Janda Baik

Villagers of Janda Baik in 1933. Haji Yasir (in black suit) are one of the three founders of Kampung Tiga Haji, the previous name for Janda Baik.

Before Janda Baik was founded in 1930, the area was primarily inhabited by Orang Asli tribes. The village was founded when some residents moved from Bentong to an area with a higher elevation due to the 1926 floods that affected Bentong and other low elevation areas. The earliest founder 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 populated the area. The village was originally given the name Kampung Tiga Haji to refer to the three early settlers.[4]

The rising numbers of population in Janda Baik caught the attention of Abu Bakar of Pahang, the Sultan of Pahang,[4] who made his first visit to the village in 1932. The Sultan stated that he did not recognize this name and requested the village to be renamed.[3][4]

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 renamed to Janda Baik, as janda in Malay refers to divorcee and baik refers to the relationship between Orang Asli chief Tok Batin Wok and his wife Siah, which improved since they reunited. As such, the village was officially renamed to Janda Baik on 19 September 1936.[5]

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. 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" and "good" in the Malay language.[6]

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.[7] It was used by the Sultan of Pahang as resting place; the word santap refers to eating in Malay language. The island eroded due to development in the area.[3]

Janda Baik entrance arch in October 2020

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 air crash on January 11, 1982, in Janda Baik when he was going to Kuala Lipis to attend a UMNO division committee meeting.[8] 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 from 1973 to 1981.[9] He survived with light injuries while the co-pilot (Vergis Chacko) and his bodyguard (Charon Daan) were killed in the crash.[10][11]

As Kuala Lumpur became more crowded and congested, a proposal was made to build a new administrative center known as Putrajaya, 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.[12]

In August 2019, villagers protested further development of ecotourism 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.[2]