Gemas

Gemas

*Gomeh*
Gemas Gomeh
Town andmukim
Other transcription(s)
•Jawi	ڬمس
•Traditional Chinese	Kim mã sĩ
•Simplified Chinese	Kim mã sĩ
•Tamil	கிமாஸ்
	Federal Route 1passes through Gemas town centre, on theNegriside.
	Flag
	Gemas Location of Gemas inPeninsular Malaysia
	Coordinates:2°35′N102°35′E/ 2.583°N 102.583°E
Country	Malaysia
State	Negeri Sembilan
District	Tampin
Luak	Pasir Besar
Population (2010)
• Total	29,777
•Demonym	Gemasian
Time zone	UTC+8(MST)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed
National calling code	07

Gemas(Negeri Sembilan Malay:Gomeh;Jawi:ڬمس) is a small town and a mukim inTampin District,Negeri Sembilan,Malaysia,^[1]near the Negeri Sembilan-Johorstate border. It is situated 101 km northeast ofSeremban,the state capital city, and 32 km north ofSegamat,Johor.

Gemas is notable for being at therailway junctionbetween the Malaysianwestandeast coastrail lines. For this reason, Gemas is busy for a town of its size.

Gemas is accessible via train fromSingaporeandKuala Lumpur. The whole town of Gemas stretches fromNegeri Sembilan,crossing into the border withJohor.The Johorean side of Gemas is known asGemas Baharu,inSegamat District,which is located about 1 km from Gemas town centre, implying that the original Gemas town centre is on theNegeri Sembilaneseside.

To the southwest stands the famedMount Ledang,also known as Mount Ophir, with a height of 1,276 m.

Demographics

Malays make up the majority of the population at 83% followed by the Chinese 8%, Indians at 5% and others 4%.^[2]

Education

Primary school

SK Kem Syed Sirajuddin
SK Gemas
SK Tuanku Abdul Rahman
SJK(C) Kg. Baru Gemas
SRJK(C) Kuo Min
SJK(T) Gemas
SK Kampong Ladang
SK Londah

Secondary school

SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman
SMK Gemas
SM Agama Gemas

Transportation

Rail

Gemas is located at the intersection of theWest CoastandEast Coastroutes of theKeretapi Tanah Melayu(KTM) rail network. Trains from all directions stop atGemas railway station,making it an important railway hub.

Gemas also marks the southern end of the electrified and double-track section of the West Coast Line. Theelectrification and double-trackingworks were completed in 2013. The electric train servicesKTM KomuterandETSservices were extended to Gemas in October 2015, increasing services and cutting down travel time toKuala Lumpurand other northern West Coast destinations.

Road

Gemas is connected to other towns by federal highwaysFederal Route 1andFederal Route 10.Federal Route 1links Gemas withSeremban,the capital ofNegeri Sembilanas well asTampinand all the way toJohor Bahru.

Federal Route 10links Gemas toTemerlohinPahang.This road is built almost parallel to the KTM East Coast Line tracks, passing throughBahauandTriang,two important railway towns.

Gemencheh Bridge during Battle of Malaya

GemenchehBridge (middle distance) in 1945. More than 400 troops of the Japanese5th Divisionwere slaughtered here, with the Australians losing 8 men and suffering 80 wounded.

During theBattle of Malayain theSecond World War,Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas was the site of a fierce battle between theImperial Japanese Armyand the2/30th Battalion,8th Division,Australian Imperial Force(AIF). Commanding Officer of the Battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan. Gemencheh Bridge was a bridge over the Kelamah River (Sungai Kelamah in Malay) that connected Gemas with the larger neighbouring town ofTampin.The Japanese had passed through Tampin and needed to cross the bridge to reach Gemas.

On 14 January 1942, "B" Company of the 2/30th Battalion, launched an ambush against the Japanese in the hope of preventing them from advancing further south. As the advancing Japanese soldiers passed by the ambush site, the bridge was blown. The battle following the ambush, and a further battle closer to Gemas, lasted two days. It ended with the Australian withdrawal through Gemas to Fort Rose Estate.

Four days later, another encounter between Japanese and Allied soldiers took place nearParit Sulongduring the Battle of Malaya.Alliedtroops, including the Australian2/19thand2/29th Battalions,were surrounded and routed there.

A memorial remembering fallen Australians now stands by the site of the destroyed Gemencheh Bridge inFederal Route 1.

Recently, a documentary titled The Battle of Gemas was jointly undertaken by Tahan Rata Filem and AVI to expand on the importance of this battle in the context of the Battle of Malaya and the fall of Singapore.^[3]

Politics

Gemas forms its own electoral district in theNegeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly.The seat is currently represented by Ridzuan Ahmad of opposition partyPerikatan Nasional.

On the national level, Gemas is part ofTampinconstituency of theMalaysian Parliament,currently represented byMohd Isam Mohd Isa,fromBarisan Nasional,part of the national unity government.

Since 1988 Gemas is also an autonomous sub-district (daerah kecil), consisting of the Adat Perpatih customary districts of Gemas and Air Kuning. Municipal works and parliamentary representation still remain under Tampin.^[4]To date Gemas is the only autonomous sub-district in the state.

References

^"Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use"(PDF).Malaysian National Committee on Geographical Names. 2017. p. 32. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on May 23, 2021.RetrievedMay 29,2021.
^"Undi.info".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-08.Retrieved2015-07-21.
^"- YouTube".YouTube.
^"SEJARAH PENUBUHAN PDKG".Retrieved19 May2018.

External links

Gemastravel guide from Wikivoyage

2°35′N102°35′E/ 2.583°N 102.583°E/2.583; 102.583

[1] "Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use"(PDF).Malaysian National Committee on Geographical Names. 2017. p. 32. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on May 23, 2021.RetrievedMay 29,2021.

[2] "Undi.info".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-08.Retrieved2015-07-21.

[3] "- YouTube".YouTube.

[4] "SEJARAH PENUBUHAN PDKG".Retrieved19 May2018.

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Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Israel United States