Seremban is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city’s administration is run by the Seremban City Council. Seremban gained its city status on 20 January 2020.
Seremban was founded as Sungei Ujong (or Sungai Ujong). While the town was renamed Seremban thereafter, the name Sungai Ujong most prominently persists as a street name for a road adjoining the southern side of town (Sungai Ujong Road, or Jalan Sungai Ujong). It is also the name of a luak (chiefdom) that formed Negeri Sembilan, that covers the eponymous district as well as neighbouring Port Dickson District.
Sungai Ujong, also known as Sening Ujong, as it was originally known, was an ancient settlement. It has been said in the Malay Annals that King Parameswara reportedly visited Sening Ujong after fleeing the kingdom of Singapura before ultimately establishing the Malacca Sultanate. The same settlement was also referred as Sang Hyang Ujong in Javanese accounts, notably the Nagarakretagama, as well as Suneujon in Godinho de Erédia’s cartographic records, which dates back to 1613. Growth took off, as with most major towns in Peninsular Malaysia, after the discovery of tin ore in the 1870s. The discovery of tin in a nearby area called Rasah saw an influx of Arab, Malay and Chinese immigrants to work on the mines and trade there. Most of the local Malays were farmers.
Renamed as Seremban, the town flourished not only as a mining area but also a business centre. The Linggi River served as the sole outlet to ferry tin and supplies in and out of the town. Revenue came not only from tin trade but also from the large amount of taxes collected, much to the displeasure of the traders and the British colonialists at the neighbouring port of Malacca.
The local chieftains, namely the Dato’ Kelana and the Dato’ Shahbandar of Sungai Ujong were at odds with each other on the rights to collect taxes and ownership and control of the mines. The rivalry to assert influence and authority opened the door for British intervention in Negeri Sembilan. The British sided with the Dato’ Kelana upon invitation and defeated the Dato’ Bandar forces who was later sent into exile to Singapore. In a show of gratitude to the British for helping him win the war, the Dato’ Kelana had no choice but to accept a British Resident whose job was to advise him on matters other than religion and Malay customs.
Captain Murray was appointed the first resident and later set-up his residence at Channer Road, now renamed Jalan Dato’ Siamang Gagap. Soon after, the people living around Rasah moved to Channer Road for the sake of security and its orderly administration.