Gua Musang

Big plans for little railway town
By Syed Azhar
Tuesday September 15, 2009

PLANS are in the pipeline to turn Gua Musang, a small railway town about 220km south of Kota Baru, into the second biggest town in Kelantan in an effort to bring in development to the southern part of the state.

Gua Musang has the potential to become a new and busy township bordered by Pahang to the south, Terengganu to the east, and Perak to the west.

Meeting point: The humble train station at Gua Musang.

Federal Development Department chairman Datuk Mustapa Mohamad, in a recent meeting held in Gua Musang, said Kota Baru, Tumpat, Pasir Mas and other surrounding areas within the northern section of the state were getting congested.

"We need to get people in the northern section of the state to migrate to the southern areas and the only way to do that is to create economic activities.

"I have given this task to South Kelantan Development Board (Kesedar) to come up with a master plan to be included in the Tenth Malaysia Plan.

"I believe that, based on the geographical location of Gua Musang, it can be turned into a progressive and developed town that can rival the capital, Kota Baru," he added.

Mustapa, who is also the International Trade and Industry Minister, added that the other factor that would help Gua Musang was that it was also the northern gateway to Taman Negara (National Park) which is situated in the southeastern part of the Gua Musang district.

The attractions of the untouched tropical rainforest can generate jobs for the locals and bring in tourist dollars.

The other major attraction in Gua Musang is a Buddhist temple in Pulai which is purportedly 400 years old.

Thousands of people from around the country visit the temple every year .

Mustapa said the 110km Lojing-Cameron Highlands main road linking Ipoh to Gua Musang was also important to attract people from the western regions of the country to either invest in Gua Musang or eke out a living there.

He also said that more efforts needed to be made to improve the basic infrastructure and amenities that could rival those in other busy districts like Kota Baru, Tumpat or Pasir Mas.

Mustapa also said that thousands of people had migrated to Gua Musang during the 80s and 90s after Felda and Felcra opened up thousands of hectares of land to plant palm oil.

However, the second generation of settlers has moved out of the land settlements and every time the commodity prices of palm oil dropped, they had to seek work elsewhere which resulted in the population dwindling.

This lack of economic activities has greatly slowed down development in Gua Musang.

"That will change in the next five years because funds and allocations will be channelled to Gua Musang as soon as the master plan is completed and accepted by the Federal Government," Mustapa added. -- The Star

Pahang cops clean up online gambling dens

Pahang cops clean up online gambling dens
By Roslina Mohamad
Wednesday September 9, 2009

KUANTAN: Pahang police arrested 14 people in raids on Monday and Tuesday in Cameron Highlands as part of an effort to wipe out Internet gambling in the state.

They also seized 22 computers from two premises in Ringlet and Tanah Rata in an operation dubbed "Ops Dadu" (Dice).

The raids were carried out by officers from the state police contingent headquarters and Cameron Highlands police district.

State CID spokesman Asst Superintendant Noor Asyikin Shamsuri said the first raid was at a snooker outlet at about 9.30pm on Monday in Ringlet.

"The snooker premise has been renovated to include a room with 13 computers.

"There were 11 people including a caretaker in the room and they tried to escape, but the police managed to nab all of them," she said at her office here on Wednesday.

She said those arrested were aged between 18 and 39, and that nine computers were confiscated.

ASP Noor Asyikin said in the second raid carried out at Taman Royal Lily in Tanah Rata at 2pm on Tuesday, three people were arrested, including a caretaker, for allegedly operating an illegal gambling den.

They were aged between 20 and 48, she said, adding that 13 computers were seized. -- The Star

Equatorial Hotel Cameron Highlands MATTA Fair Promotion

Equatorial Hotel Cameron Highlands Cash Voucher is back by popular demand! Yeah, just about every year they will have it and it is quite a deal too judging from the full bookings. In conjunction with the tourism Malaysia MATTA fair here's how it goes: The cash voucher is transferable and is refundable for 50% of the voucher's value if it is not utilized after the expiry date. There will be a further bargain if you purchase more than 10 vouchers at one go during the MATTA Fair from booths 3242 and 3243.

The MATTA Fair is held in PWTC Kuala Lumpur from 4-6 September, 2009 from 10 am to 9pm.

Equatorial Hotel has various vouchers but what we are looking at is the Cameron Highlands offer since this website is about this Malaysian Highlands.

At the Equatorial Hotel Cameron Highlands there is a RM88 Giveaway Deal. Discounted rates start from RM198++ per room/night with daily RM88 nett for food and beverage credit, on a per room per night basis. Unused credit will be refunded at 50% of its value upon departure. With the new Simpang Pulai route, travel time is shortened by one hour (whatever that means...) it is less winding hence making the drive easy and fun.

The Equatorial Hotel Cameron Highlands honeymoon package starts from RM888++. It is inclusive of two nights accommodation in a suite room, strawberryplatter with chocolate dip and welcome drink upon arrival and a candlelight dinner at the romantic Cricket Bistro.

Golf lovers can tee-off at the 18-hole public golf course 10 minutes away from Equatorial Hotel Cameron Highlands. Equatorial's Golf Package starts from RM205++ per person based on twin sharing. The package includes accommodation in the Superior room category and buffet breakfast, one round of 18-hole golf at Cameron Highlands Golf Course, souvenir for golfers, 10% discount on laundry as well as a welcome drink at the Equatorial Hotel Cameron Highlands upon arrival.

For room reservation call 1-800 88 1800

Cheers!