On the field! Cameron Highlands with Amel Farhat

By Amel Farhat

The Cameron Highlands is a renowned mountain resort destination in the State of Pahang, Malaysia, situated at an altitude ranging from 800 metres (2,600 ft) to 1,600 metres (5,260 ft) above sea level. Initially established as a British colonial retreat in the 20th century, this region has since undergone significant transformations, primarily due to the growth of tourism leading to rapid urbanisation. The resulting urban expansion is evidenced in the transformation of forest hills into sprawling agriculture and extensive real estate development that span over four towns (Tringkap, Brinchang, Tanah Rata, and Ringlet), thus forming a multipolar area of research.

The evolution of the Cameron Highlands is deeply intertwined with the concept of alterity, which is derived from its landscape, providing a benefit to urban dwellers through its thriving tourism industry, cooler climate, and high-value agriculture. Consequently, this research seeks to investigate the Cameron Highlands as a non-conventional terrain of extended urbanisation and a landscape built by and for urban dwellers.

In addition to its cooler climate and high-value agriculture, the Cameron Highlands offers a range of landscapes for tourism consumption. One such landscape is the forest, which features the renowned Mossy Forest trail and hikes to the top of Gunung Brinchang, the highest mountain in the area. Tourists can trek through the evergreen forest and discover nature’s fauna and flora. Another popular landscape is the tea plantation, where tourists can passively admire the tea bushes on the hills, sip Malaysian-made tea, and enjoy casual walks. The strawberry farm landscape is also a major draw for tourists, who can actively pick their own bounty easily due to the use of hydroponic technology that elevates the crop, eliminating the need to bend down to harvest the strawberries. The strawberry farms are dominated by greenhouses that surround a complex tourism commercial zone with a restaurant, a coffee shop, children’s play/gaming area, and gift shops. Additionally, the ‘European’ garden offers a picturesque setting for tourists to stroll around well-curated flower beds. The garden features nearly all the flowers of European/Mediterranean origins, rather than authentic species. Lastly, the nostalgic landscape of Cameron Highlands’ history, particularly its colonial past, is divided by socioeconomic classes. The bourgeois landscape of colonialism is displayed through a golf course and upscale five-star hotels that feature traditional Tudor mansion architecture on the outside, complete with a museography of everyday life items on the inside. The middle-class Malayan and then Malaysian landscape of everyday life is showcased in the Time Tunnel Museum, which creates an elaborate scenography of life in the 1950s-1980s, displaying scenes from Kopitiam, makan houses, small convenience stores, etc. Together, these landscapes create a non-conventional terrain of extended urbanisation that has been built by and for urban dwellers.

However, beyond the curated image that appeals to tourists, the increasing urbanization of the area has led to disappointment among visitors, particularly those seeking a more ‘authentic’ and ‘rural’ experience. As the region becomes more developed and commercialized, the charm and appeal of the area can diminish. The growing presence of high-rise buildings, commercial centers, agricultural greenhouses and other urban infrastructure scar the landscape and leads to concerns about environmental degradation. This, in turn, can negatively impact the tourism industry by deterring visitors who are seeking a more traditional and rural experience.

---

---