Seremban District

The Seremban District is one of 7 districts in Malaysia. This is where the capital of Negeri Sembilan, Seremban town is located.

Seremban (Jawi: سرمبن; Chinese: 芙蓉) is the capital of the Malaysian state of, Negeri Sembilan located within the District of Seremban, one of the seven districts of Negeri Sembilan. The town's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council also known as  Majis Perandarian Seremban.

On 9 September 2009, Seremban was to be declared as a city; however it was later deferred due to technical reasons. However, the idea of granting city status has been brought up again and Seremban is expected to become a city in the near future.

The state name Negeri Sembilan refers to nine counties which are divided politically, and governed with a degree of autonomy. The figure heads for each region are chosen from the indigenous tribe that predates the arrival of the Minang; however the Minang architectural influences remain in much of the public state architecture.

Toponymy

Seremban was originally founded as Sungei Ujong (or Sungai Ujong), named after a nearby river of the same name. While the town was renamed Seremban thereafter, the Sungai Ujong name most prominently persists as a street name for a road adjoining the southern side of town (Sungai Ujong Road, or Jalan Sungai Ujong).

The town is also referred alternately as "Fu Yong” (Chinese: 芙蓉，literally “hibiscus") among the Chinese speaking community; although the name is unrecognized officially.

Geography

Seremban is situated about 60 kilometers south from Kuala Lumpur (the capital city) and about 30 kilometers inland from the coast. It is in the Linggi River valley, at the foothills of the Titiwangsa Range. The terrain is generally hilly, and the soil is mostly reddish laterite soil, suitable for the cultivation of palm oil and rubber thus making Seremban the agricultural centre for the state. Since the establishment of Seremban, the Linggi River has played an important role in the development of the town. During the boom period of mining Tin, the Linggi River was the major transportation route for tin traders. Today, it is one of the major sources of water for Seremban and Negeri Sembilan.

History

Sungai Ujong came into existence with the discovery of Tin Ore in the 1870s like most major towns in Peninsular Malaysia. The discovery of tin in a nearby area called Rasah saw an influx of Malay and Arab and Chinese immigrants to work on the mines and trade there. Most of the local Malays were farmers.

Renamed to Seremban, the town flourished not only as a mining area but also a business centre. The Linggi River served as the sole outlet to ferry tin and supplies in and out of the town. Revenue came not only from tin trade but also from the large amount of taxes collected, much to the displeasure of the traders and the British Colony at the neighbouring port of Malacca.

The local chieftains, namely the Dato' Kelana and the Dato' Shahbandar of Sungai Ujong were at odds with each other on the rights to collect taxes and ownership and control of the mines. The rivalry to assert influence and authority opened the door for British intervention in Negeri Sembilan. The British sided with the Dato' Kelana upon invitation and defeated the forces of the Dato' Bandar who was later sent into exile to Singapore. In a show of gratitude to the British for helping him win the war, the Dato' Kelana had no choice but to accept a British Resident whose job was to advise him on matters other than religion and customs of Malaya.

Captain Murray was appointed the first resident and later set-up his residence at Channer Road, now renamed Jalan Dato' Siamang Gagap. Soon after, the people living around Rasah moved to Channer Road for the sake of security and its orderly administration.

See

•  Visit State Museum (Muzium Negeri Sembilan) in Jalan Sungai Ujong to see a collection of history of Negeri Sembilam.
• There are also some local art complexes in Seremban such as Cultural Handicraft Complex & Minangkabau House in Jalan Sungai Ujong
• Two zoos in Seremban such as Seremban Animal Park near Taman Setia Jaya; Mini Zoo near Taman Jiboi

Buy

Apart from shopping complexes, Seremban has designated numerous zones in the city to market locally manufactured products such as antiques, textiles, fabrics and handicrafts.

• Sungai Ujong Walk a market located in Jalan Dr. Murugesu
• There is also a flea market in Jalan Utam Singh
• Seremban Parade, a shopping mall located in Bandar Seremban. It has various kind of shops and western-style department store, Parkson

Do

• Visit a popular beach destination at Port Dickson

• Visit a popular waterfalls Jeram Toi Waterfalls

• Visit Seri Menanti Old Palace, the one of the famous landmarks in Negeri Sembilan located in Seri Menanti
• Visit Wet World Pedas Hot Spring. It's 13km away from Seremban.

Get in

By bus

Buses from Thailand, Singapore & other towns of Malaysia stop at the "Terminal One" bus station at the town center. There are also buses from here linking other towns within Negri Sembilan state. There happens to be a shopping mall by the same name linked to this bus station.

By plane

The nearest airport to Seremban is the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), about 30 minutes drive away. In fact, KLIA is nearer to Seremban than Kuala Lumpur!

By car

The old trunk road (Federal Route 1) links Seremban to other towns/cities in Malaysia. The faster alternative is the North-South Expressway (NSE). The nearest exit is no. 218 (Seremban). Seremban is approximately 3 hours drive (non-stop) - 265km from Johor Baru and 45 minutes from Kuala Lumpur, using the NSE.

By train

Seremban is on the main railway line linking Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru. The railway station is located roughly at the town center.

Get around

By car

Driving around Seremban is quite tough during the day with constant streams of busy traffic but not as bad as Kuala Lumpur or Penang Island due its volume. Traffic gets less busy away from the Seremban and Port Dickson toll plazas (towards Seremban 2) and Lake Gardens (Taman Tasik).

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seremban

http://wikitravel.org/en/Seremban