Gemas

Gemas (Negeri Sembilan Malay: Gomeh; Jawi: ڬمس) is a small town and a mukim in Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, near the Negeri Sembilan-Johor state border. It is situated 101 km northeast of Seremban, the state capital city, and 32 km north of Segamat, Johor.

Gemas Gomeh
Town and mukim
Other transcription(s)
• Jawi	ڬمس
• Traditional Chinese	金馬士
• Simplified Chinese	金马士
• Tamil	கிமாஸ்
Federal Route 1 passes through Gemas town centre, on the Negri side.
Flag
Gemas Location of Gemas in Peninsular Malaysia
Coordinates: 2°35′N 102°35′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

Former KTMB Gemas railway station, now a museum.

New KTMB Gemas railway station, on the junction between the west coast and east coast lines.

Platforms of the new Gemas station.

Gemas is notable for being at the railway junction between the Malaysian west and east coast rail lines. For this reason, Gemas is busy for a town of its size.

Gemas is accessible via train from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The whole town of Gemas stretches from Negeri Sembilan, crossing into the border with Johor. The Johorean side of Gemas is known as Gemas Baharu, in Segamat District, which is located about 1 km from Gemas town centre, implying that the original Gemas town centre is on the Negeri Sembilanese side.

To the southwest stands the famed Mount 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%.

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 the West Coast and East Coast routes of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) rail network. Trains from all directions stop at Gemas 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. The electrification and double-tracking works were completed in 2013. The electric train services KTM Komuter and ETS services were extended to Gemas in October 2015, increasing services and cutting down travel time to Kuala Lumpur and other northern West Coast destinations.

Road

Gemas is connected to other towns by federal highways Federal Route 1 and Federal Route 10. Federal Route 1 links Gemas with Seremban, the capital of Negeri Sembilan as well as Tampin and all the way to Johor Bahru.

Federal Route 10 links Gemas to Temerloh in Pahang. This road is built almost parallel to the KTM East Coast Line tracks, passing through Bahau and Triang, two important railway towns.

Bus

Southern Bus

Currently Gemas is served by Southern Bus route No. 26, from Tampin to Gemas through Gemencheh town.

Gemencheh Bridge during Battle of Malaya

See also: Battle of Gemas

Gemencheh Bridge (middle distance) in 1945. More than 400 troops of the Japanese 5th Division were slaughtered here, with the Australians losing 8 men and suffering 80 wounded.

During the Battle of Malaya in the Second World War, Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas was the site of a fierce battle between the Imperial Japanese Army and the 2/30th 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 of Tampin. 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 near Parit Sulong during the Battle of Malaya. Allied troops, including the Australian 2/19th and 2/29th Battalions, were surrounded and routed there.

A memorial remembering fallen Australians now stands by the site of the destroyed Gemencheh Bridge in Federal 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.

Politics

Gemas forms its own electoral district in the Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly. The seat is currently represented by Ridzuan Ahmad of opposition party Perikatan Nasional.

On the national level, Gemas is part of Tampin constituency of the Malaysian Parliament, currently represented by Mohd Isam Mohd Isa, from Barisan 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. To date Gemas is the only autonomous sub-district in the state.

See also

• Gemencheh
• Parit Sulong
• Gemas Baharu

External links

• Gemas travel guide from Wikivoyage