Time and the Durian

This presentation uses the lens of time to analyse the sustainability of the durian industry. The MOU with China to export whole nitrogen-frozen durian in 2019 has seen the scaling up of durian production from 4-acre family orchards to 10,000-acre monocrop plantations in Malaysia. Large tracts of forest were cleared in Gua Musang area despite blockades by the indigenous Temiar, and deforestation also increased human-wildlife conflict in the form of tiger attacks and substantially decreasing biodiversity and endangered species. The high price that Malaysian durian fetches in China has prompted what the speaker calls 'agricultural prospecting,' not only in Raub, a former gold-mining town in Pahang, but also in neighbouring countries. Sustainability has a temporal dimension that takes a long view of durability. The speaker compares the methods of industrial time on plantations to the polyrhythms of a diverse and organic farm to demonstrate how the caring for the durian trees involves the 'arts of noticing' (Tsing 2015) and a recognition of a diverse array of non-human actors, the multispecies contribution that ‘world’ the durian industry. Lastly, time is crucial as the Malaysian durian only lasts three days once fallen and much strategy goes into its preservation in the supply chain.

Speaker
Professor KHOO Gaik Cheng is Deputy Dean of Research and Sustainability at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sunway University, Malaysia. A Malaysian Studies scholar, her research areas straddle film, food (hawker food, modern Malaysian/fine-dining cuisine), civic politics, cosmopolitanism, Korean migrants in Malaysia and lately, the durian. She edited a special issue 'Durian Matters' for Continuum Journal of Media and Cultural Studies (2024), and is working on a book proposal about the durian. As founder of the Association of Southeast Asian Cinemas, she is helping to organize the next ASEACC in Sabah next year. Forthcoming publications include a journal article about the Korean Gen MZ in Malaysia chasing ’specs’ and enjoy fringe benefits (in Asian Pacific Migration Journal).

The ANU Southeast Asia Institute Research Seminar Series is a recurring seminar series that showcases the work of scholars working on political, social, and cultural issues in Southeast Asia.

Contact the ANU Southeast Asia Institute Research Seminar Series Conveners: Nicholas Chan at waiyeap.chan@anu.edu.au.

Contact the host of Time and the Durian