Muntok as a cultural landscape

The abundance of natural resources has influenced the cultural landscape of Muntok. It is blessed with hills, forests, rivers, and beaches that attracted people of various cultural backgrounds to settle. Besides its unique landscape, Muntok was famous for its commodities such as tin and pepper in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The Malay, Chinese, European, and Arab clusters are the legacy of the commodities trade in Muntok. However, nowadays, the landscape is polluted by illegal tin mining. If this practice continues, it will further destroy the environment and Muntok's cultural heritage. This paper investigates Muntok's tangible and intangible values as a cultural landscape after the golden era of tin mining using a qualitative research methodology. This paper maps Muntok's natural landscape from the hills to the shore, especially focusing on water-related aspects of the landscape. A series of in-depth interviews with locals forms the basis for a discussion of lost intangible values due to the destruction of the natural landscape. As a preliminary study, this paper proposes policy recommendations on conservation and development planning in Muntok. The paper also highlights Muntok's potential to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in the future.