A Case Study in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Geographical Review of Japan Vol. 61 (Ser. B), No. 2, 191-211, 1988 The Agricultural Development of Hill Stations in Tropical Asia -A Case Study in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia- Shigeru SHIRASAKA* There are many highland settlements known as "hill stations" or "summer resorts" in Southeast Asian countries under the tropical and subtropical climate. The hill station is not a native institution, but one developed during the nineteenth century by the British and Dutch colonial masters in order to make sojourns in a foreign land more comfortable. In southern Japan, the worst period is from June through August, though its intensity does not compare with that farther south. In Malaysia and Indonesia, the period extends throughout the year. The Cameron Highlands is the most famous hill station in Peninsular Malaysia being one of colonial origin. The Cameron Highlands is located between 1,000 and 1,500 meters above sea level on the main range of central Malaysia. Today, the Cameron Highlands is mainly a summer resort, but it is also a very important mid-latitude vegetable growing area. The development of the Cameron Highlands began only after 1926, though it was discovered by, and named after, William CAMERONin 1885. Almost simultaneous with the opening of the Came ron Highlands as a hill resort was the growth and development of vegetable farming by farmers of Chinese origin. There are also three new vegetable farming settlements developed after World War II. Some 47 per cent of the inhabitants of the Cameron Highlands are Chinese Malaysian, and they shoulder the vegetable growing business.
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