Fraser's Hill
Fraser's Hill is a hill resort located on the Titiwangsa Ridge in Raub District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is about 100 km from Kuala Lumpur. The area begins in 1890 as tin mining community known as Pamah Lebar when Louis James Fraser discovered rich tin deposits and open a tin mining facility, which mining activity are short lived when the tin ore was quickly depleted has caused many miners and farmers to abandon this area and Fraser disappeared in 1910.
An attempt to search Fraser on this area by J. Ferguson-Davie has failed, and while searching for missing person, he discovered this area's potential to build a hill station due to cool climate which makes this place a retreat from hot climate in valley. The construction commenced in October 1919 and converted from mining area to resort. The place is then renamed to Fraser's Hill and opened to visitors in 1922. Subsequent development occurs in 1970s in response to increased tourism activity while it will bring more rooms to visitors, however it had an impact to environment such as deforestation and water pollution which prompt further development to halted in April 2010.
Fraser's Hill is rich in biodiversity with attracts significant scientists and researchers' interests. Over 952 indigenous species have been found in Fraser's Hill, which accounts for 10% of all plant species discovered in Peninsular Malaysia. In addition, Fraser's Hill also home to 250 types of birds discovered in that area, which large collection of different birds has attracted significant birdwatchers around the world and has designated as important bird area by Birdlife International. In recent years, Fraser's Hill has been subject to increased tourism activity, as well as other sports that are popular in Fraser's Hill such as hiking, cycling and golfing, although other sports such as archery, paddle boat and equestrian are also available. The population of Fraser's Hill is 1,000 as of 2013.
History
The name of Fraser's Hill came from Louis James Fraser, a Scottish trader and accountant. After his failed venture in gold mining in Australia, he migrated to Federated Malay States in 1890 to looking for his new venture in tin mining, where he set up a tin-ore trading post in Tras. As mining activity become flourishing at the foot of Fraser's Hill, Fraser bought crude tin ore from Malay and Chinese miners in Tras and Sempam and used mules to transport tin ore to Kuala Kubu, hence he became tin merchant. He later then recruited guides and coolies where he formed group expedition to the upper ridges in search for valuables minerals such as gold. The expedition then found an ancient forest of moss-draped trees and ferns with appearance that resembles prehistoric forests that kept constantly moist in the cloud layer. At the same time, he found rich tin deposits on the hill and recruited Chinese miners to open a mine which is known as Pamah Lebar, which this land is the predecessor to current Fraser's Hill golf course. The track is then constructed for mules to carry tin ores to The Gap and Kuala Kubu. Fraser then moves his tin ore trade base from Tras to Fraser's Hill. The first mining lease was officially issued to Abu Suradi in November 1899, with last one was issued in 1906 to Robert Lewis and Sempam Mining Company Limited. However, as the tin ore was quickly depleted in Fraser's Hill, hence the mining activity was reduced, and many Chinese miners and farmers moved out from this town.Fraser later disappeared in 1910. When C. J. Ferguson-Davie, the bishop of Singapore, attempted to find Fraser in 1917, he is not able to found him, but instead he discovered the place which are suitable for building hill station as a retreat from the valley which are in hot climate, hence he wrote a report to High Commissioner and Chief Secretary of Federated Malay States to suggest that a hill station can be built on this hill. A study on preliminary topography survey was taken on August 1919 confirmed the hill station are suitable to build on this hill. Later, R.C.M. Kindersly, an unofficial member of the Federal Council, had told the committee that it aimed to make Fraser's Hill area a holiday resort. The construction of Fraser's Hill commenced in October 1919 when F.W. Mager, Pahang state engineer, surveying the site for building construction, and clearing the land around former Fraser's bungalow to construct the road access from The Gap to hill station. The place was renamed to Fraser's Hill and opened to visitors in 1922.
On 7 October 1951, during the Malayan Emergency, the British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir Henry Gurney was killed near Fraser's Hill in a random assassination by Communist guerillas. However, according to Chin Peng, he admitted that the assassination was not part of their guerillas' plan led by Siew Ma, and they did not aware that Gurney is a member of convoy ambushed by his anti-communist team on The Gap. The guerillas also not aware that the person they assassinated was Gurney until Radio Malaya announced the news on the following day.
The 1970s saw another burst of development with buildings due to optimistic regarding tourism market has led to more investments been made from both public and private sectors. As a result, there will be 59 rooms for visitors in 1974, with additional 178 rooms to be built. The growth of average annual rate for visitors visiting hill stations in Malaysia including Fraser's Hill, Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands between 1977 and 1984 were 8%, which is higher than national average of 5%. However, the expansion of tourist development has negatively impacted the environment as more trees will be cutting down, more species will face threats of extinction and water pollution will affect life of Orang Asli and other residents in other villages. These issues have led to Pahang state government ruled out further development of virgin forest at Fraser's Hill on 13 April 2010. It was not until May 2015 when The Star reported that some resorts were fell to despair due to lack of maintenance, rubbish were not often collected and some abandoned bungalows has become an areas for squatters, the government of Pahang then decided to propose renovation of the hill resort for 10 years period that will costs around RM 100 million to RM 200 million. The renovation of the hill resort need to be done carefully as they not going to develop into a mass tourism area that are similar to Genting Highlands and Fraser’s Hill, but instead focused on improving existing facilities and to preserve the colonial legacy of the hill station.
On 28 April 2019, Fraser's Hill celebrates 100th years of existence as a hill resort. At the same time, as the development has halted since 2010, only 10% of the overall Fraser's Hill land were developed and stated that the over-development of this area will only results in further destruction of the nature environment.
Geography
Fraser's Hill is a mountainous terrain where the altitude ranges between the lowest point, 320 m, to the highest point, 1460 m. Around 44% of the terrain area are ranked as steep terrain, while the flat area only takes 8% of the overall land area. Fraser's Hill's virgin forest coverage is around 92% of the overall land, with only 1.5% of the area are developed into town area and 6.5% of the forest area is cleared for secondary vegetation. Ten river systems in Malaysia originated from Fraser's Hill which includes Sungai Selangor which provides water supply for Selangor state, and Sungai Teranum that forms major river system in eastern Pahang. The geology in this area is predominantly granite which forms sandy soil, which its soil is permeable and are easily erodible.Climate
Fraser's Hill's climate is classified as cooling weather. The temperature here averages between 17°C to 25°C, with relative humidity of 70% to 95%. In a year, the average rainfall is 2300 mm, with an average frequency of over 200 rainy days. Precipitation is the highest in November and December, while the lowest precipitation occurs in June to August.Biodiversity
The location is one of Malaysia's few pristine forests, with a high level of biodiversity, first recognized by the botanist H. N. Ridley in 1897, that has become an area that are highly interested by scientists and researchers. Over 10% of all plant species discovered in Peninsular Malaysia are located in Fraser's Hill, where it consists of 952 indigenous species with 36 endemic species, in which 13 of them has been considered extinct and has not able to found again for more than 60 years. It is also one of the three known places in the world where the rare Trig Oak were discovered.As of animals groups, the most dominant group of animals discovered in Fraser's Hill are invertebrates that consists of ants, bees, beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers, moths, spiders and termites where these animals plays their important role in sustaining a healthy ecosystem in this region. According to IUCN Red List, as of 2013, there are three mammals which were listed as endangered such as Malayan Tapir, Siamang and the Malayan Tiger, while two more mammals were listed as vulnerable are Serow and the Malayan Sun Bear. Fraser's Hill also have relatively large collection of 250 discovered migratory and residential birds where these birds flew from harsh winter in Russia, China and Japan to Fraser's Hill. The birds then rest at Fraser's Hill for few months before briefly flying south to Australia and New Zealand for warmer climate before flying back to Fraser's Hill. The large collection of different birds has made this area designated as important bird area by Birdlife International.
Demographics
The population as of 2013 is 1,000 residents. The population growth in Fraser's Hill is lagging in the last 20 years due to lack of job opportunities in this town that are caused by low development pressure and no housing schemes available in hill station since 2000. The lagging population growth are also attributed to lack of high school which forces students to move to larger towns that are equipped with high schools such as Raub, Kuala Kubu Bharu and Kuala Lumpur.Architecture
The architecture of Fraser’s Hill comprises of old colonial influenced design, where their buildings sports the Mock Tudor design during the colonial era. These designed was used on clock tower, amenities building and bungalows. Several colonial era bungalow which was originally used as a residential area during the colonial era was converted into different purpose, including Dacres Bungalow and Kindersley Bungalow were repurposed as accommodation that are equipped with modern facilities, and Richmond Bungalow was converted into a restaurant, but retained the British style inside the building. Smokehouse, which originally a Red Cross rehabilitation center opened in 1924, was converted into a hotel with restaurant that serves British cuisine and has become one of the notable restaurants in Fraser’s Hill. The existence of the colonial era buildings has become one of the important aspects in promoting tourism in Fraser’s Hill which has successfully attract visitors to experience the British styled town experience without need to visit United Kingdom. However, despite being a heritage town, modern architecture style building appears in 1970s with Shahzan Inn which opened on March 6, 1976.Economy
The economy of Fraser's Hill is mainly concentrated on tourism industry where approximately half of the employed population works under hospitality industry including individual who operating their own businesses, while the rest of the employed population works in the public sector. The employees on Fraser's Hill are the mixture of residents and the migrant labor, as migrant labor taking over some of the jobs which younger generation are not interested due to low income and the jobs are menial to them.Agriculture activity occurs in Fraser's Hill since 1976 when Fraser’s Hill Development Corporation established 180 acres of vegetable farm and a poultry farm specially for producing eggs and chickens with partnership from FIMA corporation. The crops that will be grown from vegetable farm includes cabbages, capsicum, carrots, French beans, green peas, lettuce, mandarin oranges, onions, strawberries and tomatoes. An additional strawberry farm was established in 2018, with 4,800 strawberry plants has been grown for the first three months and plans to plant additional 30,000 strawberry plants due to positive response from visitors. The inclusion of strawberry plantation has potential to make Fraser's Hill the second region in Malaysia with strawberry plantation after Cameron Highlands.
Transport
Prior to 2001, the only road that links between Fraser's Hill and the rest of the nation is the Federal Route 56 which links from Federal Route 55 in The Gap. However, as the road itself are very narrow which only allows for single direction, the road traffic is coordinated by traffic police which control the timing of vehicles entering the road. Vehicle convoys enter the road in alternating directions every hour. The traffic control operates from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM, which after this period the traffic crossing are not controlled until 7:00 AM on the next day. A new road known as Federal Route 148 was completed and opened on 2001 which costs RM 50 million to build this road. Since the opening, road users no longer must wait for the traffic control to access to and from this road and can access to Fraser's Hill anytime. The road can be accessed by car, taxi, motorcycle and bicycle. Inside the Fraser's Hill, each area inside Fraser's Hill were connected by several roads which all road formerly known as Federal Route 422. Most of the road name inside Fraser's Hill remain unchanged since the independence of Malaysia such as Lady Guillemard Road and Lady Maxwell Road.Fraser's Hill used to have public transportation in the past but has since discontinued when Pahang Lin Siong bus that provides bus link between Fraser's Hill and Raub and Kuala Kubu Bharu ended their service. The residents of Fraser's Hill hope for the government for the reintroduction of bus services in this area.
Education
Fraser's Hill provides two primary schools, mainly SK Bukit Fraser and a Tamil school, SJK Bukit Fraser. It used to have Chinese primary school in this area called SJK Bukit Fraser, however, the enrollment in the last four years which results in no students enrolled in that school has caused the school need to move to Teluk Panglima Garang, Selangor in 2018, although the name will still remain the same. While SJK Bukit Fraser facing low enrollment, with only three students and four teachers as of 2018, the school will continue to operate as usual. As Fraser's Hill lacks high school, it will cause some students to move out to other towns equipped with high school such as Raub, Kuala Kubu Bharu and Kuala Lumpur.Culture
Birdwatching
Due to the area which are quite rich with diverse and various kind of birds, Fraser's Hill has become the notable place for birdwatching aficionados, where birdwatchers from Asian and European countries often visit Fraser's Hill to took photographs of the bird and study the bird species available in this area. The popularity of birdwatching has led to the creation of annual birdwatching event, Fraser's Hill bird race, which were organized by Fraser's Hill Development Corporation, Tourism Pahang, Malaysian Nature Society and World Wide Fund for Nature since 1987, usually organized in June or December. The event has attracted many participants from various countries and the objective is to spot, identify and record species which participants can found from official list of species within time limits, while promoting preservation of nature and promote Fraser's Hill as a bird sanctuary. This event has brought success in tourism industry in Fraser's Hill.In addition, a museum dedicated for birds known as Bird Interactive Center are also opened to public by Fraser's Hill Development Corporation and World Wide Fund for Nature, where the museum provides information and guided tours regarding all seven trails in Fraser's Hill, and interactive facility to learn more about this area's flora and fauna to bring awareness regarding the importance of forest conservation and the beauty of nature sightings.
Sports
Fraser's Hill has becoming the popular place for hikers to hike the trails available inside Fraser's Hill due to the undisturbed nature of the trails, trails are properly maintained, the ability to see variety of flora and fauna, and their strong support for the nature conservation, despite the lack of promotion of trails as part of Fraser's Hill tourism promotion. The most popular trails for hikers are Bishop Trail, Rompin Trail, Maxwell Trail and Kindersely Trail.In addition, Fraser's Hill also become a popular cycling area for both road cyclist and mountain bikers. The popularity of cycling in this area are also led to the existence of the annual Fraser's Hill King of Mountain challenge which attracts more than thousand of cyclists. This place was also the site of several international professional road racing and UCI-sanctioned racing events such as Tour de Langkawi, Le Tour de Femina and Malaysian National Road Championships.
Fraser's Hill is also home to one of the oldest golf courses in Malaysia. The nine-hole golf course was built in 1925 on a former tin mine area which has been closed due to tin exhaustion, with additional 18-hole golf course was built in Jeriau in 1970s. The golf course was also played by several high-profile person such as Tun Abdul Razak. Other sports activity in Fraser's Hill includes archery, paddle boat and equestrian.