Gemas (
Negeri Sembilan Malay
Negeri Sembilan Malay ( or ; ; Jawi: بهاس ملايو نڬري سمبيلن) is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan, including parts of Hulu Langat District in southeastern Selangor, Alor Gajah ...
: ''Gomeh'') is a small town and a
mukim
A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English language, English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay language, Malay from the Arabic word ...
(township) in
Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, near the Negeri Sembilan-
Johor
Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
state border. It is 101 km southeast of
Seremban
Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Somban'') 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 Municipal Council, Seremban City Council. ...
, the state capital city, and 32 km north of
Segamat
The Segamat District () or simply Segamat is a List of districts in Malaysia, district in the Malaysian states of Malaysia, state of Johor. Segamat (town), Segamat is also the name of the district's primary town. Segamat district is one of the t ...
, Johor.
Gemas is at the
railway junction
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. The physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge) is provided by turnouts (US: switc ...
between the Malaysian
west
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
and
east coast rail lines.
Demographics
Malays make up the majority of the population at 83% followed by the Chinese 8%, Indians at 5% and others 4%.
Gemencheh Bridge during Battle of Malaya
During the
Battle of Malaya
The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...
in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas was the site of a fierce battle between the
Imperial Japanese Army
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
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 to Australians killed there is by the site of the destroyed Gemencheh Bridge in
Federal Route 1.
Politics
Gemas forms its own electoral district in the
Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly.
On the national level, Gemas is part of
Tampin constituency of the
Malaysian Parliament
The Parliament of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's As ...
.
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 remain under Tampin.
See also
*
Gemencheh
*
Parit Sulong
*
Gemas Baharu
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 2, 35, N, 102, 35, E, region:MY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title
World War II sites in British Malaya
Towns in Negeri Sembilan
Mukims of Negeri Sembilan
Tampin District