Cameron Highlands is a great place but there are still a few steps to go until it becomes a real world class destination. I’ve the following proposals to attract more tourists:

1. Tanah Rata should become the centre of the area since it has the best potential. What I suggest is to completely rebuild the southern parts of Jalan Besar in the centre of the village, e.g. the taxi and service station. It would be good if there were more shops and hotels like on the northern side of the road (maybe more upscale) so that visitors may walk to the east on one side of the road and back on the other. The hospital should also be redeveloped into a hotel. In addition, a new, larger hospital should be constructed in the village taking advantage of the cool climate and thus attracting patients from all over the country. And in appreciation of the man who discovered this area there should be a William Cameron Memorial.

2. Cameron Highlands as a mountain area should have at least one cable car. It would be useful to build one from the Tanah Rata centre to Bukit Mentiga or Gunung Jasar. At the top of the hill should be a nice park with a food court. Another possibility would be to build one to Gunung Brinchang but I assume this hill is too far away from the next village that a cable car could be operated profitably. Furthermore, the telecom station at the top of Gunung Brinchang deteriorates the view from the hill.

3. Cameron Highlands need an attraction that can be found nowhere else in the world and that is related to its history. How about a “Tiger World”, a kind of zoological garden with the largest collection of tigers from all over the world. In former times the Malaysian jungle was dangerous because of these animals and so there should be a place where people can go and get in touch with them. What about a special part with very young tigers that children can play with?

4. In addition to the existing tea plantations there should be a kind of tea museum or shop where the largest choice of teas from all over the world can be tried and purchased.

5. Cameron Highlands as the premier hill region in Malaysia should have a kind of “Swiss village” to demonstrate how mountain villages in other parts of the world look like. This should not arise any doubt that Cameron Highlands have its own history and traditions.

6. It should be examined whether it is profitable to connect the most interesting places in the area like Brinchang, Tanah Rata and the plantations by a railway route. Maybe one could use old Malaysian railway waggons to get to the major attractions without having to use a car or bus.

7. There should be a “Thompson Jungle Camp” a bit away from the urban areas where adventuresome people can spend some nights in tents and explore the wild jungle as people did 70 years ago. I’m not sure whether something like that already exists. In addition, there may be a hill from where paragliding or other fun sports can be made.

8. Though the landscape of Cameron Highlands is great some houses and quarters look really poor. So the people there should be resettled to better homes to be build. This could be financed by establishing a fund hotels, Tourism Malaysia and local authorities have to pay in.

9. Cameron Highlands need a regional airport. If even a small island like Tioman is available by air from major cities like KL or Singapore an airport is necessary for better accessibility.

10. Finally: Though I support the idea of drawing more visitors to the Cameron Highlands region the areas around it should become a national park like Taman Negara where it is not allowed to build houses, operate plantations or construct roads. Cameron Highlands should be a lively place within a real eco-environment.

BTW, I’ll forward these ideas to the Malaysian and Pahang government!

Bravo. Like the ideas...except the airport proposal. :)

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Beautiful view of the tea plantations in Cameron Highlands

Excellent proposals on the Cameron developments!

I have not gone to the highlands in ages... Heard that Brinchang is now full of apartments right (not forgetting the Equatorial Resort)? Must have totally destroyed the atmosphere of that town...

Great ideas Jandok! We would love to hear more from you :)

10. Finally: Though I support the idea of drawing more visitors to the Cameron Highlands region the areas around it should become a national park like Taman Negara where it is not allowed to build houses, operate plantations or construct roads. Cameron Highlands should be a lively place within a real eco-environment.

BTW, I’ll forward these ideas to the Malaysian and Pahang government!

Sustainable development vital for future
Wednesday March 8, 2006
By MELATI MOHD ARIFF


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Just erecting Love Our
Rivers signboards is not enough. — Bernamapic



CAMERON HIGHLANDS: R. Ramakrishnan, 40, is very vocal when he talks about development in Cameron Highlands, the country's premier hill resort.

Ramakrishnan has every reason to be so as he was born and bred in the highlands and has seen and felt it all – the changing landscapes, the disappearing lush greens and the warming climate.

He aspires to see the whole of Cameron Highlands gazetted as a living national park, similar to the Snowdonia National Park in Wales.

His growing concern for the preservation of the beauty, serenity and above all, the natural environment of Cameron Highlands at least will not be futile as he now has a platform to champion the cause.

Aptly called Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands or in short REACH, this community-based organisation was established in 2001 by a group of concerned Cameron Highlands residents at the height of the water shortage crisis that hit the highlands in the 90s.

Development is normally welcomed with open arms as it breathes hopes of more economic activities and better life for the people but REACH members cringe at the mere mention of this word.

They have seen enough development and fear that the popular hill resort, discovered by government surveyor William Cameron in 1885, would be over-developed and will lose much of its serenity, tranquillity and natural surroundings in the process.

“We’re not against development but it must be sustainable. What are we going to leave behind for the next generation? ” he asked.

As it is, according to him, the existing population of Cameron Highlands, which is about 33,000 (another 20,000 is said to be foreign workers), is facing a daily shortage of four million litres of water and the situation worsens during holiday seasons.

“There was talk to build a new reservoir to overcome this water shortage and it was supposed to be operational in 2004 but until now we’ve not seen much progress,” he said.

According to Ramakrishnan, there are about 126 rivers and tributaries in Cameron Highlands and only 10% is within class 1 and 2 (water fit for drinking).

Dr Liau Tai Leong, REACH vice-president has been tasked with keeping watch on the rivers of Cameron Highlands.

Born in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, Dr Liau was a government health officer assigned to Cameron Highlands in the 80s and decided to stay after his service ended as he grew fond of living in the highlands.

“The many farms sprouting in and around Cameron Highlands are putting more pressure on the water crisis. Ninety per cent of the water from the ‘clean rivers’ (Class 1 and 2) is diverted for farming. Only the remaining 10% is available for drinking and household consumption. We can’t even turn on the heater at times,” Dr Liau said.

He said that even “the clean water that is available is not clean.”

“We have information that even the clean water that comes to the house contains the Escherichia coli bacteria, also known as “E.coli” (normally found in the faeces of animals and humans).

“We have informed the authorities and told them what they need to do is to move all the farms which are located on grounds above the reservoir. The latest test conducted shows an alarming increase in the number of E.coli bacteria in our drinking water,” he said.

Ramakrishnan interjected, saying: “To pollute a river is very easy but to bring it back to its original form is hard.”

REACH, he said will continue to highlight the river issue and conduct gotong-royongs until everybody is aware what is happening and what legacy they are leaving behind for the future generation.

Plant poaching is another great concern to REACH and in particular to Embi Abdullah, a member of REACH who is a wild orchid enthusiast.

These forest reserves are rich with wild ferns, orchids, pitcher plants, rafflesias and herbs such as tongkat ali (eurycoma longifolia) and kacip fatimah (labisia pumila), said Embi who was formerly the manager for the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute station in Cameron Highlands from 1973 to 1983.

The culprits include operators of big time nurseries’, tourists and also “specialists” who came and collect the plants in large quantities.

Embi said there are people who manipulate the orang asli to collect the plants.

Ramakrishnan likened the forest to a hypermarket. “There’s so many things that we don’t know. It’s a matter of cataloguing all those plants and finding at least their general uses and maintaining them.

“Enforcement is one thing and our people, I would say, are mostly ignorant. We prefer to be led rather than taking the lead. So it’s a loss because not only do we lose the plants but we destroy them without knowing all the wealth that we can get from the forests. – Bernama

by tefal (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tefalfoo/77921347/in/photostream/) (December 2005)

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Goodness....looked at the developments there! :eek:

The last time I was there was in 1992 :D

Yeah tell me about it, last time I was there was back in 87.

hope cameron dont too much develop. cameron become more and more hot. not like last time.

hope cameron dont too much develop. cameron become more and more hot. not like last time.

i agree!! too much development will ruin the environment there.

^^ wow.. those fake medievalism apartment looks.. i rather see villas and big mansions there than this.. apartment? :uh:

^^ wow.. those fake medievalism apartment looks.. i rather see villas and big mansions there than this.. apartment? :uh:

that's Star Regency, i styed there before :D

http://www.star-regency.com.my/

^^ wow.. those fake medievalism apartment looks.. i rather see villas and big mansions there than this.. apartment? :uh:

Do you mean the tudor look?

I think since Cameron Highlands is famous for its British legacy, the tudor housing, the tea plantations, it should futher expand on its heritage. More tea paraphernalia and offerings, more British or rather English offerings. I hope it can be done in the most non tacky manner possible.

BOH Visitor Centre

Opening soon in 2005 (http://zlgdesign.blogspirit.com/archive/2005/09/11/cameron-highlands-visitor-centre.html), this Tea Centre has been executed within 1 year, is 70m long and offers absolutely stunning views out to tea estate. FACILITY include a visitor centre, cafeteria, sales showroom and audio visual rooms.

Project Team: Susanne ZEIDLER, Huat LIM, Jimmy WONG, HONG Chieh Yow

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Ir Pang, our engineer, captured this wonderful image of the approach to the new BOH Visitor Centre (http://zlg.blogs.com/) in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. This project was conceived to provide some 12 000 sqft of new retail and visitor facilities for the tea estate, and is now open to visitors. Sited off a slope, overlooking incredible valleys of the estate itself. this buildng is constructed using steel as structure, the envelope is transparent, and the entire site kept as it is, no felling of trees, and all materials are used in the best interest of the site. Fallen trees [from storms] are re-cycled, cut into logs and made into building's facade. What is even more incredible, the project took just over a year to execute, and costs under USD 500,000.

Design: Susanne ZEIDLER, huat LIM
Proejct Direction: Dorian LANDERS [Host Asia]


BOH Visitor Centre in Cameron Highlands' wall elements are composed of naturally found fallen trees in the environs, whose logs are then located into metal framed windows that line the entire 140m length of the building, providing a visually pleasing facade design that works as a sun screen. Wall is constructed off the column line, thereby making the skin somewhat more afloat, and lighter, uninterrupted. Flooring of simple precast slabs of Apex stone, concrete is sealed to give protection.

Builder: Daniel KAM
Project Direction: HostAsia
Design: Susanne ZEIDLER, Huat LIM, Hong Chieh YOW, Jimmy WONG


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BOH Visitor Centre is ZLG's latest completed work, designed to provide extensive visitor facilities and leisure programmes in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands Tea Estate. Opened since last September 2005, this 140m long building is naturally ventilated, and is constructed almost entirely of natural finishes, amongst others, wood and logs and stones collected in the vicinity of the site.

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ZLG Sdn Bhd (http://www.europaconcorsi.com/db/pub/scheda.php?id=9513)
BOH Visitor Centre

The Site
Comprising mainly the tea estate of BOH Plantations of Malaysia, the site is idyllic in the truest sense, as it has all the ingredients of an historic site, except everything is as fresh as tea.

The BOH Visitor Centre will provide visitors to the estate opportunities to view and appreciate the landscape. This "building" would not only address the Owner and operator's requirements to meet certain sales targets, it was also there to house the existing tea shop and improve on the visitor facilities.

The approach view of the 160m long building reveals the large cantilever of the balcony overlooking the valley. A very large tree has been preserved and it now anchors the building to its surrounding natural landscape.

The terrace holds seating for those staying outdoors. This is linked to the F+B area partially enclosed by sliding glass panels allowing maximum views and natural ventilation on warmer days.

General design concept of building
The shape of the building and its location is a direct response to the site with cut outs in the structure to avoid cutting down existing trees or demolition of other important site features. A new car park area for the visitor has been allowed for at the back accessible by drive below the 'bridge' segment of new building.

The Visitor Centre is a naturally ventilated building with a minimum need for any mechanical ventilation or air conditioning. It has extensive daylight penetration to reduce contrast between outside and inside lighting conditions and to allow for maximum external awareness.

For the most part of the building, it is elevated to provide space below the underside of the structure, a gesture to reduce impact on any of the original contour of the terrain. Moreover this makes the building "float" above the ground.

Back-of-house support facilities like kitchen, store and toilets are expressed as "solid cubes", like perforated zinc cladding and roof finish or face brick. They intersect and interlock the linear and formal shape of the main linear building.

One of the key features of the design was the area in front of the main entrance, the approach. The designers called for a big outdoor terrace area for seating as well as for appreciating the panorama view of the Estate and the valley. This area is finished in a simple and affordable concrete tiled flooring material with grass or loose chippings in between.

Main Building structure
Steel was chosen as structural solution to minimize costs, particularly with the weight issues on the foundations, and ultimately its impact on site as well as for the faster construction period possible with steel.

Many buildings that were already there had to be retained and included in the new layout. The designers investigated structural solutions that would allow cutting out floor beams and roof structures and thus permit construction of slabs and roof around the existing trees. Not only would this structural solution be 'sensitive' to new buildings, it needs to be
left visible and intact structurally and visually.

We envisaged for the spans that are appropriate to the user needs and operator requirements that a steel structure was ore practical given the spans can go as far as 9m without much of a problem.

With RC structures, this would mean very substantially deeper beams, again adding overall weight of up to 60 % more to conventional frame. The simple and rigid "frame" derived from using a steel design also meant we were able to tilt the shape so that we were able to direct traffic under the building. With RC structure this would probably be more expensive and more difficult to do.

Building materials and finishes
Materials used for this project are derived from locally available stock, mainly sourced from around the Cameron Highlands region.

Perforated zinc proposed for the roof and store areas are associated with the existing wall cladding material of the oldest and first BOH Tea factory in Cameron.

The main feature of the façade is a randomly arranged set of mild steel frames with 10cm thick timber logs cut out from trunks from the fallen trees of the Estate.

Bamboo is used throughout the internal [ceiling] and external facade and screens of the building. It has also been used as fencing material.

Off-form bare finished concrete walls with timber texture and strong horizontal ribbing lines from the formwork are placed at the entrance areas. This is a contrast to the more rustic look of the natural materials and the surrounding landscape.

Randomly arranged moveable and fixed glass louvers throughout the facade of the building allows for views into the estate. They also provide enough ventilation on warmer days.

Several flooring materials have been used, ranging from solid local timber, wash aggregate, colored concrete and terrazzo tiles. Main areas of the ceiling comprise natural bamboo and white plasterboard with 10cm open gaps throughout the entire ceiling interior.

Design Elements
The retail area has a clearly defined and therefore secure access and exit design. A 40m long fixed partition shelf-wall allows for views into the retail and display area for the BOH and other products. The shelves are made from mild steel plates welded together with fixed glass panels in random order inserted.

BOH's corporate reds, the beiges and darker browns shades were colors used throughout the whole interior of the building.

BOH's old silver aluminum foil packaging paper with the famous "tiger emboss" and Logo has been used to decorate some of the wall finishes. These had been preserved and kept to be part of the ID finishes at the facing of the counters and on the top of some cabinet facing finishes at F&B and retail areas.

Most of the steelwork, support columns and roof edge details are finished in dark grey in order for these elements to "disappear" or recede into the landscape. However for the zinc cladding material used at the far 'end' of the building, it was intended for contrast to the timber finish of the existing 2 storey office building.
Inside the covered walkway of the building, which is partially ramped, stainless steel wires with Perspex 'screens' display information and images to be viewed whilst walking through the building. More exhibits appear inside the exhibition space towards the far end of the building as well as on the walls and at the door panels towards the AV room. Here it has been designed to allow for audio-visual events.

Both public toilets have custom-made basins, created from smooth polished cement rendered finish concrete plinths. We applied vertical bamboo screens for more privacy between the male and female toilets.

Credits
Architect of Record: Mastor b Surat
Hospitality Consultant/
Project Management: Hostasia Sdn Bhd
Main Contractor: Benaju Sdn Bhd / D. Interior’er

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Cameron Highlands is a great place but there are still a few steps to go until it becomes a real world class destination. I’ve the following proposals to attract more tourists:

4. In addition to the existing tea plantations there should be a kind of tea museum or shop where the largest choice of teas from all over the world can be tried and purchased.



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^^ very nice....love how the design blends with the surrounding areas... gud job BOH plantations

Was just in the Cameron Highlands this past weekend....

all I can say is leave it alone...the ideas are creative and many of them are good and would be great if implemented somewhere else...

sadly, if implemented in Malaysia...then things wont turn out so great...

leave the Cameron Highlands as a simple, lovely place for everyone to enjoy, rather than turning it into a tourist eyesore...

It is the hidden gems of the highlands that make people come back again and again.

Cheers, m