KUCHING: The street in Siniawan, locally known as “Cowboy Bazaar” in Bau district, was packed with fans by 9.30am when Hollywood megastar, Steven Seagal came visiting yesterday.
It was a long wait for fans as Seagal and his crew from AIFFA 2019 were expected to arrive at 1pm. Some fans tired of waiting returned home disappointed while others continued to wait.
The patient fans were finally rewarded when Seagal, accompanied by his wife Erdenetuya Seagal, arrived.
Upon arrival, the fans flocked around the couple, all wanting to meet and greet them.
Seagal and his entourage then walked along the main street where they were surrounded by fans.
When Seagal was asked by a fan if he would one day make a movie around the Siniawan bazaar, Seagal replied, “Yes!”
Shocked by the response, the fan known only as Michael repeated his question, Seagal shouted back, “Yes!”
The crowd was excited to accompany him on his walk and at the end of the street was Swee Guk Kung Temple.
Being a Buddhist, Seagal entered the temple where he was seen lighting up a joss stick to show his respect. His wife followed suit.
The Hollywood megastar then walked down the steps of the temple to the other side where there was a pond.
At the pond, Seagal and his wife performed a ritual and offered prayers while releasing a few fish into the pond. They also fed the fish.
In Buddhism, the act is known as “Fang Sheng”. It is believed that the compassionate act of releasing captive animals will cleanse one’s sins and brings good karma.
After the ritual, before bidding his fans at Siniawan bazaar farewell, Seagal also signed a few autographs before heading to the Kuching Buddhist Society’s Buddhist Village.
Upon arriving at the Buddhist Village, Seagal and his wife prayed at a pagoda in the village where he requested to be left alone.
After Seagal and wife had a brief tour of the village, they had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant there.
Around 2.30pm, Seagal made another visit to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre as he wanted to see the endangered orangutans. He had probably seen only pictures of them in the hotel magazine or inflight magazine during his trip to Sarawak for AIFFA 2019.
The presence of various media groups there made the visitors to the centre curious about the goings-on.
Seagal was then greeted by the centre’s director before he was directed to a trail leading to the look-out post of the orang-utans which took about five minutes to reach.
It was Seagal’s wish to see the orangutans in person before he returned home. The staff of the wildlife centre also brought Seagal to a jungle post personally while explaining the objectives of the centre.
