The Malaysians have confirmed they will mount a dedicated expedition to track down the legendary local "Big Foot" - 3m-tall "King Kongs" covered in black fur and known as Hantu Jarang Gigi, or "ghosts with widely-spaced teeth", as the BBC puts it.

Malaysia has been gripped with Big Foot fever since last November when three fishery workers in the state of Johor said they'd spotted a whole Hantu Jarang Gigi family that "left footprints up to 45cm long". Indigenous people in the same area also claimed sightings.

Johor's chief minister Abdul Ghani Othman has now announced an expedition which will go in search of the elusive beast in "likely locations", including Endau Rompin National Park. Othman stressed it was vital not to harm or frighten the creatures. ®

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