Kemaman

Kemaman is a district in Terengganu, Malaysia. It is situated on the coast of the South China Sea. Kemaman district is bordered by Dungun to the north and the state of Pahang to the south.

Kemaman is administered by the Kemaman Municipal Council. The town of Chukai is Kemaman's administrative and economic centre. Kemaman is administered by its local council, Kemaman Municipal Council. Ahmad Shabery Cheek is the Member of Parliament for Kemaman. He is also the Malaysia Information Minister.

History

Kemaman was known as early as the second century BC as "Kole". The earliest mention of Kemaman was made by Ptolemy, a Greek astrologer in a map of the Malay Peninsular where he noted two ports on the East Coast,"Perimula " and "Kole". "Kole" is agreed to be Kemaman while "Perimula" is thought to be the mouth of Terengganu River by historians.

The history of the district's establishment is unclear due to lack of written evidence. However, it was commonly agreed that the Kemaman area was first explored by Chee Wan Teh, a Pahang nobleman and his followers around 1750 A.D. Before the arrival of Malays, this area was already inhabited by Orang Asli of the Sakai and Jakun tribes. Chee Wan Teh came to Kemaman to flee the violence and frequent unrests of Kuala Pahang. He founded the town of Chukai. Later on came a significant number of Chinese migrants who were drawn to the district's wealth of iron. Some of these migrants were involved in the salted fish manufacturing industry as it was a rewarding industry at that time. Among those who succeeded in this business was Soh Huat Keh, a Chinese merchant from Fujian, China.

Economy

Kemaman's economy is primarily based on the petroleum and oil industry. The discovery of oil in offshore Terengganu in 1980s has attracted immigration to Kemaman from rural areas as well as other parts of the country. Kemaman is home to the deepest seaport in Malaysia. Kemaman Port also has a liquified petroleum gas(LPG) export terminal managed by Petronas, the national oil corporation. Traditional industries include fishing and salted fish manufacturing. These produces are exported throughout Malaysia and also to Singapore.

Demographics

The district of Kemaman's population is estimated to be 158,660 [http://www.mpkemaman.gov.my/kawasan/mpenduduk.htm] as of 2006, with a density of 62 person per km². The population comprises 86.7% Malays, 10.6% Chinese, 0.5% Indians and 2.2% of other races.

Wildlife

Kemaman's beaches used to be nesting grounds for endangered green turtles and painted terrapins. However, due to the local's delight for turtle eggs, these sea creatures have been declared extinct in the area since year 2004. Among serious efforts to get turtles back to nest on the nearby beaches is the setting up of a turtle sanctuary in Ma'Daerah, called Ma'Daerah Turtle Sanctuary which provides an undisturbed beach for nesting turtles and protection for eggs. This turtle conservation centre is operated under the joint auspices of Department of Fisheries, BP and WWF-Malaysia.

Sport

Even though Kemaman is a small town, there is a sport stadium in Kemaman. The public sport stadium is located in the Mak Chili area and can be used with permission from the local council (Majlis Daerah Kemaman).

For those whose love to do kayaking, there are a spot which rent a kayak on hourly basis in Bakau Tinggi. For Radio Control (RC) enthusiasts, you can find a local club known as Kemaman Radio Control Club (KemamanRC) with their good and open space RC Airfield located at Teluk Kalung.

For windsurfer or kite surfer, you can make use of all Kemaman public beach (Teluk Kalung, Pantai Penunjuk, Geliga and others) for your needs.

External links

* [http://cendawankemaman.blogspot.com/ Perusahaan Cendawan]
*http://www.mot.gov.my/English/Agencies/Kemaman_port.htm
*http://www.mpkemaman.gov.my/kawasan/mpenduduk.htm
*http://www.mpkemaman.gov.my/profail/sejarah.htm
*http://www.kemamanrc.com/