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Kuantan City
Kuantan
كوانتن
Location in Malaysia
Location in Malaysia
Coordinates: 3°49′00″N 102°25′00″E / 3.81667°N 102.41667°E / 3.81667; 102.41667
CountryMalaysia
StatePahang
EstablishmentLate 19th century (early township)
Government
 • MayorAzizan Bin Ahmad
Area
 • Total
2,960 km2 (1,143 sq mi)
Elevation
21.95 m (72 ft)
Population
 (2005)
 • Total
394,500
 • Density133/km2 (345/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)Not observed
Websitehttp://mpk.gov.my/
Mean solar timeUTC+06:46:48

Kuantan is the state capital of Pahang, the largest state in Peninsular Malaysia. It is situated near Kuantan River mouth and facing the South China Sea. The town comprises 58% of Malays, 32% of Chinese, 4% of Indian and 6% of other races. If measuring the distance along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is located roughly halfway from Singapore to Kota Bharu.

The Pahang state government shifted the administrative centre of Pahang from Kuala Lipis to Kuantan in 1955.

History

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Kuantan is believed to have been established since the 1850s. The existence of Kuantan had been recorded by Abdullah Abdul Kadir Munshi circa 1851/2 as below:

"On Thursday night came a boat from KUANTAN. Then it told the ship crews there's a pirate ship at Tanjung Tujuh, forty of them and at Pulau Kapas, and as well as at Pulau Redang; it is spotted by two Kuantan boat and they set off...."

In its early days it is known as Kampung Teruntum (Teruntum Village). It is situated around the mouth of Sungai Teruntum which is in front of the current hospital and has been established by Haji Senik and his followers in 1850s. Their primary economic activities is fishing and small businesses. The prime proof of establishment of the village is the cemetery that is situated near Taman Esplanade in front of the current Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA).

Towards the late 19th century, settlement of Chinese miners and traders saw the early establishment of township in Kuantan and also nearby tin mines such as Gambang and Sungai Lembing. As happened to other states in the Peninsular, rubber plantations attracted Indian settlers as well.

Economic Activities

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Known as a tropical getaway, one of its major economic activities is tourism. Domestically it is famous for the production of handicrafts, batik and keropok lekor. Serving as the administrative and commercial capital of Pahang, trade and commerce largely supports the economy of the town.

Timber industry and fishing industry also play vital roles in the local economy.

Other than tourism and business, Kuantan also has a strong presence of petrochemical industries, mostly located in Gebeng, an industrial area about 25 km to the north of Kuantan. Among the major companies operating at 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 all-weather port with sophisticated facilities to handle various kind of cargoes including containers, liquid, dry bulk and break bulk. Facing South China Sea, it has been privatised since 1998 and is currently the leading maritime trade and logistics centre in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Infrastructure

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Kuantan is connected to Kuala Lumpur via the East Coast Highway and Karak Highway. The East Coast Highway 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 service to Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The same runway is also used by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, which operates MIG-29s from the nearby Kuantan 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.

Education

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There are many institutes of higher learning available in Kuantan. They are either categorised as Institut Pengajian Tinggi Awam (IPTA) or Institut Pengajian Tinggi Swasta (IPTS). IPTA is run and managed by the government. The Lists of IPTA:

IPTS is run by private sector, The Lists of IPTS :

Secondary school (high school) education is provided by the means of Sekolah Kebangsaan (National School), Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (National-type School) and religious school (eg : SMA Al-Ihsan). All of them operate on a syllabus and curriculum provided and regulated by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia).

Besides this, international schools which do not follow the Malaysian education system are in existence, namely the Garden International School (preschool to grade 6) and the International School of Kuantan (grades 6 to 12).

Tourism

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Teluk Cempedak Beach, Kuantan
 
State Mosque, Kuantan

Kuantan's main sightseeing attraction is the beach of Teluk Cempedak. There are also other scenic beaches popular with vacationers in the city's vicinity, such as Batu Hitam, Balok, and Cherating. Nearby Cherating Club Med, there is a Turtle Sanctuary. A few kilometers away from Cherating is Pulau Ular (Snake Island). A legend could be heard here about 'the snake and the fishing village'.

Kuantan is also known to tourists for its waterfalls. The most established one is Sg. Pandan Water Fall. Two other waterfalls are Sg. Berkelah Water Fall and Jerangkang Waterfall. There are also 3 parks within the city. There are the Gelora Park, Teruntum Mini Zoo and Agriculture Park at Indera Mahkota. A small park located in front of the Hospital is named Esplande Park. Here it is possible to take a river cruise from the small jetty. The Kuantan area also produces handicrafts and batik. Other tourist attractions include the State Mosque (Masjid Negeri).

The main shopping facilities in Kuantan include Berjaya Megamall, Kuantan Parade, Kuantan Plaza, Teruntum Complex and Kuantan Square. The first commercial cum travel centre in the East Coast of Malaysia, Putra Square MSC Kuantan, is currently under construction.

The only 5-star hotel in Kuantan is Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort while the 4-star hotels include MS Garden Hotel, Mariana Beach Resort and The Legend Resort. Beach resorts are often chosen by foreign visitors. 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.

Food

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Kuantan is also famous for its fried fish crackers (called keropok) and salted fish, where the fish are marinated mainly with salt and left out to dry in the sun for days and also for its 'Ikan Bakar' or grilled fish at Tanjung Lumpur.

Also, very popular sold by street vendors especially at the fascinating night markets are; the various meat varieties of satay which is in a peanut sauce coating & there is roti canai, an unrisen bread like a thick chapati in a unique curry style sauce.

Another famous dish is roti nan and ayam tandoori. Roti nan looks almost identical to roti canai except for the facts that it is bigger in size and is less oily. Tandoori chicken is a type of barbecued chicken seasoned with a special sauce. It is served as a side dish to roti nan. Although the chicken can be eaten without roti nan and still tastes great, it taste better if being consumed together with the bread.

Many types of local food can be found in the Pasar at the town central. A variety of famous Kuala Lipis noodle is at the corner of the Pasar entrance.

A good Malay restaurant, Zaman, (breakfast & lunch) is located 6KM from Kuantan on the Kuantan-Gambang expressway. The restaurant is a household name among the locals. Its most famous dish is nasi lemak.

Popular local breakfast includes beef noodle in Jalan Beserah & "Men Fan Gou" in Jalan Air Putih.

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  •  
    Kuantan main street
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    Another view of the main street, looking south.
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    Intersection of Jalan Mahkota and Jalan Bukit Ubi
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    Old & new buildings co-exist.
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    Helipad at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan.
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    Batu Hitam, famous for its "black rock".

Trivia

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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kuantan.

[[Category:|Towns in Pahang]] [[Category:|Port cities in Asia]] [[Category:|State capitals in Malaysia]]

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