are accessible, but they were not preserved properly. In fact, most of the Japanese remains in Sabah are able to keep its original structure intact whether unearthed or
not, and it seems like no parties were interested in fi nding more of it. To what extent this is related to the local people’s past suffering from the Japanese occupation is yet
to be explored. Comparing with the same war tunnel outside Malaysia , for example, the Vietnam Cu Chi tunnels, the Vietnamese are taking a proactive approach and
packaged the “attraction” for tourism consumption. Whether Malaysia specially Sabah is ready to take up the challenge and start to acknowledge the existence of its
potential dark tourism site will depend on the acceptance spectrum of its people.
8.3.3 Cultural Acceptance of Dark Tourism
This study is not intended to investigate very sophisticated approaches on cultural acceptance but to put an insight and starting point to understanding the relationship
between the cultural acceptance and tourism development – dark tourism for the context of this study. In this paper, “culture” will refer to the unique way of life of a
people, including past or present, regardless of their socioeconomic status. As observed from Shih
2003 master thesis on Cultural Acceptance and Its Effect on
Tourism, Pope John Paul II 2001 addresses the importance of acceptance during his speech for the celebration of the World Day of Peace 2001:
The need to accept one’s own culture as a structuring element of one’s personality, espe- cially in the initial stages of life, is a fact of universal experience whose importance can
hardly be overestimated. Without a fi rm rooting in a specifi c ‘soil,’ individuals risk being subjected at a still vulnerable age to an excess of confl icting stimuli that could impair their
serene and balanced development. Para. 6
Some action by the local community of the country might be considered repul- sive in other cultures. The judgments of outside individuals out of their cultural
circle are among the major forces for culture change. The arrival of tourism also works as a tool to altered social perception. Nevertheless, the community should not
be pushed to despair their cultural belief just so tourism development can make a way of it Tables
8.3 and
8.4 .
8.3.4 Cultural Acceptance Context of Dark Tourism
in Sabah, Malaysia
Sabah is the home for over 31 diverse ethnic groups that live together harmoniously with each own culture, tradition, and custom being preserved. The largest indige-
nous group in Sabah is from the Kadazandusun tribe and lives along with the Bajau, Murut, Rungu, Lotud, Brunei, Orang Sungai, Kadayan, Bisaya, and many other
subgroups. The Chinese group in Sabah forms the largest nonindigenous group. Kadazandusun is well known for their unique customs that feature female
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priestesses called “bobohizan” usually to lead ancient rituals. Nowadays, most of the tribes had embraced the religion of Christianity and Islam, but some are still
practicing some of their ancestral beliefs. Despite the acceptance of the religion, mostly all the local communities in Sabah, including the Chinese, are still holding
on to their own custom and cultural root. Despite ethnicity and religion, the local community in Sabah has shared values and beliefs toward death, the spirit world,
Table 8.3 Defi ning culture
Attribute Findings by previous researcher Culture
A set of values and beliefs, norms and customs, and rules and codes that socially defi ne a group of people, bind them to one another, and give a sense of commonality
Culture and ICC Defn OVHs W10 – De Anza College n.d. “The characteristic features of a civilisation including its beliefs, its artistic and
material products, and its social institutions.” Webster’s New Encyclopedic
Dictionary “Unique bounded entities with limits and specifi c characteristics. Cultures were
static, in that they could be captured by anthropological analyses. Their customs, habits, mores, relationships, uniquenesses could all be detailed, and in doing so, the
ways in which each culture was separate from all others could be seen.” http:www.
sccs.swarthmore.eduusers00ckenned1culture.html http www sccs swarthmore
edu users 00 ckenned1 culture html McKercher and Cros
2002 note, “Culture is not a static concept” p. 97. As time
goes on, every culture changes, sometimes imperceptibly but sometimes radically McKercher and Cros
2002 Source: Compiled by researcher
Table 8.4 Previous fi ndings on cultural acceptance of dark tourism in Southeast Asia
Previous fi ndings on cultural acceptance of dark tourism in Southeast Asia Cambodia
For many Cambodians, the museums and genocide monuments are a means of preserving the country‟s history, heritage and society‟s collective identity.
Without the money from tourists, the government would be less likely to fund the upkeep of the areas, and the memories that lie in the buildings would vanish. The
sites are also used as income generation centers, which provide jobs for the locals
Cambodia 2011
Thailand “The medical museum in Bangkok “combines elements of supernatural tradition
and Buddhist compassion,” said Mr Algie, noting that droves of Thai schoolchildren pass through the museum each week, often leaving candy or dolls
as offerings to the babies who died before childbirth” Dark Tourism’ Creeps Out
210 4
Vietnam As Ho Tai 2001 explains, when examining efforts to construct cultural memories
of the past, one must take into consideration “politics of memory.” This creates another tension between “the uses of the past as a legitimating device and as a
means of constructing community and its repackaging as a marketable commodity” p. 6. The way in which tourism portrays Vietnam and its history
plays a vital part in shaping popular memory and perception, and these tensions must be taken into consideration.
As observed from Keyes 2012
Source: Compiled by researcher 8 Understanding Dark Tourism Acceptance in Southeast Asia: The Case of WWII…
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shamans, and deeds of respecting the deceased. In addition, their spectrum of beliefs had formed an intersection where diverse ethnic group cultural belief assimilated
among them. Most of this cultural assimilation also happened because of the inter- racial marriage between them.
The local community of Sabah sees tragedy, death, and the open exhibition of it as taboo. Due to their diverse cultural belief and custom orders, any activity related
to darkness, ghost, and tragedy is taboo and not the subject of playground. Fear on ghost and spirit world had been passed from one generation to another. Even from a
young age, children had been taught with the idea of a ghost and scaring element as tools to discipline and behave them. Because of this connotation, the community
avoids visiting and experiencing a place associated with darkness, death, and trag- edy. Such a dark site for them is not for attraction, and one should not attempt to
participate visit or else a tragedy, dark fate, and death follow. They also believe that attempting such place will disturb the dead spirit and “they” will follow you
home. In some instances, survivors and family victims may feel uneasy toward the idea of memorializing their past death and disaster, let alone become a platform for
tourism. They are also the stakeholders for the site and therefore opinion should be taken into consideration.
From what is being observed, the cultural belief of the community in Sabah has become a barrier for them into venturing to a different niche than ecotourism. It is
believed that the same trait is shared with their neighboring Peninsular Malaysia where the majority of ethnic is Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Malaysia East and
West Malaysia is culturally and religiously diverse and lives peacefully among each other. Although there is an isolated case of ethnic and racial tension,
Malaysians somehow managed to emerge and were one of the most peaceful and culturally diverse countries in the world. Without generalizing that all Malaysians
are superstitious but perhaps, because of their higher respect of each other’s cul- ture, customs, belief, and religion, decision that is implying a cultural impact is
sensitive. The output of this study conceptualizes the context without discussing the complexity of defi nition, previous suggested framework, and statistical evi-
dence Fig.
8.1 .
Therefore, this study suggests that Malaysia through the cultural integration had formed a version of “Culture of Malaysia.” The concept somehow represents the
ideal culture for Malaysia, without compromising the ethnic group cultural belief and stepping the boundaries of religion. With sensitivity and respect as a keyword,
this ideal “culture” will anticipate in further development of tourism. Perhaps, this is what differentiates Malaysia from the rest of its neighboring Southeast Asia n
country that is already in the lead of promoting and branding their dark site and war site as dark tourism. Although with vast prospect of dark tourism site in Malaysia
like the Sandakan–Ranau Death March, cultural acceptance is still a pivotal aspect of assessment. As suggested in the abstract, local community custom, belief, and
culture, the exploitation of grief, death, and dark tragedy in the past with the inten- tion of satisfying touristic experience is less acceptable and remains uncommon. It
also suggested that the cultural acceptance factors among the local community have infl uenced the decision and perspective in exploring and branding potential site as
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dark tourism attraction. Hopefully, future research will be able to provide more statistical and concrete evidence to support these fi ndings.
8.4 Future Trends
