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Pekan
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Located on the banks of the Pahang River 50 km south of Kuantan, Pekan is the royal town of the state of Pahang Darul Makmur. The royal town of Pekan get its name from a flower called Bunga Pekan. Pekan is also the name of the district the town in situated in and a parliamentary constituency in its own right. It is the home of the state's royal family headed by Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta'in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mu'adzam Shah .
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Encyclopedia
Located on the banks of the Pahang River 50 km south of Kuantan, Pekan is the royal town of the state of Pahang Darul Makmur. The royal town of Pekan get its name from a flower called Bunga Pekan. Pekan is also the name of the district the town in situated in and a parliamentary constituency in its own right. It is the home of the state's royal family headed by Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta'in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mu'adzam Shah . It is also the hometown of the second Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the current Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Najib is also Pekan's current Member of Parliament.
The Masjid Abdullah, which dates from the 1920s and the newer Masjid Abu Bakar is near the Sultan Abu Bakar Museum.
History
According to the old folk, Pekan derived its name from Bunga Pekan, a type of flower that grows wild at the banks of Pahang River. The river at the Pekan town (near Mengkasar village) is also called Pekan River, however no source claimed Pekan got its name from this river. Based on other source, the name "Pekan" came from the word "Pekan Pahang" (town of Pahang). For easier pronunciation, the locals simply called it "Pekan" and the name still used till now.
Pekan town is said to exist since 17 century. However, there's no exact date about the establishment of Pekan but several Arabs and Chinese writer did mentioned about Pekan then.
The villagers at Kampong Mengkasar, about two kilometers before reaching Pekan from Kuantan, is said to be direct descendants of Tok Tuan from Makassar in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Among the well known figures, Tun Abdul Razak, was known to be recognised as having a Sulawesi heritage.
Federal Parliament and State Assembly Seats
Pekan district representative in the Federal Parliament (Dewan Rakyat)
| Parliament | Seat Name | Member of Parliament | Party |
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| P85 | Pekan | Najib Tun Razak | BN
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List of Pekan district representatives in the State Legislative Assembly (Dewan Undangan Negeri)
| Parliament | State | Seat Name | State Assemblyman | Party |
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| P85 | N20 | Pulau Manis | Khairuddin Mahmud | BN |
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| P85 | N21 | Peramu Jaya | Ibrahim Awang Mahmud | BN |
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| P85 | N22 | Bebar | Ishak Muhamad | BN |
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| P85 | N23 | Chini | Abu Bakar Harun | BN |
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Subdistricts
Pekan has 11 mukim or subdistricts.
- Bebar (176,400 Ha)
- Penyor (73,600 Ha)
- Lepar (47,100 Ha)
- Pulau Manis (22,000 Ha)
- Pekan (17,300 Ha) (Capital)
- Temai (12,700 Ha)
- Ganchong (11,4000 Ha)
- Langgar (9,600 Ha)
- Kuala Pahang (3,900 Ha)
- Pahang Tua (3,900 Ha)
- Pulau Rusa (2,600 Ha)
Transportation
From Kuantan, Pekan is accessible by 3 route, namely Tanjung Lumpur Highway (Federal Route ) which runs through Tanjung Lumpur, Penor and Ceruk Paloh, Jalan Pekan (Federal Route and ) and also through Gambang, Pahang by Tun Razak Highway (Federal Route ). From Kuala Lumpur, take the East Coast Expressway and exit at the Gambang Interchange. Then, take the Tun Razak Highway. From Johor, take the scenic coastal road passing through Kuala Rompin. Alternately, there's also Tun Razak Highway that links Segamat and Kuantan.
Places of Interest
Sultan Abu Bakar Museum
The museum displays many artifacts which are important in the state's history and the local Malay culture. The museum was officially opened by Sultan Ahmad Shah in October 1976. It is located in the former residence of the British Resident, which was built in 1929. It was acquired by the Sultan of Pahang in 1948 and was renamed Kota Beram Palace. In 1965, the Sultan moved his residence to a new palace (the Abu Bakar Palace), where the current Royal Palace is situated.
The museum was officially opened to the public in October 1976, in conjunction with the birthday celebrations of the Sultan of Pahang. The first Chairman of the museum was the late YBhg. Dato' Haji Mohd Mokhtar bin Haji Daud and the first Director/Curator was YBhg. Dato' Mohamed Mokhtar bin Haji Abu Bakar. The museum expanded its collections of artefacts very actively during this era up to 1997. Even the locals eagerly surrendered and provided as gifts certain unique artefacts to the museum. One example of the artefacts given by the public is a keris (a type of Malay dagger) which was found by a young man in a river about 20 kilometres from the town of Pekan. This particular keris drew a lot of attention, coupled with strange stories of its mystical prowess. Till today, the keris is still on display at the museum.
The museum has dedicated galleries focusing on water transportations, personal belongings to the late Sultan Abu Bakar and the late Tengku Ampuan Pahang Tengku Afzan.
The museum is currently undergoing renovations (as at Oct 2008). If you are interested to visit, it is advisable that you call the museum first (contact details available from the Malaysian Yellow Pages).
Other places of interest
Other places of interest include the Royal Palace (the Sultan Abu Bakar Palace), Abu Bakar Royal Mosque, Royal Mausoleum, the Royal Pahang Polo Field nearby the Palace, the Royal Pekan Golf Club, birth house of late Tun Abdul Razak at Kampung Pulau Keladi and Silk Weaving Centre.
Nearby the Royal Pahang Polo Field is a long established Islamic college, known as Kuliah Sultan Abu Bakar (the Sultan Abu Bakar Kulliyyah). It has produced eminent scholars all over the State of Pahang and also Malaysia. Its students consistently further their studies in the esteemed Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
Pekan is a mere 15 minutes from the beach. Clean, sandy and pristine beaches. Up north on the way to Kuantan, there is Pantai Legenda (Lagenda Beach)(complete with a nice golf course). Down south on the way to Kuala Rompin, there is the Pantai Batu 16 (the 16th Mile Beach) which used to have a royal retreat complex.
A one-hour drive away from Pekan will take you to the Lake Chini, a beautiful fresh water lake which is one of the largest in Malaysia. There is a resort here, complete with a restaurant, jungle trekking paths and a boat station. It is well recommended for a visit. A boat trip around the Lake Chini is a must and you can choose various routes. Prices differ according to the chosen routes (duration of boat trip from 45 minutes to 3 hours). There are also Orang Asli (natives) settlement nearby providing a hands-on experience of their living culture.
Cuisine
Pekan offers a variety of delicious food. Being a Royal Town, Pekan enjoys the best kuih-muih (Malay delicacies) which are prepared by the same people or their descendants who used to prepare the same delicacies for the palace. Breakfast menu is aplenty to choose from. One particular novelty for breakfast is the 'roti naik' ( a kind of bread quite like the buns you get from supermarkets, but much more nicer). This particular bread can only be found in very few places, Pekan being one of them. Other delicacies are nasi dagang, kuih bakar, ikan bakar (fresh grilled fish) and others.
Kampong Mengkasar is also well known of its Murtabak. It is a unique variant of the original Indian dish that can only be found in Pekan. Although the Murtabak Pekan was not started in Kampong Mengkasar, but it is available here throughout the year. Other murtabak outlets in Pekan like the Murtabak Mawar (also known as murtabak Sultan), only available in the month of Ramadhan.
It is believed that the original Murtabak Pekan was started by an Indian Muslim Restaurant located at the second floor of the central market known as Restoran Salam in early 1970s. It was one of the favorite dish of the late Sultan of Pahang (Sultan Abu Bakar) for breaking fast during the month of Ramadhan. Due to the great demands, more outlets starts selling murtabak all over Pekan. Murtabak has since referred as the special dish of Pekan, and one should not pass Pekan without trying and appreciate its delicious taste.
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