name	Pahang
official name	Pahang Darul Makmur
settlement type	State
image shield	Coat of arms of Pahang.jpg
anthem	''Allah Selamatkan Sultan Kami''(God, Save Our Sultan )
coordinates display	title
coordinates footnotes
map caption	Pahang in Malaysia
seat type	Capital
seat	Kuantan
parts type	Royal capital
parts style	para
p1	Pekan
government footnotes
leader title	Sultan
leader name	Sultan Ahmad Shah
leader title1	Menteri Besar
leader name1	Adnan Yaakob (BN)
area footnotes
area total km2	36137
population total	1443365
population as of	2010
population density km2	auto
demographics type1	Human Development Index
demographics1 footnotes
demographics1 title1	HDI (2010)
demographics1 info1	0.705 (high) (10th)
postal code type	Postal code
postal code	26xxx to 28xxx
area code type	Calling code
area code	09 (Pahang except as noted) 05 (Cameron Highlands)03 (Genting Highlands)
registration plate	C
blank name sec2	Federated into FMS
blank info sec2	1895
blank1 name sec2	Japanese occupation
blank1 info sec2	1942
blank2 name sec2	Accession into Federation of Malaya
blank2 info sec2	1948
website	http://www.pahang.gov.my
footnotes	}}

Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.

Its state capital is Kuantan, and the royal seat is at Pekan. Other important towns include Jerantut, Kuala Lipis, Temerloh and the hill resorts of Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Bukit Tinggi and Fraser's Hill.

The Arabic honorific of Pahang is ''Darul Makmur'' ("Abode of Tranquility").

The ethnic composition is roughly 1,000,000 Malay and Bumiputra, 233,000 Chinese, 68,500 Indians, 13,700 others, and 68,000 non-citizens.

Etymology[link]

Based on Chinese records, Pahang was known to the Chinese as ''Phang'' or ''Pahangh''. A Chinese writer named it ''Pang-Hang'', ''Pang-Heng'', ''Pong-Fong'', ''Phe-Hang'', and ''Pang-Kang'' and others. In 1225, Choa Ju-Kua wrote the book 'Chu-Fan-Chi'. He wrote that amongst the states invaded by San-Fo-Chi was one called ''Peng-Keng'', supposedly modern day Pahang.

The Arabs and Europeans at that time called it as ''Pam'', ''Pan'', ''Phang'', ''Paam'', ''Poa'', ''Paon'', ''Phamm'', ''Paham'', ''Fanhan'', ''Phang'' and ''Pahagh''. G.R Tibbets, a historian who commented the story written by Mas'udi thought that ''Fanjab'' (in Mas'udi's book) was Pahang. He preferred to call it ''Fanhan'', ''Panghang''/''Panhang'', rather than ''Fanjab''.

The name 'Pahang' has been said to originate from the language of a Siamese aborigines tribe, meaning 'ore'. The aborigines used to live here and opened up several mining areas, especially in Sungai Lembing. According to an old Malay story, at the place near the Pahang River, on the opposite side of Kampung Kembahang, a large 'mahang' tree fell across the river, thus the name 'Pahang' originated.

History[link]

Evidence for nomadic tribes living in the Pahang area go back to the Mesolithic Era. In more modern times, the tin and gold deposits of the Tembeling River attracted the marine traders of the Srivijaya empire in the 8th and 9th centuries, and Pahang covered most of the southern half of the Malay Peninsula.

After the Srivijaya empire collapsed, around the 1000, Pahang was claimed first by Majapahit, Siam, and then by Sultanate of Malacca. Pahang was fought over by the Portuguese, the Dutch, Johor, and Aceh for most of the 16th century. During this time, its population was mostly killed or enslaved, its rulers murdered and its economy ruined. After the decline of Aceh in the mid-17th century, Pahang came under the rule of Johor. However, Sultans of Pahang, descended from the Malacca and the Bendahara Johor royal dynasties, have ruled the state almost continuously from 1470, and gradually recovered a great degree of autonomy.

From 1858 to 1863, Pahang was fought over in a civil war between the two sons of the reigning Bendahara. The war ended when Wan Ahmad was proclaimed the new sultan in 1887, but his role from that point onward was largely ceremonial, as the British forced him to sign a treaty bringing the country under control of a British Resident.

In 1896, Pahang joined Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan in the Federated Malay States. This evolved into the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Geography[link]

The physical geography can be broken into roughly three sections: the highlands, the rainforest, and the coastal areas

Highlands[link]

Peninsular Malaysia straddles a rich quartz vein that is associated with the mountain range in the center. Rainforest covers much of the highlands, but it tends to be thinner, with more deciduous trees. Ferns are also extremely common, thanks mainly to the high humidity and fog that permeates the area.

The Cameron Highlands area in the west is home to extensive tea plantations. The area is the highest on the mainland, and the climate is temperate enough to have distinct temperature variations year round. The area is also known as a major supplier of legumes and vegetables to both Malaysia and Singapore.

Genting Highlands is known as Malaysia's playground. It is home to several hotels, a theme park and Malaysia's only casino. Genting Highlands was developed by Lim Goh Tong, who envisioned a hillside getaway destination for people wanting to get away from city hustle and bustle, and is conveniently situated 40 minutes from the capital of Kuala Lumpur, accessible by highway. The border of Genting Highlands straddles both the states of Pahang and Selangor.

The famous silk merchant and fashion designer Jim Thompson mysteriously disappeared in the area, and it was also home to the Communist guerrillas who fought the British during the 1950s.

Fraser's Hill was used as a British summer getaway to escape the tropical heat. It is distinctive that the road to and from Fraser's Hill is a single lane up the hill and traffic limited to a single direction at certain hours. It is now a small hamlet with British architectural buildings and also a holiday destination.

There is also a population of native Orang Asli who live in the area, although most have been relocated from the forests to other areas.

Rainforest[link]

The north of the state is home to the country's largest national park, Taman Negara. This large primary rainforest is extensive, and is home to many rare or endangered animals, such as the tapir, kancil, tigers and leopards.

Rainforest covers 2/3 of the area of the state, and the peninsula's highest point, Gunung Tahan, is located within Taman Negara. Since the equator is so close, the rainforests in Malaysia are among the oldest in the world: roughly 130 million years old.

Lakes[link]

Two famous lakes are found in Pahang. Tasik Bera is a Ramsar site and is important for its rich freshwater peat environment, home to various flora and fauna. The Semelai Orang Asli live in the area and continue their traditional way of life, hunting, fishing and making use of their natural environment.

Tasik Cini is home to a legend whereby a dragon was believed to reside in the lake. Talks also abound about a lost city that sunk beneath the water. Famed for its lotus blooms, recently controversy has sparked with mismanaged tourism development resulting in the massive die off of trees, and recent findings of pollution in the water.

Coastal Areas[link]

The largely mountainous state flattens out towards the coastline, and this is where the state capital Kuantan is located. There are also many islands offshore, including Pulau Tioman, with extensive coral reef systems. Fine stretches of beach are found from Kuantan heading to Terengganu.

A traditional fishing industry still exists along the coast. Keropok dried fish cakes are a welcome favourite among locals and traditional industry includes the mass processing of dried fish and seafood as well as the famed ''keropok lekor''.

Politics and Government[link]

The constitution of Pahang came into force on February 26, 1959. The constitution proclaims that Pahang is a constitutional monarchy.

The Sultan of Pahang is the constitutional ruler of his state and he holds office for life. The 1959 constitution states that the Sultan is " the fountain head of justice and of all authority of government " in the state. He is vested with the executive power of the state, is the Head of the Religion of Islam in the state and the source of all titles and dignities, honours and awards in the state. Since 1974, the Sultan or hereditary monarch has been Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah.

The state executive council is established by the 1959 constitution. Its consists of the ''Menteri Besar'', who is its chairman, and ten other members. The Sultan of Pahang appoints the Menteri Besar and the rest of the council from the members of the State Assembly. The current Menteri Besar is Dato' Seri Adnan Yaakob from the United Malays National Organisation, a major component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Adnan's deputy is Datuk Tan Aminuddin Ishak.

The state also has a unicameral legislative body, the Pahang State Assembly or ''Dewan Undangan Negeri''. The Chief Minister, who is appointed by the Sultan, typically comes from the political party with the most seats in the assembly. According to Deputy Chief Minister Aminuddin Ishak, the BN-led state government does not have a policy of assisting constituencies with opposition members of the state assembly. Replying to an Assemblyman who asked if the government had a policy of doing so, Aminuddin answered no such plan existed, but "If you want to help the opposition, you can do so."

Pahang is divided into 11 administrative divisions: Bera, Bentong, Cameron Highlands, Jerantut, Kuantan, Kuala Lipis, Maran, Pekan, Raub, Rompin and Temerloh.

Economy[link]

For decades, Pahang's main industry centred on tropical timber production, as large forest swatches supported massive production of wood products, which were the state's main export. Yet a decline in mature trees due to intensive harvesting lately has caused a slowdown and the practice of more sustainable forestry.

Fishery products are also a main source of income especially for the communities on the long coastline of the state. Dried and salted fish is a speciality here. Ikan Patin is very popular at Temerloh.

Raub in the central Pahang area was the only profitable gold mining operation in Malaysia but reserves were soon exhausted and the mines were shut down. Recently, newer technology has made extraction profitable again and operations are being carried out once more.

Sungai Lembing in the heyday was a large centre for shaft mining of ''timah'' better known as tin. Miners dug underground tunnels to reach the ore and brought it up to the surface by the cartloads for smelting into ''jongkangs''. Now that tin is no longer mined the mines are mostly flooded, Sungai Lembing is a dying town with few prospects except tourism based on its history of mining and trekking up Bukit Panorama.

Industry mostly centres on wood-based products and petrochemical processing. Kuantan Port is the busiest port in the east coast. Comprehensive transportation networks allow for fast transportation of goods throughout the state.

Tourism remains the state's main income earner with large natural resources to entice visitors from Taman Negara's forests, Pulau Tioman and the Genting Highlands.

Demography[link]

11 District in Pahang

Kuantan

Pekan

Rompin

Temerloh

Maran

Bera

Bentong

Raub

Jerantut

Lipis

Cameron Highlands

References[link]

Mohamad, Roslina (Nov. 17, 2005). "Pahang BN rep ticked off over question". ''The Star''.

http://www.wawasan2020.com/ph/phhist.html

External links[link]

Official website of the Pahang State Government

Official website of the Pahang Tourism

Category:States of Malaysia

ace:Phang ar:بهنج bjn:Pahang zh-min-nan:Pahang bg:Паханг ca:Pahang cs:Pahang da:Pahang de:Pahang et:Pahangi osariik es:Pahang fa:پاهانگ fr:Pahang ko:파항 주 id:Pahang, Malaysia ik:Pahang it:Pahang lt:Pahangas hu:Pahang mk:Паханг mr:पाहांग ms:Pahang nl:Pahang (staat) ja:パハン州 no:Pahang pms:Pahang pl:Pahang pt:Pahang ru:Паханг simple:Pahang fi:Pahang sv:Pahang ta:பகாங் th:รัฐปะหัง vi:Pahang war:Pahang zh:彭亨

honorific-prefix	Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Seri
name	Adnan Yaakob
birth date	April 18, 1950
birth place	Bentong, Pahang, Federation of Malaya
office	Menteri Besar of Pahang
term start	20 May 1999
predecessor	Mohd Khalil Yaakob
assembly2	Pahang State Legislative
term start2	3 August 1986
constituency am2	Pelangai
party	United Malays National Organisation
religion	Islam
occupation	Teacher
spouse	Junaini Kassim
alma mater	University of MalayaInternational Islamic University Malaysia
footnotes	}}

Dato' Seri Haji Adnan bin Haji Yaakob (born April 18, 1950 in Bentong) is a Malaysian politician and the current Menteri Besar of Pahang. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

Biography[link]

Born (in 1950) and raised in Bentong, Pahang, Adnan Yaakob graduated from secondary school and became a teacher in 1969. He then attended the University of Malaya from 1972 and graduated in 1975. He studied for his Diploma of Education until 1977 before enrolling at the International Islamic University Malaysia to study law.

Adnan never completed his law studies, having dropped out to join full-time politics. He contested and won the Pahang State Legislative Assembly seat in Pelangai during the 1986 general election. He was elected UMNO division chief in Bentong in 1987.

In 1999, Adnan was appointed Menteri Besar of Pahang, succeeding Mohd Khalil Yaakob.

Personal life[link]

Adnan is married to Junaini Kassim and the couple have four children.

References[link]

Footnotes[link]

Sources[link]

Category:1950 births Category:Chief Ministers of Pahang Category:Living people Category:Malaysian Malay people Category:Malaysian politicians Category:People from Pahang Category:United Malays National Organisation politicians

ms:Adnan Yaakob