science

Taman Negara

Taman Negara is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Taman Negara rather than just read about it. In short: Taman Negara is a national park in Peninsular Malaysia. It was established in 1938 and 1939 as the King George V National Park after Theodore Hubback lobbied the sultans of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan to set aside a piece of land that covers the three states for the creation of a protected area.

Key takeaways

Taman Negara belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Taman Negara to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Taman Negara from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Taman Negara is a national park in Peninsular Malaysia. It was established in 1938 and 1939 as the King George V National Park after Theodore Hubback lobbied the sultans of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan to set aside a piece of land that covers the three states for the creation of a protected area. After independence, it was renamed Taman Negara, which means "national park" in Malay. Taman Negara has a total area of 4,343 km2 and it is one of the world's oldest rainforests, estimated to be more than 130 million years old. Mount Tahan, Peninsular Malaysia's highest point with an elevation of 7,175 ft (2,187 m) above sea level, is within the park's boundaries. Taman Negara is an important conservation area for the Peninsular Malaysian rain forest and montane rain forest ecoregions, is rich in biodiversity and home to several endangered species such as the Malayan tiger and Asian elephant. The park exists on the traditional lands of several Orang Asli groups, such as the Batek people, whose use rights are recognised in the park's legislation. A popular tourist attraction, the park is found near Kuala Tahan (where the Park headquarters for Pahang is located) and features a canopy walkway, the Gua Telinga cave system, and the Lata Berkoh rapids. Visitors can experience the tropical rainforest, birdwatching, jungle trekking, and the river views along the Tahan River, with many local resorts and hotels for visitors located nearby.

Geography

The park encompasses three states, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu, each with its own legislation. The Taman Negara Enactment (Pahang) No. 2 of 1939 is enforced in the state of Pahang, the Taman Negara Enactment (Kelantan) No. 14 of 1938 in the state of Kelantan and the Taman Negara Enactment (Terengganu) No. 6 of 1939 in the state of Terengganu. The enactments have similar contents. Taman Negara Pahang is the largest at 2,477 km2, followed by Taman Negara Kelantan at 1,043 km2 and Taman Negara Terengganu at 853 km2. At an estimated age of more than 130 million years old, it is reputed to be the "oldest tropical rainforest", although the title more accurately belongs to the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia, estimated to be between 135 million years old and 180 million years old. Taman Negara is mostly located on ancient, sedimentary rocks and the oldest part of the continent, it features mostly gentle rolling hills where about 57% of the total land area of the park are located below 300m above sea level due to a long time erosion. Despite that, it also features some mountainous parts of the Tahan Range, a subrange of the Tenasserim Hills. The Tahan Range is home to Mount Tahan, the highest and most prominent point in Peninsular Malaysia at about 2,187m above sea level. The park acts as an important headwater for the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. There are three main river systems that originated from The park, which are the Lebir, Terengganu and Tembeling Rivers. The Lebir is one of the tributaries of the Kelantan River, flowing northward passing through Kelantan Delta, while the Terengganu River flows eastward toward Kenyir Lake and is one of the primary inflow for the lake; and Tembeling River is one of the tributaries of the Pahang River, flowing southward towards the central valley of Pahang. These rivers ultimately discharge into the South China Sea. The park has been developed into an ecotourism destination in Malaysia. There are several geological and biological attractions in the park. Gunung Tahan is the highest point of the Malay Peninsula; climbers can use Kuala Tahan or Merapoh as their departure point. All visitors to the park must obtain permits from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Indigenous people

Taman Negara is part of the traditional territory of several groups of Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia. In particular, several groups of Batek people still live on the periphery of the park. The park legislation recognises use-rights of Orang Asli within Taman Negara (e.g. section 15(c), Pahang En. 2/1939). In this regard, six "aboriginal tribes" are listed (Ple, Temiar, Ple-Temiar, Senoi, Semang, and Pangan).

Flora Taman Negara features a largely virgin, lowland dipterocarp rainforest as well as Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests on the higher elevation parts of the park.

Fauna

Taman Negara is home to some rare mammals, such as the Malayan tiger, Malayan gaur (seladang) and Asian elephant. Additionally, some biologists also believe that a small population of Northern Sumatran Rhinoceros live in the park. As well as birds such as the great argus, red junglefowl, and the rare Malayan peacock-pheasant are still found here in some numbers. Tahan River has been preserved to protect the Malaysian mahseer (ikan kelah in Malay), a type of game fish. Species found in the park include 10,000 plants, 150,000 of insects, 25,000 invertebrates, 675 birds, 270 reptiles, 250 freshwater fish and 200 mammals at the national park, including some of which are rare or indigenous to Malaysia.

Transportation

Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM)'s KTM Intercity and Express trains stop at Jerantut railway station. Visitors to Taman Negara can disembark here. Local tour operators arrange transportation from Kuala Lumpur to the entrance of the Park at Kuala Tahan. This may involve a 3-4 hour bus journey to Jerantut and Kuala Tembeling Jetty followed by a 2.5 hour river boat ride to Kuala Tahan. Entrance permits and park tours are often included in the package. From Kuala Lumpur, buses may depart from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan and Hentian Pekeliling going to the nearest town, Jerantut. From here travel to Kuala Tembeling Jetty and Kuala Tahan.

In the media Taman Negara was featured in cartoonist, Lat's 1980 compilation of New Straits Times cartoons, With a Little Bit of Lat, published in 1980 by Berita Publishing. The park also became the subject matter in 1998 documentary film, Taman Negara: Destinasi Alam Semulajadi, produced by Filem Negara Malaysia. Taman Negara is featured in the first episode of the Apple TV+ docuseries, The Wild Ones.

See also List of national parks of Malaysia Gunung Tahan, the highest point in Peninsular Malaysia List of old-growth forests

References

External links

Taman Negara travel guide from Wikivoyage Tourism Malaysia - Taman Negara Department of Wildlife and National Parks Jerantut KTM Railway Station

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Taman Negara

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Taman Negara claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Taman Negara before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Taman Negara ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Taman Negara

In research: Taman Negara appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Taman Negara in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Taman Negara is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1939 establishments in British Malaya, ASEAN heritage parks, Birdwatching sites in Malaysia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Taman Negara outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Taman Negara in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Taman Negara means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Taman Negara out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Taman Negara in simple terms?

Why does Taman Negara matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Taman Negara?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Taman Negara.