Kuantan
| Kuantan كوانتن |
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  Kuantan
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country |  Malaysia |
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| State |  Pahang |
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| Establishment | 1851 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Azizan Ahmad | ||
| - MPs | Fuziah Salleh (PKR) Azan Ismail (PKR) Abdul Manan Ismail (BN) |
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| Area | |||
| - Total | 2,960 km² (1,143 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 21.95 m (72 ft) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| - Total | 552,500 | ||
| - Density | 177/km² (457/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | MST (UTC+8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Not observed (UTC) | ||
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| Website: http://mpk.gov.my/ | |||
Kuantan (Jawi:كوانتن) is the state capital of Pahang, the largest state in Peninsular Malaysia. It is situated near the mouth of the Kuantan River and faces the South China Sea. The population of Kuantan is 58% Malay, 32% Chinese, 4% Indian and 6% other races. If one measures the distance along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is located roughly halfway between Singapore and Kota Bharu. Kuantan's population is approximately 552,500 and it is the 9th largest city in Malaysia.
The Pahang state government shifted the administrative centre of Pahang from Kuala Lipis to Kuantan in 1955.
Recently, the National Physical Plan 2005 identified Kuantan as one of the future growth centres and a hub for trade, commerce, transportation and tourism.
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History
Pre-historical of Kuantan wasn't found. Kuantan in the first century was actually a part of Chih-Tu empire where mostly the native people are Chinese-Siamese. In 11th century, this piece of land was conquer by another small empire called Pheng-Kheng before taken over by the Siamese during 12th century. During the 15th century, she was taken rule by the Malacca Empire.
Kuantan is said to have been founded in the 1850s. The word "Kuantan" was mentioned by Abdullah Abdul Kadir (Munshi Abdullah) circa 1851/2 as below:
"On Thursday night came a boat from KUANTAN. Then they told the ship's crew there's a pirate ship at Tanjung Tujuh, forty of them and at Pulau Kapas, and as well at Pulau Redang; it was spotted by two Kuantan boats and they set off...."
In its early days, it was known as Kampung Teruntum (Teruntum Village). The village was situated at the mouth of Teruntum River which is in front of the current hospital and it was established by Haji Senik and his followers in the 1850s. Early primary economic activities included fishing and small businesses. The main evidence of the establishment of the village is the cemetery that is situated near Taman Esplanade in front of the current Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan.
Towards the late 19th century, arrival of Chinese miners and traders saw the establishment of a township in Kuantan and also nearby tin mining areas such as Gambang and Sungai Lembing. Similar to what occurred in other states in Peninsular Malaysia, rubber plantations attracted Indian settlers as well.
Economic Activities
Known as a tropical getaway, one of its major economic activities is tourism. Domestically, it is famous for the production of handicrafts, batik, keropok (dried fish crackers) and salted fish. Kuantan serves as the administrative and commercial capital of Pahang. Trade and commerce are also important in the economy of the town.
The timber industry and the fishing industry also play vital roles in the local economy.
Other than tourism and business, Kuantan also witnesses the strong presence of petrochemical industries, mostly located in Gebeng, an industrial area about 25 km north of Kuantan. Among the major companies operating in Gebeng Industrial Area are BASF PETRONAS Chemicals, BP Chemicals, MTBE,Flexsys, Eastman Chemical, Kaneka, Polyplastics, Mieco, KNM, JiKang, W.R. Grace, Cryovac, PPSC, AMC, etc.
Kuantan Port, situated just 5 km to the east of Gebeng Industrial Area, is a multipurpose port capable of handling various kinds of cargo including containers, liquids, dry and break bulk cargoes. Facing the South China Sea, it has been privatised since 1998.
Infrastructure
Kuantan is connected to Kuala Lumpur via the East Coast Expressway and Karak Expressway. The East Coast Expressway also links Kuantan to other major towns in Pahang although locals still prefer the old trunk road. Two other important east coast towns are Kota Bharu and Kuala Terengganu, connected via coastal trunk roads.
Kuantan Airport is located just 15km from the city and is operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. It has daily shuttle services to Kuala Lumpur and Penang via Malaysia Airlines, low-cost subsidiary Firefly and Air Asia. The same runway is also used by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, which operates MIG-29s from the nearby Kuantan Royal Malaysian Air Force base.
Medical needs are served by several hospitals and clinics. The main hospital is Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, which is equipped with various state-of-the-art equipment such as a CT scanner and MRI. It also serves as the teaching hospital for the Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia. A Community Health Centre serves suburbs such as Beserah, while smaller clinics are situated in smaller suburbs such as Bandar Indera Mahkota. Two private medical centres also operate in Kuantan, namely the Kuantan Medical Centre and Kuantan Specialist Hospital.
Kuantan has plans for massive infrastructural developments which is expected to come to fruition by 2012; Kuantan Sentral, in Bukit Goh will be built as one of the main components of The Planned Kuantan Metropolis. This state of the art transportation hub will also include the first Malaysian Trans-City-Speed Train connecting Kuantan and the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur through Kuala Lumpur Sentral.
Kuantan is also planning the development of the first lagoon park in the east coast , Bukit Gambang Resort City. BGRC, a resort located on the Gambang Interchange will be one of the biggest and important projects in the history of Kuantan.
Education
There are many institutes of higher learning in Kuantan. They are either categorised as Institut Pengajian Tinggi Awam (IPTA) or Institut Pengajian Tinggi Swasta (IPTS).
Secondary school (high school) education is provided by the Sekolah Kebangsaan (National School eg Saint Thomas Primary and Secondary school that is no.1 in Pahang), Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (National-type School) and religious schools (eg, SMA Al-Ihsan). All of them follow the syllabus and curriculum provided and regulated by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia).
Alternatives to national education are provided by international schools which do not follow the Malaysian education curriculum. These international schools include the Garden International School (preschool to grade 6) and the International School of Kuantan (grades 6 to 12).
See also : List of educational institutes in Kuantan
Tourism
Kuantan's main sightseeing attraction is the beach at Teluk Cempedak. There are also other scenic beaches popular with vacationers in the city's vicinity, such as Batu Hitam, Balok, and Cherating. Near Cherating (Club Med is located here) is a Turtle Sanctuary. A few kilometers away from Cherating is Pulau Ular (Snake Island). There is a legend connected with this island.
Kuantan is also known to tourists for its waterfalls. The most well-known is the Sungai Pandan Water Fall. Two other waterfalls are the Sungai Berkelah Waterfall and the Jerangkang Waterfall. There are also 3 parks within the city. These are the Gelora Park, Teruntum Mini Zoo and Agriculture Park at Indera Mahkota. A small park located in front of the Hospital is named the Esplanade Park. Here, it is possible to go on a river cruise from the small jetty. The Kuantan area also produces handicrafts and batik. Other tourist attractions include the State Mosque (Masjid Negeri).
There is an interesting Tin Museum in the former mining town of Sungai Lembing. Sungai Lembing is located about 26 km northwest of Kuantan and it used to contain the world's deepest underground tin mines. Just north of the Tin Museum is a "hanging bridge" (jambatan bergantung). Access to this bridge is via a narrow, winding road at the base of the entrance to the Tin Museum. On the Kuantan-Sungai Lembing road at the hamlet of Pancing, there is a limestone mountain which houses a large reclining Buddha in one of its caves (Pancing Cave or Carah Cave).
The main shopping malls in Kuantan include East Coast Mall, Berjaya Megamall, Kuantan Parade, Kuantan Plaza, Teruntum Complex and Kuantan Square.
The only 5-star hotel in Kuantan is Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort while the 4-star hotels include Vistana Hotel Kuantan, MS Garden Hotel, Mariana Beach Resort and The Legend Resort. Visitors often prefer the beach resorts. The more popular ones include De Rhu Beach Resort, Cherating Holiday Villa Beach Resort, Swiss-Garden Resort, Impiana Resort, Club Med Cherating, and the Legend Resort.
Transportation
By air - Kuantan's Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport. It's the only airport in Pahang State that is controlled by Malaysia Airport Bhd.. Currently, there are three airlines that fly to Kuantan, namely, Malaysia Airline System (MAS), Firefly and the latest, AirAsia. AirAsia may also decide to let Kuantan be its eastern hub, with planned international flights such as Kuantan-Bangkok, Kuantan-Singapore and Kuantan-Jakarta. Currently, the planes from Kuantan fly only to KLIA, Penang Bayan Lepas International Airport, Kuala Terengganu and Taipei.
By land - Kuantan is now more accessible by road transportation than before primarily because of the opening of East Coast Expressway that links Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur via Karak and also Gombak. This highway will soon link Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu. Or if you’re coming from Singapore, you can also take the scenic coastal road from Johor Bahru to Mersing passing through Kuala Rompin and Pekan and then up north to Kuantan. This route winds through verdant forests and small coastal towns, and a stretch of beautiful quiet beaches at Rompin and Lanjut. Also, you can take the Tun Razak Highway 12 that runs from the town of Segamat, Johor to Gambang before proceed to the Gambang-Kuantan Highway 2.
Alternatively, express buses to Kuantan also depart from Kuala Lumpur. Tickets for these buses are available from Pudu Raya Bus Station or Titiwangsa Bus Station in Kuala Lumpur. These express buses will stop at the Kuantan Bus Station. There's also local bus services which stationed at the local bus station in Jalan Besar next to the Kuantan River. This bus station provides bus services to Cherating, Pekan, Jengka and nearby destinations.
Food
Kuantan is famous for its delicious fish crackers (called keropok in Malay) and salted fish, where the fish are marinated mainly with salt and left out to dry in the sun for days. 'Ikan Bakar' or grilled fish can be purchased at Tanjung Lumpur.
Also very popular and sold by street vendors (especially at the fascinating night markets) are: the various varieties of satay which consists of grilled meat on a stick which is dipped into a peanut sauce & roti canai, a thick chapati-like bread dipped in a unique curry style sauce.
Recommended ethnic Indian dishes include the roti naan and ayam tandoori.
Many types of local food can be found at the Pasar (Market) at the town centre. A variety of Kuala Lipis noodles are available at the corner of the Pasar's entrance.
A good Malay restaurant, Zaman, (breakfast & lunch) is located 6KM from Kuantan on the Kuantan-Gambang expressway. The restaurant is a household name amongst the locals. Its most famous dish is nasi lemak.
Popular among the locals are the beef noodles at Jalan Beserah & handmade noodles "Men Fan Gou" at Jalan Air Putih. Also popular is a dish of pork ribs and rice known as bak kut teh. Purportedly, the best bak kut teh is served at the 'Bah Kut Teh Master' restaurant, located at Jalan Dato' Wong Ah Jang area, a stone's throw away from Kuantan Parade.
Climate
Climatological Information
| Month | Minimum Temperature (deg. Celsius) | Maximum Temperature (deg. Celsius) | Mean Total Rainfall (mm) | Mean Number of Raindays |
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| January | 21.9 | 29.5 | 279.8 | 12 |
| February | 22.1 | 30.7 | 140.3 | 9 |
| March | 22.7 | 31.7 | 168.6 | 9 |
| April | 23.3 | 32.8 | 150.0 | 10 |
| May | 23.6 | 33.2 | 172.4 | 12 |
| June | 23.4 | 32.9 | 164.1 | 10 |
| July | 23.0 | 32.5 | 155.7 | 10 |
| August | 23.0 | 32.6 | 178.1 | 12 |
| September | 23.0 | 32.4 | 207.5 | 14 |
| October | 23.0 | 32.0 | 264.6 | 16 |
| November | 22.9 | 30.5 | 412.9 | 19 |
| December | 22.5 | 29.1 | 598.2 | 17 |
Usually, Kuantan experiences two seasons per year, i.e. the Dry and Hot Season and also the Rainy Season. The Dry and Hot Season occurs when seasonal south-west winds blow from Sumatra toward the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia but are blocked by the Titiwangsa Mountain Range. The temperature may reach 40 degrees Celsius. The Rainy Season usually occurs between October to March. During this season, the north-east winds bring rain to Kuantan. It can get very cloudy with a large amount of rainfall. Floods may also occur. Areas subject to possible flooding include the road to Sungai Lembing and also a few areas along the Kuantan River.
In 2006, Kuantan experienced significant air pollution that affected visibility because of the haze blowing in from Sumatra and the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Future Development
Kuantan will see many new developments including the relocation of the state administration centre to its proposed site in Bandar Indera Mahkota. Two tourist villages will be further developed, namely Cherating and Pantai Sepat.
A conceptual idea has been initiated for a high-speed train linking Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan.
Another project is for Kuantan to become a regional conurbation on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is possible that Kuantan will be declared a city in 2008 or 2009.
Gallery
Trivia
- The historic sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse took place off the coast of Kuantan on 10 December 1941.
- Kuantan is notably mentioned in the Command & Conquer backstory as being a major base of operations of the Brotherhood of Nod.
External links
- Pahang Tourism Offical Website
- Satellite Image of Kuantan City
- Weather forecast for Kuantan City
- Kuantan travel guide from Wikitravel
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East Coast Economic Region (ECER)