Cave Dwelling in Malaysia: Reflections on the Credit Crisis

by Douglas Clark Johnson

11 June 2009

After some 15 years of travelling in and out of Kuala Lumpur, I finally had a chance to visit nearby Bukit Batu and its famous caves. My Malaysian colleagues had little interest in joining me: “Why would you want to climb all those steps?” A visitor does indeed navigate 272 of them to reach the principal cave; fortunately, they are divided into groups
of 17.

“Bukit Batu” means “Stone Hill” in Malay. This limestone outcrop is best known for a labyrinthine complex of some 18 caves. Of the few open to the public, the best known is the enormous Temple Cave. The complex was discovered by Europeans in 1878 and was heavily quarried until the 1970s, when the government began to protect it for tourism.

The half-day trip to the Batu Caves offered some reminders of our own global investment strategy. Metaphorically, we see themes in geology, archaeology, and ecology. These may be worth exploring as we look deeper into 2009 and a probable economic recovery in 2010. …continue reading

Tags: asset allocation, credit crisis, Malaysia, opportunities
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