Langkawi people have long believed that gamat has wonderful healing powers.
There are many version of stories on how
gamat was discovered.
According to a popular version of the folktale, a fisherman named Gamat discovered the healing properties of gamat by chance more than 300 years ago.
The fisherman discovered the strange looking sea creature when he was washed to a coral reef after his boat sank.
Clinging to a wooden plank, Gamat drifted in the sea for a long time before reaching the reef.
The sharp edges of the coral further bruised his battered body. Gamat then saw this weird sea creature, caught it and ate it raw as he was very hungry. Then, he rubbed the fluid oozing from the creature onto his wounds.
Miraculously his wounds healed fast - leaving no signs at all on his body. After been completely healed and got his energy restored, Gamat swam back to the shore.
His survival stories spread like wildfire throughout the island. Since then, Langkawi folks have been taking gamat for healing wounds and restoring energy.
Gamat population in Langkawi has been declining thus forcing gamat ointment manufacturers to
depend on supply from Thailand, Indonesia and Sabah. Gamat is not cheap. The price of dried
gamat from Thailand costs between RM80 and RM120 per kg. The raw gamat water from Thailand
costs about RM100 per barrel. The life gamat (ibu gamat) can cost up to RM100 per kg.
Villagers in Langkawi have been living with this wonder of nature and reeping its benefits. They believed that it is the perfect remedy for cuts, sores and inflammation.
10 years of research that were jointly conducted by University of Malaya, University of Kyoto and University
of Nihan, Tokyo, Japan has successfully discovered the active substances and mechanisms of its actions in
gamat.
Gamat is a proven efficacy in enhancing the body's resistance towards various diseases, common flu and more problematic aonditions like cholesterol, meumatoid arthritis, diabetes and cancer. This delicate sea creature also contains a cell growth factor, which has the ability to accelerate the regeneration of biological cells, bone, collagen and rejuvenates the skin.
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Traditional business, modern touch
AHMAD Saju, a second generation gamat (golden sea cucumber)
producer in Langkawi, remembers vividly how his aged father used to ride his bicycle from one village to another to sell gamat potions and minyak angin (medicated oil).
He decided to follow in his father's footsteps after finding it hard to make ends meet with odd jobs.
“My father Chaju Pajidat who was popularly known as Tok Saju started this business more than 100 years ago. Our business was confined to Langkawi,” said the 72-year-old man.
Before I took over my father’s business, I tried all sorts of odd jobs.
“I tapped rubber and sold firewood and fish but my father told me I would be better off selling gamat potions and traditional massage oil,” he said.
Some gamat which has been dried at Noor Muhamad's factory.
Tok Saju taught Ahmad how to make minyak angin, ubat ma’jun, serbuk Mahsuri for postnatal care and air gamat.
He said the recipes were based on ancient traditional medicine scripture sourced from his father’s homeland, Pakistan.
The concoctions are made of rempah ratus (herbs and spices).
“My father would put a bit of ibu gamat in the concoctions as he believed it had good healing properties,” he said, adding that his mother Yah Ibrahim was a local woman.
Ahmad said his father would cycle for six hours every day to market his products.
“Gamat potions were very cheap then. A whole tin would cost about RM15,” said the father of eight.
”Langkawi folks were de-pendent on traditional medicine because they were isolated from mainstream society then,” he said.
Ahmad said everything started changing after Langkawi “suddenly” became famous when the Mahsuri curse that lasted seven generations was “miraculously lifted.”
“Land prices soared. People began to enjoy a better quality of life but traditional medicine manufacturers were having a tough time.
The government started to impose rules and regulations.
“We had to apply for a licence to manufacture traditional medicine and a permit from the Health Ministry to sell our products,” he said.
Ahmad said he let his son Noor Muhammad Ahmad take over the business in 1987 as he was tired of applying for permits.
“Thanks to the government’s promotion of traditional medicine, my son is able to take our business to greater heights,” he said.
The Saju brand products have now penetrated the international market, he said.
Noor Muhammad, 46, said a factory was set up five years ago.
“When I started building the factory in 1997, I could not get any bank loans. But I did not give up,” he said, adding that the factory could produce 100,000 bottles of concoctions a month.
He said the price of raw gamat had increased from RM10 per kg about two decades ago to RM200 per kg, adding that the gamat was sourced from Thailand.
The Star, September 14, 2005
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