Kemaman is one of district in Terengganu, Malaysia. It is situated on the coast of the South China Sea and is a city with end-to-south of Terengganu Darul Iman state.

Kemaman district is bordered by Dungun to the north and the state of Pahang to the south.

With an area of about 8,000 square miles (254,000 hectares), Kemaman district become the third after Hulu Terengganu and Dungun. It is also bordering the South China Sea.

Census population until the 1940s showed that this region is the third in population after the Besut and Kuala Terengganu. However, this census has been changed after the discovery of petroleum around the 1970s that put this region in second place after the Kuala Terengganu.



The district is divided into 11 district administrative center and focus on the economy of the city. Terrain of this area can be divided into three main areas:

1. The coastal areas.
2. Rural areas
3. Foothills (located just a few kilometers from the coast)

Kemaman is administered by its local council, the MPK( Majlis Perbandaran Kemaman) and  Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek is the Member of Parliament for Kemaman. He is also the Malaysia Youth and Sports Minister.

The town in Kemaman is called Chukai, which is one of the administrative and economic centre.

Peninsula Tanah Melayu located in the cruise's area known as the Maritime Silk Road / Laluan Sutera Maritim ( picture 1 )
between China and the Middle East and this route often traveled by Chinese merchant ships, Arabic, Persian, and Indian.

While Arab's sailing based on the stars in the sky to find a destination.
There are a number of remarks by Chinese writers have mentioned the name and description of the old states in the book that thousands of years old and still can be read and understood by us all.

Old books give a lot of valuable information in order to study the history of old countries, especially the Malay Peninsula State Iman. (Picture 3)

Sources (edited by http://www.eterengganu.com/sejarah/index.html):
(1) "Catitan Lama Negara Cina berkenaan dengan Malaysia" (dalam bahasa Cina) dikeluarkan oleh gabungan Pertubuhan Cina Malaysia - 1998.
(2) "Saidianchi Shansiding and the Xian-yang Aristocratic Family Tree" by Zheng Lihai, Zheng Kuan (m/s 369) ; "Zheng He Lun Chong" Dicatat oleh Univesity Yuan Nam (Nov. 1992)(in Chainese)
(3) "Kuala Terengganu : International Trading Centre" by Professor Kho Kay Kim, Jabatan Sejarah U.M.
(4) "Misbaha - Sejarah Darul Iman Hingga 1361H = 1942M" di keluarkan Oleh Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia Caw Terengganu - 1978.
(5) "A Dorling Kindersley Book" - 1994 Published by O.W.H. publishing house History of the World by Senior Editor: Gillian Denton.
(6) "FO-LO-AN (Kuala Berang ) -dari sini ia Bersemi- satu anak data Nurkilan" -Mohamad Abu Bakar -1991
(7) "BOROBUDOR Golden Tales of Buddhas" - 1991 Text by John Miksic.
(8) "Sejarah Cina Pahang" oleh Liew Kam Ba di keluarkan oleh Gabungan Persatuan Cina Pahang.(in Chinese)
(9) Dalam Pemerhatian Orang-orang Cina dan Arab pada Zaman Silam terhadap Semenanjung Emas (Golden Chersonness) mengikut pendapat Professor Kow Wai Nong (Buku Cina)
(10) "Syling Lama Cina" -1996 (in Chinese)
(11) "Rythms Monthly" 1999 No.9 & No. 14 ( in Chinese)
(12) "The History of Malaysia Chinese" 3 volumes - 1998, dikeluarkan: Gabungan Pertubuhan Cina Malaysia. (in Chinese)
(13) "Menjejak keindahan sambil mencerita Quanzhou" (Chuan Chow/Zaytun) Nov 1991. Huayi Publishing Hourse. ISBN7 - 80039 - 445 - X/D.7
(14) "Quanzhou Tourist Quide book" 1983 - 8


Terengganu has long been an important stopover trade routes through the South China Sea, and early records by Chinese merchants indicate that the port was in operation as early as the 6th century.

However, detailed historical records don't exist until the 1300s, when Terengganu was incorporated as an Islamic state.

In the centuries leading up to its conversion to Islam, Terengganu's inhabitants practiced a mix of Hinduism and Buddhism. A monument adorned with Arabic carvings indicates that Islam was well practiced at the dawn of the 14th century; and as such, Terengganu was the first of the Malayan states to embrace Islam.

In 1724, Terengganu was formally declared an independent sultanate. Friendly ties with the Sultan of Johor strengthened the new state during the first 100 years of its establishment.

In fact, the first Sultan of Terengganu, Tun Zainal Abidin, was the brother of a previous Sultan of Johor.
In the 1800s, Terengganu fell under the control of the Kingdom of Siam (modern day Thailand).

The sultan at the time worked hard to keep Siam at bay, and at times the relationship between these two countries seemed little more than a formality.

However, an early 20th century agreement between Siam and Great Britain saw a shift in the power scheme—an unpopular move with the local population.

Great Britain incorporated Terengganu into the Unfederated Malay States. An uprising in 1928 prompted action by British military forces. WWII and the subsequent Japanese invasion changed everything, however. After the war, power was handed back to Thailand until 1948, when Terengganu became part of the Federation of Malaya. A decade later, the Federation of Malaya became the independent country of Malaysia and Terengganu became one its member states.

Oil and natural gas were recently discovered offshore in Terengganu and what was once Malaysia’s poorest state has seen an enormous economic boom. The petroleum industry has quickly overtaken fishing and agriculture, and revenue has been invested in establishing tourism infrastructure.

Tourists head to the capital city of Kuala Terengganu and spend most of their time along the coastline. To this day, Islam remains central to the culture and lifestyle of Terengganu's citizens, and the social climate remains strongly conservative outside of the touristy areas

State Capital and Royal Town : Kuala Terengganu