Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia
The Cameron Highlands is Malaysia’s most extensive hill station that occupies an area of 712 square kilometres. To the north its boundary touches that of Kelantan, and to the west shares part of its border with Perak. Situated at the northwestern tip of Pahang, it is approximately 56 miles from Ipoh and 120 miles from Kuala Lumpur.
It was originally surveyed by Sir William Cameron in 1885, the Highlands has an average annual mean temperature of 64 °F, an element that contributes to its popularity as a resort that provides an escape from the raging heat and high humidity found in other areas of Malaysia.
The Cameron Highlands has a diverse population of more than 38,000 people. The residents are mostly entrepreneurs, service industry employees, farm workers, retirees, or government servants. Languages spoken are Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English. Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Sikhism are the main religions found here.
Developed in the 1930s the Cameron Highlands is one of the oldest tourist spots in Malaysia, and apart from its tea estates is also noted for its cool weather, orchards, nurseries, farmlands, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, wildlife, mossy forest, golf course, hotels, places of worship, bungalows, Land Rovers, hiking trails, museums and its resident Aborigine people known as the Orang Asli.
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
There are many things to see and do in Cameron Highlands. Hiking trails abound or walk through lovely little villages; visit the butterfly, strawberry, honey bee farms, and sprawling tea plantations. Have meals at the Tudor-styled country inns, and enjoy relaxing activities and especially the weather. Situated 1,500 metres above sea level, Cameron Highlands comprises a series of little townships that include Ringlet, Tanah Rata, Brinchang, Tringkap, Kuala Terla, and Kampung Raja. Its a pleasure to visit.
Orang Asli
I must pay homage to the Orang Asli (lit. “original people”, “natural people” or “aboriginal people”), the indigenous people who are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia and can be found in the Cameron highlands.
Orang Asli – Wikipedia
Officially, there are 18 Orang Asli tribes, and their are categorised under three main groups according to their different languages and customs:
- Semang (or Negrito), generally confined to the northern portion of the peninsula.
- Senoi, residing in the central region.
- Proto-Malay (or Aboriginal Malay), in the southern region.
The Semang and Senoi groups, being Austroasiatic-speaking, are the autochthonous peoples of the Malay Peninsula. The Proto-Malays, who speak Austronesian languages, migrated to the area between 2500 and 1500 BC.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS ADVENTURE
01 I departed Penang for Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 25 May 2017, at 5:00 AM. I had completed my business in Kuala Lumpur, then drove to the resort town of Cameron Highlands, rented a hotel room for the night, and planned to return home to Penang on Friday, 26 May. I’ve been at Cameron Highlands on several occasions to experience the beauty of this mountainous region and to purchase plants for my home garden.
The area is abundant with a wide variety of shops selling plants, flowers, cactus, tea, honey, and other items. It’s an area made for tourism, people are attracted by its vast offerings: spars, cool mountain air, quality accomodations, and other amenities that offer short-term relaxation.
02 History of the British in Malaysia, then termed ‘British Malaya’. “The term British Malaya loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries.” This term “… is often used to refer to the Malay States under indirect British rule as well as the Straits Settlements that were under the sovereignty of the British Crown.” Prior to “the formation of Malayan Union in 1946, the territories was not placed under a single unified administration”, instead “British Malaya comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and the ‘non-federated’ Malay States. “Under British” imperialism “Malaya was one of the most profitable territories of the Empire, being the world’s largest producer of tin and later rubber.”
03 Formation of Malaysia – Malaysia was formed from the Federated Malay States, of which Pahang, in which Cameron Heights is located, was one of the original four protected states in the federation (the others being Selangor, Perak, Negeri and Sembilan). The Federation was established by the British government in 1895 and lasted until 1946. They then, together with Malacca, Penang and the Unfederated Malay States, formed as the Malayan Union, and in 1948 the Union became the Federation of Malaya. Much later, with the inclusion of North Borneo (present-day Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore, finally saw the emergence of Malaysia in 1963.
The Malayan Union was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which became fully independent on 31 August 1957. Six years later (16 Sep 1963), the federation, along with North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore, formed into a larger federation of Malaysia.
05
Bangladeshi Malaysians
Here at the Fragrance Nursery, as in other establishments in the Cameron Highlands resort area, are found workers of Bangladeshi ethnic background. ” They may consists of people of full or partial Bangladeshi descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia. When both legal and illegal residents are included, their population in 2009 was estimated to total 500,000 persons, at that time roughly one-sixth of all the foreign workers in Malaysia.
In early 2016, a controversial agreement by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was conjured to send a total of 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers, in stages, for 3 years to Malaysia. This controversial decision when met with criticism from both individuals in government and the general Malaysian public was quickly revoked.
Mr. Said Sorkak
06 Bengali people have long established in Malaysia, history record demonstrated that the traders from the Bay of Bengal had been involved in commercial activities in the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th-16th century.
“During the colonial era, both British Malaya and the Strait Settlements received Bengali-speaking communities bought by the British from the Bengal Presidency that constitute modern-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. The mass arrival from Bengal correlated with the larger migration from British India to work with the colonial government and companies. Many of them consist of traders, policemen, coolies, plantation labourers and colonial soldiers. This pioneer migration are largely taken place from the late 18th century to the 1930s. Today, there are estimated that around 230,000 people of Bengali ancestry in Malaysia. Among the legacy of the pioneers is the Bengali Mosque in Penang which was built in 1803.”
“The first migrant workers from modern-day Bangladesh are believed to have been a group of 500 who came in 1986 to work on plantations; the two countries concluded a governmental-level agreement on manpower exports in 1992, following which migration expanded sharply. Bangladesh is one of five countries, along with Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand, which have such agreements with Malaysia for manpower exports. As of 1999, official figures record 385,496 Bangladeshis as having gone to Malaysia for work, of whom roughly 229,000 were in the country at that time, forming 12% of all Bangladeshi workers overseas. This figure was roughly comparable to the numbers in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, but much smaller than the number in Saudi Arabia, the top destination, where roughly one million resided. Remittances from Malaysia to Bangladesh amounted to roughly US$5 million in 1993, but grew eleven times to US$57 million by 1999.”
“Construction workers form a large proportion of Bangladeshi migrant workers. From July 1992 until December 1995, of 89,111 Bangladeshis issued temporary work passes, 26,484, or 29.7%, worked in construction, forming one-fifth of all workers in the construction sector in Malaysia and making them the second-largest group behind Indonesians. 91.4% were first-time migrants, who had never previously worked abroad. Surveys showed between 6.4% and 14.9% admitted to working illegally, without proper employment authorization or travel documents.”
“A scandal arose in 1996 when it became known that Bangladeshi consular officials in Kuala Lumpur had overcharged at least 50,000 workers applying for passport renewal by RM200-300, thus appropriating RM10-15 million for themselves. The situation resulted in many Bangladeshi workers becoming undocumented.” The Bangladesh’s government later came to an agreement with the Malaysian authorities to issue fresh passports to those affected.
Changing the Landscape
Land clearing (both legal and illegal) in Cameron Highlands often removes natural soil anchors to this mountainous terrain, and heavy rains often result in flash floods and landslides. This impacts both residential communities (flooding) and those driving to and from the region (highway blockage).
Hazardous Encounters
Artificial Landscape Changes
Artificial changes to the landscape has dramatically eroded local ecosystems, a major concern strongly expressed by environmentalist and others concerned about the long term effects. (Click on ‘Resources’ above)
