Sungai Lembing

Sungai Lembing in 1920s.

Miners transporting tin from mining tunnel

The tin-mining area at Sungai Lembing was the largest and deepest of its time in the world; the tunnel spans around 322 km (200 miles) and is between 610 m (2,000 feet) and 700 m (2,300 feet) deep.[8] Mining activity in the area was begun in 1886 by British firm Pahang Consolidated Company Limited (PCCL), which were headquartered in London[7] and employed approximately 1,500 miners to mine tin.[9] At its peak, the mine employed 5,000 workers who produced 4,000 tons of tin annually.[10]

Sungai Lembing town developed in the 1900s when the British set up the tin mining industry, and provided facilities and amenities such as roads, electricity, bungalows, schools, office buildings, warehouses, shops, a cinema and a hospital. Electricity use was limited to 12 hours per day.[3] Imported products were sold in the town duty-free.[1] Non-residences and visitors were usually not allowed to enter the town without permission and security checkpoints were set up at the entrance to the town.[3] Entry to some buildings was restricted to certain types of workers.[10]

In 1926, flooding in Sungai Lembing caused damage to 14.5 km (9.0 miles) of railway track, a hospital and 250 homes, and the mining operation was suspended for three months. Mining was also affected by the Great Depression, during which quotas were imposed on tin production. During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, much of the mining equipment was destroyed and European personnel fled the country.[11]

In 1979, PCCL transferred ownership of the company from Britain to Malaysia and renamed itself Pahang Consolidated Public Limited Company (PCPLC). As worldwide demand for tin and prices of tin fell,[3] the mine was temporarily shut down in 1986.[7] The closure of mines caused around 800 miners to become unemployed and the company entered receivership after financial losses.No parties were interested in taking over the mining activity and the mine was permanently closed on 1987 by the Government of Pahang.[12] After the mine closure, many residents moved elsewhere to look for better jobs and some facilities such as shops and petrol stations were forced to shut down, although some shops continued to operate.[3] Prior to 2001, the area's main industry shifted from mining to agriculture; this change caused flooding to become more frequent.[13]

In December 1988, there were proposals to revive the town and redevelop it into a tourist attraction. One suggestion was to covert the former mining general's bungalow into either a resthouse or a museum; the bungalow was converted into the Sungai Lembing Museum. Around 30 former workers' quarters would be converted into chalets to mitigate lack of accommodations for visitors. The existing infrastructure in the town would be improved and a new health clinic would open to residents. The population during that time was 14,000.[14]

Sungai Lembing arch

The Sungai Lembing museum was opened in 2001; this led the town to focus on the tourism sector.[13] The museum is a conversion of a former bungalow that was previously inhabited by the British mining manager and his family. The museum exhibits the mining history of Sungai Lembing.[15] The museum is currently managed by the Department of Museum Malaysia.[16]

On 27 March 2004, as part of the Eighth Malaysian Plan, the federal government allocated RM 7 million for improving the town; this includes improvement to the museum, which was visited by 193,000 visitors as of 2004, revival of a mining tunnel for tourism purpose, restoration of the cinema and upgrading the road that connects town to tin mining area.[17] In addition, on 16 April 2005, another RM 6.3 million was spent on restoring buildings with historic values such as clubhouses, administration buildings, factories and mining tunnels.[18]

Further developments in Sungai Lembing, included the 2006 demolition of an old food court building to make way for a new food court.,[19] were completed and the new food court opened on 27 September 2008.[20] An arch was constructed at the entrance to the town on 6 February 2009.[21] In 2012, three bridges were built would allow access from nearby settlements.[22]

On 31 August 2019, a fire burnt several century-old buildings including 20 shop-houses, 11 terrace houses and a library.[23] The fire displaced 53 residents.[24] The fire prompted the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) to strongly advise officials to upgrade safety measures on historic buildings to preserve them from destruction by fire.[25] Four months after the fire, reconstruction of one of the damaged buildings take place with a budget of RM 10 billion, with advice from Kyoto University; the money was also used to upgrade existing facilities in Sungai Lembing.[26]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, following the relaxation of the movement control order and the re-opening of border crossings, tourism in Sungai Lembing returned to growth; 80% of stalls in the food court reopened and some hostels in the area were fully booked. Most of the visitors during that time arrived by car rather than buses, which is typically seen. Despite this, social distancing and other infection control measures continued to be practised, and the mining tunnel and museum remained closed[2] until 16 June 2020.[27]

Sungai Lembing's climate is classified as tropical; significant rainfall occurs in this area throughout the year. This climate is Af according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.[28] The average temperature is 28 °C (82 °F) and the average annual rainfall is 120.6 mm (4.75 inches). Precipitation is lowest in February, with an average of 40.7 mm (1.60 inches). With an average of 347.4 mm (13.68 inches), the most precipitation falls in December. At an average temperature of 29 °C (84 °F), May is the hottest month of the year. January and December have the lowest average temperature of the year. It is 26 °C (79 °F). Between the driest and wettest months, the difference in precipitation is 306.7 mm (12.07 inches).[29]

Since the 1990s, there have been reports of a slight increase in the frequency of floods in this area due to changes in land use in the river basin area, especially agriculture, which causes water and soil disequilibrium that could result in imbalances in the water cycle and is further exacerbated by weaknesses in the urban drainage system.[13] The floods in 2012 and 2014 caused the only road that connects Sungai Lembing with the rest of Malaysia to be cut off.[30][4]

Waste materials from abandoned mines were found to be potentially polluting the area's rivers and groundwater with harmful elements such as arsenic, iron, copper, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc. These can affect the water quality in watercourses, raising concern among environmentalists.[31]

Since 2014, much of the rainforest surrounding the popular Rainbow Waterfall has been cleared to make way for a palm oil plantation.[32] The deforestation caused pollution of the nearby river, affecting the lives of villagers who relied on the river for fresh water.[33] This issue caused Pahang Department of Environment to issue multiple fines to Mentiga Corporation, who are involved in deforestation, in 2018.[34]