Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: Somban) is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban City Council.
Seremban gained its city status on 20 January 2020. Covering an area of 959 km², Seremban's population is 681,541 as of 2020, making it the tenth largest city in Malaysia and the fifth most populous state capital behind Johor Bahru, Shah Alam, George Town and Ipoh. It is part of the Greater Kuala Lumpur area, situated approximately 55 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur and 37 kilometres south of the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya. Since 2015, Seremban has been the major anchor city of the Malaysia Vision Valley, Negeri Sembilan's main special economic zone spanning the state's western half.
Toponymy
Seremban was founded as Sungei Ujong (or Sungai Ujong). While the town was renamed Seremban thereafter, the name Sungai Ujong most prominently persists as a street name for a road adjoining the southern side of town (Sungai Ujong Road, or Jalan Sungai Ujong). It is also the name of a luak (chiefdom) that formed Negeri Sembilan, that covers the eponymous district as well as neighbouring Port Dickson District.
Among the Chinese-speaking community, the city is known as "fùhyùhng" in Cantonese and "fúróng" in Mandarin (, literally "hibiscus"), which comes from a phonetic approximation of "Ujong" (using the Cantonese reading of the characters). Another more transliterating but uncommon name was Sai-lam-ban ().
History
Sungai Ujong, also known as Sening Ujong, as it was originally known, was an ancient settlement. It has been said in the Malay Annals that King Parameswara reportedly visited Sening Ujong after fleeing the kingdom of Singapura before ultimately establishing the Malacca Sultanate. The same settlement was also referred to as Sang Hyang Ujong in Javanese accounts, notably the Nagarakretagama, as well as Suneujon in Godinho de Erédia's cartographic records, which dates back to 1613. Growth took off, as with most major towns in Peninsular Malaysia, after the discovery of tin ore in the 1870s. The discovery of tin in a nearby area called Rasah saw an influx of Arab, Malay and Chinese immigrants to work on the mines and trade there. Most of the local Malays were farmers.
Renamed as Seremban, the town flourished originally as a mining centre in the 1840s. 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 colonists at the neighbouring port of Malacca.
The local chieftains of the late 19th century, 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 Dato' Kelana upon invitation and defeated Dato' Shahbandar's forces who was later sent into exile to Singapore. In a show of gratitude to the British for helping him win the war, Dato' Kelana had no choice but to accept a British Resident whose job was to advise him on matters other than religion and Malay customs.
Captain Patrick James 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.
City status Before 2020, Seremban was one of four state capitals that had yet to be elevated to city status (Malay: Bandar raya); the other three being Kota Bharu (Kelantan), Kuantan (Pahang) and Kangar (Perlis). To achieve city status, the state government had agreed to merge the Nilai Municipal Council and Seremban Municipal Council, with that decision being approved by the federal government in 2012.
Then Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said during Tuanku Mukhriz's birthday:
On 13 December 2017, then Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Mohamad Hasan stated that Seremban achieve city status in 2018. In order to get city status, both Seremban and Nilai Municipal Councils would be merged to form a new local authority, Seremban City Council. However, he said, the merging of the two entities would not involve reducing staff or higher assessment rates in the Seremban area, as increasing rates was not a prerequisite for attaining city status.
In February 2018, a further announcement was made regarding the formation of Seremban City Hall (Dewan Bandaraya Seremban), which was poised to be completed in April. However, the official declaration of Seremban as a city would only occur in January 2019, in conjunction with the birthday of the state's ruler Tuanku Muhriz (January 14). After the change in the ruling coalition after the 14th General Election ushered in a new state government, the new Mentri Besar Aminuddin Harun announced his decision to push back the official promotion towards the end of the year, citing the inability of contractors to complete refurbishment works at the new City Hall in time. However, the postponement would allow the authorities time to iron out any flaws in Seremban's infrastructure and amenities.
Two municipal administrators, Seremban Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Seremban) and Nilai Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Nilai) officially merged into a new administrator, Seremban City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Seremban) on 1 January 2020. On 20 January, Seremban's status as a city was officialised in a declaration ceremony.
Geography and climate
Seremban is located 30 kilometres inland from the coast. It is situated in the Linggi River valley, at the western fringes of the Titiwangsa Mountains. The terrain is generally hilly, and the soil is mostly reddish laterite soil, suitable for the cultivation of rubber and palm oil, thus making Seremban the agricultural centre for the state. Since the establishment of Seremban, the Linggi River has played an important role in the city's growth. During the boom period of tin mining, the Linggi River served as the major transportation route for tin traders. Today, it is one of the major sources of water for the Seremban metropolitan area and Negeri Sembilan.
The climate of Seremban, like most parts of Peninsular Malaysia, is generally hot and humid (tropical) with a mean temperature of about 26–30 degrees Celsius. Most of the rainfall is experienced during the inter-monsoon periods of April and October. The weather remains generally dry for the rest of the year with occasional showers.
Transportation
Rail and air The rail connection was first constructed in the late 1890s as a stop on the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore main line, and until today, the Seremban railway station still serves as one of the major stops along the line. The station also serves as the southern terminal of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu electrified commuter network, KTM Komuter, which links the city to Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley on the Batu Caves–Pulau Sebang Line. From October 2015 to November 2016, the Komuter service has been extended to Gemas, though passengers used to be required to alight at Seremban and switch trains to the Gemas extension line (much akin to the Tanjung Malim–Rawang stretch). However, after 2016, all KTM Komuter trains run to Sungai Gadut or Pulau Sebang-Tampin without requiring to alight at Seremban.
Negeri Sembilan is one of the two states in Malaysia that are not accessible via air transportation (Perlis being the other state). However, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is less than 30 minutes drive from Seremban, essentially making the airport closer to Seremban rather than Kuala Lumpur.
Road Federal Route 1 is the oldest roadway that connects the towns and cities of the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia running through Seremban. It connects Seremban with Rembau and Tampin to the south and Kajang, Selangor to the north. Seremban provides access to Kuala Klawang through Federal Route 86, Kuala Pilah to the east through Federal Route 51 and the coastal town of Port Dickson through Federal Route 53 or SPDH to the west. The North–South Expressway serves Seremban at 4 exits (Exit 217 at Bandar Ainsdale, Exit 218 at Seremban, Exit 219 at Seremban-Port Dickson and Exit 220 at Senawang). The LEKAS Highway links Kajang in Selangor to Paroi on the eastern end of Seremban. The Jalan Labu Federal Route 362 connects Seremban to Labu and Nilai and Jalan Sungai Ujong Federal Route 241 serves Seremban 2 and Bandar Sri Sendayan.
Demographics According to the 2024 census, nearly 700,000 people currently reside in the administrative district of Seremban - over half of Negeri Sembilan's total population. They consist of 52.2% Bumiputera, 24.2% Chinese and 15.8% Indian and 7.8% others including non-citizens. There are an additional 31,513 non-citizens.
Ethnic groups in Seremban, 2020 census Ethnicity Population Percentage Bumiputera 290,282 59.2% Chinese 134,572 17.2% Indian 108,176 15.8% Others 2,392 0.4% Non-citizens 31,513 7.4% Total 566,935 100%
Culture
Historically, Negeri Sembilan is influenced by the Minangkabau and thus, Seremban is the centre of Minangkabau culture in Malaysia. The Minangkabau, which literally means "winning buffalo", are famous for their unique roof architecture which resembles buffalo horns. Many Seremban buildings showcase this feature, such as the City Council Hall, the Wisma Negeri and the State Museum.
People of Negeri Sembilan are also known for the practising of the matrilineal custom called Adat Perpatih (Minangkabau language: Lareh Bodi Caniago), making Negeri Sembilan the only matrilineal state in Malaysia. The majority of Malaysia's states adhere to the patrilineal Adat Temenggung.
Cuisine Seremban is a culinary melting pot, where Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisines intermingle. The cuisine of the Negeri Sembilan Malays is heavily influenced by Minangkabau cuisine, that their traditional dishes bear semblance to those from West Sumatra. One of the local dishes is masak lemak cili api which is fish or meat cooked in coconut gravy mixed with turmeric and cili padi, touted as Negeri Sembilan's most recognizable dish nationwide.
Seremban is famous for baked crabs with many establishments situated along Jalan Tuanku Munawir () and beef noodles (), especially those beef noodles food stalls that have survived for more than a generation. Nowadays, these beef noodles attract tourists from outside the state to Seremban with its thick, slick gravy and peppery, sticky sauce sprinkled with peanuts, salted vegetables, spring onions and sesame seeds. Yee sang (), an elaborate raw fish salad popularly served during Chinese New Year, is said to have been originated from Seremban, owing to the city's large Cantonese populace. Siew Pau (), another well known Serembanite Cantonese food, is a variation of the cha siu bao, which is baked instead of steamed. The buns are filled with barbecued meat, traditionally pork, and sometimes chicken as a halal alternative.
Local desserts include air batu campur, which is shaved ice with brown sugar syrup and rose flavouring, corn, beans; and cendol. To date, the cendol in Seremban is touted to be better than renowned Teochew cendol of Penang.
Sports
Seremban currently serves as the home ground of Negeri Sembilan FC football team. The team is the state representative of Negeri Sembilan in the first tier Malaysia Super League. They play their home games in the 45,000 capacity Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium which is located in Paroi on the eastern outskirt of the city.
Tourism