Janda Baik (Bentong Malay: ''Jando Baék)'' is a village in
Bentong District
Bentong District is a district located in western Pahang, Malaysia. Bentong covers an area of 1,831 km2 and includes the hill resorts of Genting Highlands and Bukit Tinggi. It is located 80 km northeast of Kuala Lumpur, just across t ...
,
Pahang
Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. It is about 45 km from
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
and 800 m above sea level. It was estimated to have a population of around 2,820 in 2019.
Janda Baik was first settled by three
Bentong
Bentong (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ﺑﻨﺘﻮڠ), the seat of Bentong District, is a town located in western Pahang, Malaysia, at the border with the state of Selangor in the west and the state of Negeri Sembilan in the south.
Government
Benton ...
villagers in 1930 who moved when the town was flooded in 1926. More villagers settled there afterwards, and the village was frequently visited by the
Sultan of Pahang
Sultan of Pahang () is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Al-Sultan Abdullah ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignitie ...
.
Although it formerly only focused on the
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
industry, Janda Baik also focuses on the
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
and
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
industries today. However, the development of agriculture and tourism in Janda Baik has led to threats of
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
that will affect the ecosystem, erode cultural and traditional values, and disrupt the villagers' daily lives, which has led to protests from villagers.
History
Foundation and etymology
![Janda Baik villagers in 1933 (Colorized)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Janda_Baik_villagers_in_1933_%28Colorized%29.jpg)
Before Janda Baik was founded in 1930, the area was primarily inhabited by
Orang Asli
Orang Asli (''lit''. "first people", "native people", "original people", "aborigines people" or "aboriginal people" in Malay) are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of ...
tribes. The village was founded when some residents moved from
Bentong
Bentong (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ﺑﻨﺘﻮڠ), the seat of Bentong District, is a town located in western Pahang, Malaysia, at the border with the state of Selangor in the west and the state of Negeri Sembilan in the south.
Government
Benton ...
to an area with a higher elevation due to the 1926 floods that affected Bentong and other low elevation areas. The earliest founders for this village are Haji Deris, Haji Kadir, and Haji Yasir, who built a hut and stayed in the area for almost a week before others start to populate the area. The village was originally given the name Kampung Tiga Haji to refer to the three early settlers.
The rising population in Janda Baik caught the attention of
Abu Bakar of Pahang
Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’azzam Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abdullah Al-Mu’tassim Billah Shah (29 May 1904 – 5 May 1974), was the fourth modern Sultan of Pahang.
Life
Born on 29 May 1904 at Istana Hinggap, Pekan, he was the sec ...
, the
Sultan of Pahang
Sultan of Pahang () is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Al-Sultan Abdullah ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignitie ...
,
who first visited the village in 1932. The Sultan disliked the village's name and asked for it to be changed.
An argument between the Orang Asli chief Tok Batin Wok and his wife Siah caused both to separate for a month before they reconciled. Four weeks later after their reconciliation, Bentong district officer Henry Peacock suggested that the name should be changed to Janda Baik, as ''janda'' in Malay means "divorcee" (or "widow") and ''baik'' refers to the relationship between Orang Asli chief Tok Batin Wok and his wife Siah, which improved since they reunited. The village was officially renamed to Janda Baik on 19 September 1936.
Another reason Janda Baik was chosen as the village name is that a widow had helped treat the injured Pahang army returning to their base in Pahang when they fought in the civil war in
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
. She offered medicine to treat the injured people. Because of this, the village was given the name Janda Baik to honor her kindness, where ''janda'' and ''baik'' respectively mean "widow" (or "divorcee") and "good" in the
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
.
In the village, there used to be an island called Pulau Santap that was located in the middle of the big stream that ran through it. It was used by the Sultan of Pahang as resting place; the word ''santap'' refers to eating in
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
. The island eroded due to development in the area.
Post-independence
![Janda Baik entrance arch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Janda_Baik_entrance_arch.jpg)
Janda Baik started to become popular after the late
Tan Sri Muhammad Ghazali Shafie, the former
Foreign Affairs Minister of Malaysia, survived the
Cessna 206
The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...
air crash on January 11, 1982, in Janda Baik when he was going to
Kuala Lipis
Kuala Lipis ( ms, كوالا ليڤيس, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is a mukim and capital of Lipis District, Pahang, Malaysia with a population of 20,000.
History
Kuala Lipis was a gold-mining centre before the British arrived in 1 ...
to attend a
UMNO
The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
division committee meeting. The Malaysian government feared that a Federal Government's Minister may have been captured by communist guerillas due to his participation in fights against the
Japanese Red Army
The was a militant communist organization active from 1971 to 2001. It was designated a terrorist organization by Japan and the United States. The JRA was founded by Fusako Shigenobu and Tsuyoshi Okudaira in February 1971 and was most active i ...
from 1973 to 1981. He survived with light injuries while the co-pilot (Vergis Chacko) and his bodyguard (Charon Daan) were killed in the crash.
As
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
became more crowded and congested, a proposal was made to build a new
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
known as
Putrajaya
Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya), is a planned capital city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. The seat of the federal government ...
, where the administrative buildings and offices would be relocated to. In 1990, the government listed six possible places to build Putrajaya, one of which was in Janda Baik. They decided to build it in
Perang Besar,
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
.
In August 2019, villagers protested further development of
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
in this area that were silently implemented by authorities without the residents' consent. They claimed that ecotourism development would erode cultural and traditional values, and disrupt the villagers' daily lives. The residents demanded that the authorities should focus on improving the road conditions and cleaning the river instead.
In September 2021, the Malaysian Celebrity Vie Shantie Khan announced that Janda Baik belongs to the Gombak district.
Geography
Janda Baik is located on the
Titiwangsa Range
The Titiwangsa Mountains ( Malay: ''Banjaran Titiwangsa,'' بنجرن تيتيوڠسا, ), also known as ''"Banjaran Besar"'' (Big Range) by locals, is the chain of mountains that forms the backbone of the Malay Peninsula.
The northern section o ...
of Peninsular Malaysia. The area is a mountainous terrain where the altitude ranges between and above sea level.
The village is surrounded by
coniferous forest
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...
.
However there are deforestation threats due to increases in agricultural activity in this area and the proposed
TNB transmission tower
A transmission tower, also known as an electricity pylon or simply a pylon in British English and as a hydro tower in Canadian English, is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line.
In electrical gri ...
wiring project which was cancelled in 2015 after protests from residents over concerns of river erosion. On December 2017, a
reforestation
Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting.
Management
A debate ...
and
forest conservation
Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. ...
program was launched in Janda Baik as part of Sultan Ahmad Shah Environment Trust (SASET)'s pledge to plant 100,000 trees in state of
Pahang
Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...
in 2018. This program aims to reforest areas previously cleared by
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
and development. A biodiversity research center, Janda Baik Wildlife Fauna Breeding and Research facility, operates in Janda Baik and several wildlife species have been studied, including
siamang
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...
, whose preferred habitat is mountainous. In addition, other species discovered in Janda Baik include
Indian whistling duck which has longer legs and an erect posture more similar to goose than other duck species.
Climate
Janda Baik's climate is classified as tropical. Rainfall is significant in this area throughout the year. The climate is Af according to the
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. The temperature here averages ,
and falls between and during the daytime, and at evening can reach . The average yearly rainfall is . Precipitation is the lowest in July, with an average of . The most precipitation falls in November—an average of . With an average temperature of , June is the hottest month of the year. December has the lowest average temperature of the year—. Between the driest and wettest months, the difference in precipitation is .
Economy
![Elektrisola factory entrance gate in Janda Baik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Elektrisola_factory_entrance_gate_in_Janda_Baik.jpg)
Most early residents made their living in agriculture through small
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
plantations and paddy (''
oryza sativa
''Oryza sativa'', commonly known as Asian rice or indica rice, is the plant species most commonly referred to in English as ''rice''. It is the type of farmed rice whose cultivars are most common globally, and was first domesticated in the Yan ...
'') cultivation mainly because Janda Baik has a rich natural network of rivers. In addition, farmers also plant
bananas
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
on paddy fields. However, due to lack of maintenance on the paddy fields, the yields declined rapidly and the fields were invaded by ''
Imperata cylindrica
''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of Perennial plant, perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has al ...
''. About 55% of the residents surveyed identified as farmers in 2001.
In recent years, some people moved from urban areas to Janda Baik to set up farming businesses, experience a cooler climate, or escape from an urban livelihood. Urban farmers sold their vegetables to customers and restaurants in Janda Baik.
Fig
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
plantations became a tourist attraction in Janda Baik.
The
electronics industry
The electronics industry is the economic sector that produces electronic devices. It emerged in the 20th century and is today one of the largest global industries. Contemporary society uses a vast array of electronic devices built-in automated or ...
in Janda Baik started when Elektrisola, a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
-based electronics corporation, opened its factory in 1990. It focused on manufacturing
copper wires and
litz wires to support the rapidly growing Asian market and economy, and created 1,000 jobs for villagers and nearby inhabitants. 90% of the products produced are exported to
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
Sports and recreation
In recent years, Janda Baik has become a popular spot for
cyclists
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...
and
trail runners
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. T ...
. The town has become popular among cyclists who perceive it as an ideal place for cycling due to its route's hill terrain were perceived as challenging, in addition to scenic views, little traffic, cold climate and a cuisine haven. The village is also popular for trail running due to its hilly slopes,
and also has a
swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
,
paintball
Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy ai ...
and
ATV driving.
References
Bibliography
* Harold Brookfield (2001). ''Exploring Agrodiversity''. New York City: Columbia University Press.
External links
{{Pahang
Villages in Pahang
Populated places in Pahang
Populated places established in 1930