Tenhill stations have been built inMalaysia's mountainous areas. Four are in the state ofPahang, two are inPerak, and one each are inKedah,Negeri Sembilan,Penang, andSelangor.Cameron Highlands is the largest hill station, covering 71,220 hectares (175,988 acres) of land, as well as the highest, at an elevation of 1,830 metres (6,004 ft) above sea level.
The concept of a hill station in theMalay Peninsula began during the colonial period ofBritish Malaya. The British were not used to the environment, especially the hottropical weather, endemic illnesses, andmosquito breeding areas. As a result, they began looking for alternative ways to allow British people to stay in tropical countries for a longer durations, as the travel distance and theBritish government's leave policy prevented any people who had settled in tropical countries from returning to Britain on a regular basis. Due to Malaya's geographical factors and abundant natural beauty, the British government built hill stations in the country.[1] The first hill station,Penang Hill, was founded in 1787 onPenang Island. It was soon followed byBukit Larut (1884) and Mount Kledang (1892) in Perak,Treacher Hill (1893) in Selangor,Mount Angsi (early 1900s) in Negeri Sembilan, andFraser's Hill (1919) andCameron Highlands (1925) in Pahang. Plans were initially made to build another hill station, onMount Tahan, but it was never built due to the northern part of Mount Tahan being inKelantan and not under British control. It would have been the highest hill station in the country, at an elevation of 2,187 m (7,175 ft) above sea level.[1]
Following the independence of theFederation of Malaya in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963, another three hill stations were built:Genting Highlands (1971) in Pahang,Mount Jerai (1986) in Kedah, andBukit Tinggi (1994) in Pahang. Unlike the previous colonial hill stations, they were established by the local people rather than by the British.[2][3] Genting Highlands was inspired by founderLim Goh Tong's business trip in the Cameron Highlands, where the fresh and cold climate of the hill station inspired him to build an entertainment center atop the hill. It includeshotels,amusement parks,cable cars, agolf course,[2] the only operatingcasino in Malaysia,[4] and the upcomingGenting SkyWorlds, which contains attractions with licensing agreements from20th Century Studios andthe Walt Disney Company.[5][6] However, recent development at hill stations, including the renovation and uplifting of those built by the colonial government, have brought concerns over potential environmental consequences, includingdeforestation,water pollution, andvisual pollution.[7][8]
According to Samuel Robert Aiken, professor of geography atConcordia University, the hill stations built before Malayan independence in 1957 can be divided into two categories: principal hill stations and minor hill stations. Principal hill stations are those that were developed in locations that were more integrated with social and cultural interactions, whereas minor hill stations are those that were less developed due to limited growth and low elevation, where the hill station was not located high enough to satisfy needs for a place with a sufficiently cool climate, and a lack of flat land to accommodate more government officials.[1] Other hill stations that were not categorized by Aiken include Genting Highlands, Mount Jerai and Bukit Tinggi. These hill stations were developed after the independence, but received significant coverage from organizations including theUniversity of California, Berkeley, theNew Straits Times, and theWorld Wide Fund for Nature for strong economic and tourism development, or for potential risks to the environment due to recent development.[9][10][11]
^Originally established as Maxwell Hill. The place was renamed to Bukit Larut in 1979.[14]
^Fraser’s Hill was originally founded in 1890 as atin mining community known as Pamah Lebar and was renamed as Fraser’s Hill in 1922 after the conversion from former tin mining area into a hill station.[18]
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