Seremban – previously known as “Sungei Ujong”, which translates to “Back River” – is the capital of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan (“9th State”). Its population of just over half a million residents resides on approximately 1,000 km2 of land they call home.

Amongst its Chinese-speaking community, the town is also affectionately referred to as “Fu Yong”, which translates to “Hibiscus” – although that name is not recognised officially.

Also not recognised officially (as at early 2014) is the town’s status as a “City”! On the 9th of September 2009, Seremban was to be declared as a city, however it was later deferred due to technical reasons. Oh, life’s mysteries!

History
Sungai Ujong came into existence with the discovery of tin ore in the 1870s like most major towns in Peninsular Malaysia. The discovery of tin in a nearby area saw an influx of Arab, Malay and Chinese immigrants to work on the mines and farms.

Renamed to Seremban, the town flourished not only as a mining area but also a business centre. Back then, 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 (Take that!)

Historically, Negeri Sembilan is influenced by the Minangkabau's and thus, Seremban is the centre of the Minangkabau culture in Malaysia. Minangkabau, derived from the Malay word menang kerbau, which means "winning buffalo", are famous for their unique roof architecture which resembles buffalo horns. Many buildings in Seremban adapted this feature, such as the Seremban Municipal Council Hall, the Wisma Negeri and the State Museum.

People of Negeri Sembilan are also known for the practice of an ancient Malay tradition called Adat Perpatih, where women are given a higher social status than men.

Today
sembilan chose Seremban for a few unique reasons that we hope our residents will also see and appreciate, as we do.

Seremban presents itself to us as a simple, honest town that does nothing to hide its character. It does not have the flashy touristy bells that some of its neighbouring states adopt. We see Seremban as a good ol’ fashioned Malaysian town, where locals of varying races still truly mingle happily amongst themselves.

Seremban offers up a unique landscape of architecture that we hope its authorities and owners will fight to preserve. Old colonial and pre-war buildings can still be found but they are fast being demolished.

Needless to say, like any self-respecting Malaysian town - a decent amount of good food has to be every city's staple offering!