lousy water. The East Coast gets South China sea, can be very good viz at times but not super great great coral. This part of Malaysia is where the capital city of Kuala Lumpur is. The other part of Malaysia is on top of Borneo Island, called Sabah. 3/4 of Borneo is Indonesian island called Kalimantan, here we share physical border with Malaysia. This one has the best diving spot if is is in the vicinity of the famous Sipadan, which borders my waters and in the Makasaar straight or south/south east of Sabah. In fact Sipadan used to be Indonesian owned but......its a long story. Other part of Sabah will give you the South China Sea, in this water viz can be as good as 100+ feet in good times.
Name your dive spot, I will try to do some research for you. have not dove ( snorkel...sorry ) Malaysia since 1983.


T-Rocks,
Malaysia is a bit like my country. If you have friends or go with friends who is somebody, things get easier. I believe your instructor posses that firearm license or go spearing with VIP. Sabah life is indeed easier than the other Malaysian main land.

IYA

[t-rocks69]

iya my wife is malaysian from KK chinesse/kadazan. i have fallen so much in love with her country that we will be moving back in about 5 years. so i need to take my spearguns my other guns i can live with out i think but not my spearguns so i guess i will need to get a vip lic. so i can bring them.

i also hope to meet you and kill some fish when we get back to a beautifull part of the world.am sick of the rat race the USA has become and the way i have to work ro make it here..

[IyaDiver]

Hello T,

Come anytime to Indonesia. From KK its only 2 hours by flight to Jakarta.
Apply a speargun licence there in KK, I think you should be available/possible.

Yes life is much more relaxed in KK, Malaysia or Indonesia..... :thumps: and you will love the food if you can take spicy ones..... yum yum.

[t-rocks69]

all i have to say about the food is belachan i think thats spelled right is great :thumps:

[Milkjug]

Alright Iya, the city near the beach I am going to is Penang. Mabey you know of good dive spots nearby? or any other general info about the area. Thanks!

Sambal blachan (sp?) is the #$@! as are the kebabs dipped in the peanut sauce, noodle and fishball soup rocks my world too.... damn I'm getting hungy...

[t-rocks69]

hey milk try the stingray while you are the kumpong stlye(sp?) it means village stlye..trully fantastic. i ate it 3 nights in a row last time i was in kota kinabalu..by the way where are you.

[IyaDiver]

Milk,

Penang is quite a heaven food, that's the good news. Yes stinray grilled in chilli is good..yum yum.

It is by the Mallaca straight, don't hope for good water....sorry. I never heard Malaysian divers talk of Penang.

see this : http://www.penang.ws/penang-travel_style/sport.htm


Have fun.........

[Milkjug]

Alright, I'll be prepared to feast instead of dive... Hopefully I won't have any adverse reactions to the food. Seems my wimpy US stomach can't always handle the microbes in malay street-vendor food.

Alright rocks, I'll look for the stingray. I've eaten ones i've caught before, and they were really pretty good. The cartilage in the wings takes some practice to get around, but I have no complaints about the meat. I'm located in Dallas (finishing up undergrad), and used to live in Austin. I spent the summer in Galveston nearby you, and it was fun although the spearing all seemed to be far away and a costly boat trip out.

Thanks for the research Iya, I'll check the link out in depth later on. Sux about the no good diving... ahh well, stuff my face, drink beer, and rod 'n reel fish.

-Yan