Pahang (pop. 1,500,807) is an eastern state of Peninsular Malaysia. It is bounded by Terengganu and Kelantan to the north, by Perak and Selangor to the west, and by Negeri Sembilan and Johor to the south. The South China Sea lies to the east.
About 80 percent of the population are Malay, 15 percent Chinese, and 5 percent Indian. The population lives mainly on the coast, along the rivers, and on the eastern slopes of the mountains in the west. In the mountainous interior, there are large communities of Malaysia’s Indigenous peoples, known as Orang Asli. The name in Malay means original people. The Orang Asli were the first inhabitants of the interior area of Peninsular Malaysia.
Agriculture is an important source of employment. The main agricultural products are palm oil and rubber. Cocoa, tea, and vegetables are also important. The timber industry uses the resources of Pahang’s great forests, and extracting and processing timber provides employment.
The state has substantial mineral resources. In the 1980’s, offshore natural gas and oil were discovered in commercial quantities near Kuantan. This discovery led to the establishment of processing and servicing facilities.
There has been human settlement in Pahang since prehistoric times. Archaeologists found Stone Age remains on the banks of the Tembeling River. In the 1200’s, Pahang was a dependency of the Sumatran kingdom of Srivijaya.
In the 1300’s, the area came under control of the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit. Chinese sources show that in this period Pahang built up a thriving foreign trade. In the 1400’s, the powerful kingdom of Melaka ruled Pahang, and the son of the Melaka ruler was installed as the sultan of Pahang. The British came to the region at the end of the 1800’s. They believed that Pahang contained vast mineral wealth, including deposits of gold and tin.
In 1887, the sultan of Pahang accepted the appointment of a British agent to open the state to “commerce and civilization.” Later the British also appointed a government official called a resident to assist in the administration of Pahang. Although some local leaders cooperated with the British, there was considerable opposition to the new rulers. In 1891, a district chief named Dato Bahaman led an open rebellion against the British. Order was restored in 1895.
In 1896, the British formed the Federated Malay States, which included Pahang. The pace of economic change in Pahang was slow. Although there was some tin mined near the Selangor and Terengganu borders, the mineral wealth of the state was not as great as had been hoped. Communications both into and within the state were poor, and this lack of contact limited the development of commercial crops. In 1948, Pahang joined the Federation of Malaya, which became independent from British rule in 1957.
