Raub () is a town in
Raub District
Raub District is a district in Pahang, Malaysia. Located in the west of Pahang, the district bordered Lipis District, Jerantut District,
Temerloh District, Bentong District and Hulu Selangor District of Selangor clockwisely. Raub district consis ...
,
Pahang
Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Raub is one of the oldest towns in
Pahang
Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...
.
History
![1906 Raub Old Police Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/1906_Raub_Old_Police_Station.jpg)
Raub was explored and founded in the 18th century. It is historically a gold mining settlement, and the gold mining industry is now undergoing something of a resurgence as the gold price has risen. According to the history, this mining centre was named Raub after a group of miners found a handful of gold in every tray of sand they dig. This is described by J.A. Richardson in his book, ''The Geology and Mineral Resources of the Neighbourhood of Raub Pahang''. According to him (page 36), "People found that for every "''dulang''" of sand there was a handful (''raub'') of gold". The old folks' tale recounts that in the early 19th century, an old man and his two sons discovered gold every time they scooped up the earth in Raub. Thus, the town and the district derived their name from the
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
word ''raub'' which means "scoop".
Raub became famous in the early 20th century for its mining resource (
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
). Then, gold mining in Raub was operated by Raub Australian Gold Mine (RAGM), a company registered in 1889 in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The company was initially known as Australian Syndicate Ltd and later as Australian Gold Mining Co. Ltd in 1892. RAGM operated until 1961.
The mining method used in Raub is
shaft mining
Shaft mining or shaft sinking is the action of excavating a mine shaft from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom. Shaft (civil engineering), Shallow shafts, typically sunk for civil engineering projects, differ greatly ...
and started at the Raub Hole. This area is now known as
Bukit Koman. The mining activity became a valuable heritage for Raub district. The main road in Raub Bibby Road, was named after the company's first manager
William Bibby Mason Road was named after the first district officer J S Mason. Bukit Koman was once dubbed "Malaysian capital of gold" as the result of rapid development of gold mining.
A new company, Peninsular Gold, has restarted gold mining at the Raub mine. Initially, the company recovered gold from the tailings dumps from the old mine, but started mining fresh ore again in 2011. A major drilling campaign is in progress, exploring additional resources adjacent and below the old mine.
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
threat in the 1940s in Raub resulted in the erection of new settlements. Among them are
Cheroh (1948), Sang Lee (1948),
Sungai Ruan (1948),
Sungai Chetang (1948),
Bukit Koman (1949),
Sempalit
Sempalit (Chinese: 新巴力) is a village in Raub District, Pahang, Malaysia, along Highway 8 towards Kuala Lipis
Kuala Lipis ( ms, كوالا ليڤيس, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is a mukim and capital of Lipis District, Pahan ...
(1950),
Sungai Lui (1950),
Tras (1950) and
Sungai Klau (1960).
There are a lot of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
style buildings in Raub, especially along Mason Road (now known as Jalan Tengku Abdullah). Most of the buildings in Raub were built during the pre-
World War II era. Some examples of the pre-war buildings in Raub are the old Police Station of Raub (built in 1906) and the Raub District Council Building.
Economy
After the gold mines were depleted, the main economic activity of Raub is
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
. Main commodity crops in Raub are natural rubber, oil palm, cocoa and local fruits, like durians.
Durian
The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...
s grown in Raub are probably the best in Malaysia. The town is styled as the "durian capital of Malaysia" attracting a steady stream of visitors, especially tourists from Singapore and China.
Government and administration
Raub is administered by the Raub District Council; its president is Haji Khairulanuar bin Mahmood.
Raub has its own constituency in the
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat (English: 'House of Representatives'; ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan Ra ...
of the
Malaysian Parliament
The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, lit. "People's Assembly") and the ...
. The incumbent MP is
Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji
Tengku Zulpuri Shah bin Raja Puji ( Jawi: تڠكو ذوالڤوري شاه بن راج ڤوجي) (born 15 July 1964) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tras since November 20 ...
of the
DAP
DAP or Dap may refer to:
Science
* DAP (gene), human gene that encodes death-associated proteins, which mediate programmed cell death
* Diamidophosphate, phosphorylating compound
* Diaminopimelic acid, amino acid derivative of lysine
* Diamin ...
.
In turn, Raub delivers three seats to the
Pahang State Legislative Assembly
The Pahang State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Pahang) is the unicameral state legislature of the Malaysian state of Pahang. It is composed of 42 members representing single-member constituencies throughout the state.
The Asse ...
, comprising Batu Talam, Tras and Dong.
Raub is the only place in western Pahang (Raub, Bentong and Kuala Lipis) that has state and federal-level administrative offices. There is a landmark building, situated next to Taman Bukit Koman (not to be confused with Kampung Bukit Koman), which contains most of the administrative offices, called Bangunan Gunasama Persekutuan. Inside Bangunan Gunasama Persekutuan, there are District Immigration Department, National Registry Department (District Branch) Office and other important offices in that building also. Besides that, there is Land Office which is on top of a hill, beside Taman Shahbandar, provides opportunity to renew their land title and land grant, unlike Bentong, they need to come to Raub to renew their land title. Actually, the existence of those administrative offices has its roots. During the early 20th century, because of massive gold mining activity, Raub was quickly developed and at once, it was tipped as the future administrative state capital for Pahang. However, at the last minute, Residence of Pahang decided to shift state administrative capital to Kuantan and left out Raub. Although Raub did not become state capital, however, British left a lot of administrative buildings in Raub, including the Resident's official residence (the present Raub District Officer's official residence) was situated in Raub.
Transport
Car
Federal Route 8 is the main route to Raub. Motorists from
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
will usually exit the
East Coast Expressway
The East Coast Expressway is an interstate controlled-access highway running parallel to the northeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The currently operational segment of the expressway runs between Karak, Pahang and Kuala Nerus, Terengganu ...
at
Bentong and then enter highway
Federal Route 8 to get to Raub or
Kuala Lipis
Kuala Lipis ( ms, كوالا ليڤيس, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is a mukim and capital of Lipis District, Pahang, Malaysia with a population of 20,000.
History
Kuala Lipis was a gold-mining centre before the British arrived in ...
or exit at
Central Spine Road
Lingkaran Tengah Utama Expressway, previously known as Central Spine Road (CSR) or Kuala Krai–Kuala Pilah Highway, Federal Route 34, is a new toll-free highway under construction in the center of Peninsular Malaysia. The 325 km (201 mile ...
and exit at Mempaga then enter highway
Federal Route 8 to get to Raub or
Kuala Lipis
Kuala Lipis ( ms, كوالا ليڤيس, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is a mukim and capital of Lipis District, Pahang, Malaysia with a population of 20,000.
History
Kuala Lipis was a gold-mining centre before the British arrived in ...
. Raub is also a stopover for motorists travelling to
Kota Bharu
Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River.
The ...
, which is the northern end of highway 8.
Raub is the eastern end of
Federal Route 55, which begins in
Kuala Kubu Bharu
Kuala Kubu Bharu (also spelt Kuala Kubu Baru, Kuala Kubu Bahru or Kuala Kubu Baharu; abbreviated to KKB), is the district capital of Hulu Selangor District, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located 60 km north of Kuala Lumpur.
In 1883, the Sung ...
in
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
and passing through the hill resort of
Fraser's Hill
Fraser's Hill is a hill resort located on the Titiwangsa Ridge in Raub District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is about north of Kuala Lumpur. In 1890, Louis James Fraser established the area as a tin mining community known as Pamah Lebar when he dis ...
in the process. As a result, Route
Federal Route 55 is an alternative to the
Karak Highway for Selangor/Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley motorists.
Raub is also a gateway to the hill resort of
Cameron Highlands
The Cameron Highlands ( ms, Tanah Tinggi Cameron, , ta, கேமரன் மலை) is a district in Pahang, Malaysia, occupying an area of . To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with ...
, using Pahang State Route .
Public transport
Currently
rapidKuantan does not serve Raub as well as most of western Pahang. Instead, buses in Raub are operated by several companies which include Pahang Lin Siong, Union and Central Pahang. The latter two merged a few years ago and has been operating as a single entity by the name of Union since. Besides these local companies, other interstate express coaches also stop by Raub central bus station as the town is strategically located along routes to cities like
Gua Musang and
Kota Bharu
Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River.
The ...
in the eastern states of Peninsular Malaysia.
Raub is also not served by the
KTM Intercity
KTM Intercity ( ms, KTM Antarabandar) are diesel-hauled intercity train services in Peninsular Malaysia, operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). Services operate along the East Coast Line between Tumpat and Gemas and on towards JB S ...
, given its mountainous terrain. The closest station will be
Kuala Lipis
Kuala Lipis ( ms, كوالا ليڤيس, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is a mukim and capital of Lipis District, Pahang, Malaysia with a population of 20,000.
History
Kuala Lipis was a gold-mining centre before the British arrived in ...
.
Shopping malls
*TF Value-Mart Supermarket
*Tunas Manja Supermarket
*PDM Supermarket
*BS Fresh market
*Idaman Mall (upcoming projects)
*Pasaraya Pantai Timor
References
External links
Majlis Daerah Raub (Raub District Council)
{{Authority control
Raub District
Towns in Pahang