ON a recent visit to Cameron Highlands, the sultan of Pahang observed the deterioration of the hill station, famed for its tea plantations and picturesque landscapes.
It looked awful from his vantage point: over-congested traffic, haphazardly cut hillslopes, uncontrolled development, and unreliable water and electricity supply.
While news reports framed His Majesty's observations as "remedial orders" to the authorities, in reality, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has submitted an impassioned plea to save Cameron Highlands from greed and plunder. In particular, the ruler is calling for more protection of Eco Rimba Park from crass commercialism.
Redirecting flow may ease traffic, but the fact remains that Cameron Highlands has always been swamped by day trippers and vacationers. Either the local authorities overhaul traffic management, which may mar the town's historic make-up, or they could raise its entrance fee from a ridiculously low RM5 per person to something more practical. Private vehicles should be charged a deterrent entrance fee or barred from entering unless visitors travel by public transport or commercial vehicles.
This one is tricky: haphazard hill cutting in Cameron Highlands has been so rampant that its delightful cool temperatures are no more. The mercury has soared by 7.5 degree Celsius over three decades. Large tracts of cloud forests have been cleared for infrastructure, housing, and agriculture, some illegally. The downside is terrible. The balding slopes trigger mudslides and landslides.
As for disruptions in water and electricity supply, Cameron Highlands is a victim of its own success, thanks to over-tourism that compelled over-development, over-straining struggling amenities. The town may have to seriously consider dedicated amenity supply hubs, seeing that the current infrastructure won't hold much longer. It will be costly.
The sultan's plea that Eco Rimba Park demands preservation isn't a cryptic message. It's an environmental fact. If ever the park is upset by commercialisation, it will exacerbate the climate crisis, leading to rising temperatures and causing more floods and landslides. This calamity will destroy flora, jungle paths to Robinson Falls, hilltops, aboriginal villages, tea plantations, rolling hills, and rainforests. The scenario is unforgiving.
If Cameron Highlands' founder William Cameron is rolling in his grave because his namesake haven faces annihilation, we too will be rolling and grieving for our national heritage. Heed the sultan's words, if not as an early warning, then a call to arms to stop the abode's destruction.