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Located on the banks of
the Pahang River 50 km south of Kuantan, Pekan
is the royal town of the Malaysian state of
Pahang.
Its name comes from a flower, the Bunga Pekan. Pekan town is said to have
existed since the 17th century, but no exact date has been verified.
Several Arab and Chinese writers mentioned Pekan. According to the old
folk, the Bunga Pekan flower grows wild at the banks of Pahang River. The
river at the Pekan town (near Mengkasar village) is also called Pekan
River, however there is no source for the claim that Pekan got its name
from this river.
Pekan is
also the name of the district the town is situated in, and a parliamentary
constituency in its own right. It is the home of the state's royal family
headed by Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta'in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan
Abu Bakar Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mu'adzam Shah.
The Masjid Abdullah, which dates from the 1920s, and the newer Masjid Abu
Bakar is near the Sultan Abu Bakar Museum.
Pekan is also the hometown of the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun
Abdul Razak Hussein, and the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri
Najib Tun Razak.
The
villagers at Kampong Mengkasar, about one kilometer from Pekan in the
direction of Kuantan, are said to be direct
descendants of Tok Tuan from Makassar in Sulawesi,
Indonesia.
Pekan
offers a variety of delicious food. Being a Royal Town, Pekan enjoys the
best kuih-muih (Malay delicacies) which are prepared by the same people or
their descendants who used to prepare the same delicacies for the palace.
Breakfast menu is aplenty to choose from.
Other
places of interest include the Royal Palace (the Sultan Abu Bakar Palace),
Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Mosque, Royal Mausoleum, the Royal Pahang Polo
Field nearby the Palace, the Royal Pekan Golf Club, birth house of late
Tun Abdul Razak at Kampung Pulau Keladi and the Pahang Royal Silk Weaving
Centre.
Nearby the Royal Pahang Polo Field is a long-established Islamic college,
known as Kuliah Sultan Abu Bakar (the Sultan Abu Bakar Kulliyyah). It has
produced eminent scholars all over the State of Pahang and Malaysia. Its
students consistently further their studies in the esteemed Al-Azhar
University in Cairo, Egypt.
Pekan is 15 minutes from clean, sandy beaches. North on the way to
Kuantan, there is Pantai Legenda (Lagenda
Beach), which features a golf course. South on the way to
Kuala Rompin is the Pantai Batu
16 (the 16th Mile Beach), which used to have a royal retreat complex.
A one-hour drive from Pekan is Lake Chini, a beautiful freshwater lake
which is one of the largest in Malaysia. It features a resort with
restaurant, jungle trekking paths and a boat station. Boat trips are
available by various routes around the lake. Prices differ according to
the chosen routes (duration of boat trip from 45 minutes to 3 hours).
There are also Orang Asli (natives) settlements nearby providing a
hands-on experience of their living culture.
Pekan is also the location of the permanent campus of Universiti Malaysia
Pahang (UMP).
From
Kuantan, Pekan is accessible by 3 routes, namely
Tanjung Lumpur Highway (Federal Route ) which runs through Tanjung Lumpur,
Penor and Ceruk Paloh, Jalan Pekan (Federal Route and AH18) and also
through Gambang, Pahang by Tun Razak Highway (Federal Route ).
From
Kuala Lumpur, one may travel
to Pekan by the East Coast Expressway, exiting at the Gambang Interchange
to the Tun Razak Highway. From Johor,
a scenic coastal road passes through
Kuala Rompin. Alternatively, the Tun Razak Highway can be taken, which
links Segamat and Kuantan.
Sources:
Wikipedia
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