Dungun is a coastal district of the Malaysian state of Terengganu. Kuala Dungun is the capital of the district. Dungun is made up of eleven 'mukim', or subdistricts: Abang, Besol, Jengai, Jerangau, Kuala Dungun, Kuala Paka, Kumpal, Pasir Raja, Rasau, Sura, and Hulu Paka. Dungun used to be an iron mining town in the 1940s. Iron ore was mined in a small town inland called

Bukit Besi Bukit Besi is a small town in Terengganu, 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 ter ...

located to the west, while Dungun served as the port where the ore was transferred onto ships.Dungun and Bukit Besi were connected by a railway line that not only served the mining industry but also served as public transportation for inland villagers, the Dungun township and its businesses. This "golden" era ended in the late 1970s and early 1980s. When the mines were gradually closed down, the rail service stopped and the company left the area. Bukit Besi is now a Government-financed plantation estate; the rolling hills and old British architecture are now long gone, replaced by Felda Estate housing and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

trees.Dungun is now just another town on the coast of Terengganu, sorely bereft of cultural activities, with no cinemas, and only comes alive every Thursday when the weekly night market opens up for business. It is well known as the biggest night market in Terengganu and features second-hand clothing (imported from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the United States) and also food of all sorts. People from the outskirts flow into town for the cheap goods. The night market is situated right in the middle of town, taking over a portion of the old railway line. Nowadays, it is not a busy small town anymore. There are still pockets of fishing and farming families and some people involved in small businesses, while a large part of the population are involved with the petroleum industry concentrated in another township to the south, Kerteh.

Administrative divisions

Dungun District is divided into 11 ''

mukim A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay from the Arabic word: (meaning ''resident''). The clo ...

s'', which are:http://apps.water.gov.my/jpskomuniti/dokumen/DUNGUN_PROFIL_FEBRUARI_2011.pdf * Abang * Besol * Jengai * Jerangau * Kuala Dungun (Capital) * Kuala Paka * Kumpal * Pasir Raja * Rasau * Sura * Hulu Paka

Demographics

Federal Parliament and State Assembly Seats

List of Dungun district representatives in the Federal Parliament (Dewan Rakyat)

List of Dungun district representatives in the State Legislative Assembly of Terengganu

References

{{Terengganu-geo-stub

Administrative divisions

Demographics

Federal Parliament and State Assembly Seats

See also

References