Kuantan

About Kuantan

Kuantan is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the 12th largest city in Malaysia based on a 2020 population of 548,014 and the largest city on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The administrative centre of the state of Pahang was officially relocated to Kuantan on 27 August 1955 from Kuala Lipis, and was officiated by HRH Sultan Abu Bakar Ri'ayatuddin Al Muadzam Shah, the Sultan of Pahang.

Kuantan in the first century was a part of Chih-Tu empire. In the 11th century, this piece of land was conquered by another small empire called Pheng-Kheng before being taken over by the Siamese during the 12th century. During the 15th century, Kuantan was ruled by the Malaccan Empire.

Kuantan is said to have been founded in the 1850s. The name was notably mentioned in Munshi Abdullah's travelogue Kisah Pelayaran ke Kelantan circa 1851/2:

...On Thursday night came a boat from Kuantan. Then they told the ship's crew there's a pirate ship at Tanjung Tujuh, forty of them and at Kapas Island, and as well at Redang Island; it was spotted...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.