A mass of kayaks ready at Pulau Banding Public Jetty at Royal Belum State Park in Perak.
Murphy’s Law really did come from a man named Murphy – Captain Edward Aloysius Murphy Jr (1918–1990), an aeronautics engineer.
During an experiment in 1949, something kept going wrong. He eventually discovered that some of the gauges had been wired backwards.
Frustrated, he remarked about the technician responsible: “If there’s a way to do it wrong, he will do it that way.”
When the human element was removed, the quote evolved into: “If something can go wrong, it will.”
The project manager added the quote to a list of key observations and dubbed it “Murphy’s Law”.
After the experiment proved successful, the team held a press conference, during which they – perhaps jokingly – attributed their success to their strict adherence to Murphy’s Law.
Reporters latched onto the idea, and the phrase took on a life of its own.
Over time, Murphy’s Law morphed into countless variations, but my favourite remains Murphy’s Threefold Law:
Trains of kayaks being towed behind a boathouse.
- Nothing is ever as easy as it looks.
- Everything takes longer than you think it should.
- If anything can go wrong, it will.
When I saw photos on social media of 70 kayaks assembled for an expedition to Royal Belum State Park in northern Perak, I immediately thought: “Murphy’s Threefold Law is about to be tested in full force.”
After participating in countless kayaking trips – both large and small – I’ve learned that the bigger the group, the greater the likelihood of mishaps and logistical nightmares.
Royal Belum, scientifically proven to be 130 million years old, predates the jungles of the Amazon and the Congo.
Anglers there often spot elephants lounging by the banks or herds of wild boar scrambling away from approaching boats.
While fishing, you might even hear the deep, rhythmic thump of unseen hornbills or eagles, like the beating of helicopter blades.
At 12,500ha – half the size of Kuala Lumpur – the lake is far too vast to explore on only a humble kayak, which is why last year’s International Temenggor Tournament drew 70 kayaks and 31 boats.
The event was a massive operation, with participants housed across three boathouses, each accommodating 35 people.
Fish caught during the tournament being measured on the official tape and photographed.
These floating bases towed the kayaks and small boats in long trains, carrying them on a 1.5-hour journey to the far reaches of the lake, where they fanned out to fish.
The event was jointly organised by Universiti Selangor’s The Tomanz group and Kayax.
Lucky draws and trophies were awarded for the best toman (giant snakehead), sebarau, and “special fish” – a category that included rare catches like the giant featherback (belida) and wallago attu (tapah).
While a handful of kayakers launching is a smooth affair, a battalion of 70 kayaks and 31 boats? An organisational headache.
“Murphy’s Threefold Law was in full effect,” one participant joked.
Masai Mara, co-organiser from social enterprise Kayax, put it this way: “When going outdoors, we set aside our sense of entitlement and embrace unpredictability.”
“It takes a good dose of sportsmanship to handle hiccups and focus on the bigger picture: being together and having fun.”
For many, the real challenge wasn’t the fishing – it was the sheer logistics of getting there.
Almost everyone made four to five trips from the car park to the boathouses docked at the Pulau Banding Public Jetty.
Foo taking a selfie with an elephant at Royal Belum State Park.
“It wasn’t just our kayaks and boats; we had mountains of gear because it was a four-day, three-night trip,” said kayak fly-fisher Ben Foo.
Some kayakers brought along heavy batteries to power their kayak propellers, unwilling to rely solely on paddles and muscle power on such a vast lake.
By the time everyone finally launched, exhaustion had already set in.
Despite the hiccups, all agreed that the journey was worth it.
“When you have this many people, of course it takes time to get sorted. But we all enjoyed ourselves in the end,” said diehard kayak-fisher Oscar Hor.
Murphy’s Law may have been at play, but in the spirit of adventure, that was just part of the fun.
