The Frenchwoman who found love in Malaysia

Free Malaysia Today

Christine Rohani Longuet arrived in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu in 1971. Falling in-love with the island, she also found love in a local man, and learnt how to speak Malay. Today, she calls Malaysia home.   Story by: Sheela Vijayan  Shot by: Fauzi Yunus  Presented by: Theevya Ragu  Edited by: Hanis Sham   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/09/16/the-frenchwoman-who-found-love-in-malaysia/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle #ChristineRohaniLonguet #Frenchwoman #PulauDuyong #Boatbuilders

Transcript

00:00I am a native. I am a native. I live on this land.

00:05Everywhere on this land is my home, my home.

00:13In 1971, Parisian Christine Rohani Longue arrived in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu,

00:20an island famed for its skilled boat builders.

00:23Longue, a single mother, wanted to purchase two sailing boats,

00:28one for an acquaintance and the other so she could sail the Pacific Ocean.

00:33Little did she know that this little island stop would become her permanent home.

00:39Her first sight of Pulau Duyong remains etched in her mind.

00:47It is all green, emerald, all green.

00:53Pokok Cengal Pasir, Pokok Klapu, that covers the island.

01:01And then there is, there are sand, just a few yellow sand beaches to go there.

01:08And around you have the water of the estuary, estuary of the Terengganu River.

01:14Between the swaying trees, she spotted wooden houses with nipah roofs.

01:19And although it was a far cry from her glamorous Paris,

01:23she was drawn to life on the island.

01:25Eventually, she learned how to speak Malay from the boat builders here.

01:30So, I learned first, big, small, long, one, two, three,

01:39how many meters, how many feet, how many inches, how many.

01:44She also found love with a local named Wan Otman Wan Abdullah, better known as Awi.

01:52He was tall, had a strong smile,

01:59was very broad-shouldered, had a long neck.

02:02He was handsome, had charisma.

02:07I fell in love with him.

02:11So, I can't describe it.

02:13After some time on the island, she married Awi and the couple lived a happy life,

02:19even setting up a boat building enterprise and running a guest house together.

02:24Despite being a foreigner, Longge shares that the people accepted her with open arms.

02:30In return, she built a library for the community,

02:33filling it with books about architecture, art and botany, among others.

02:38While in Malaysia, Longge completed her master's degree

02:42and will be graduating with a PhD come October.

02:46She is also planning on writing her memoir.

02:49Although she never sailed the Pacific Ocean like she wanted,

02:52Longge found love in Malaysia.

02:55Love for the island, love for its people and culture, and love for a wonderful man.

03:02After spending more than half her life in Malaysia, where does she consider home?

Category

Transcript

Recommended