NOSTALGIC KUALA LIPIS, PAHANG.

During one weekend, my wife and I decided to go to Kuala Lipis, Pahang. This town was formerly the State Capital of Pahang since 1898, until it was moved to Kuantan on 27^th August 1955. The town is situated between two (2) rivers, the Sungai Jelai and Sungai Lipis, of which the estuary of Sungai Lipis flows into Sungai Jelai, and thus the name of the town, Kuala Lipis was named after.

We travelled from our home in Kuala Lumpur towards Bentong, Raub and later to Kuala Lipis, followed by heavy showers along the way. We reached Kuala Lipis and stayed in the pre-booked Centrepoint Hotel.

After completing my secondary school in the 60’s, I went to Kuala Lipis with my younger brother. My elder brother was the Chief Officer of the District Fire Station and he stayed on top of the station itself. We went there by train and when we reached the Kuala Lipis railway station, we walked along the corridor of the shop and at the end was the Fire Station.

Currently, this fire station has moved to a new place and the building is now occupied by the Kuala Lipis Municipal Council to collect parking charges.

Photo of the former Fire Station Kuala Lipis

My wife was born in Kuala Lipis, and her late father was a Fire officer at the same station. She had a lot of memories during her 8 years living in Kuala Lipis. She is the eldest daughter and third among her siblings. 

The Hospital where my wife was born

As she grew older and reached the age of schooling, she was sent to the primary Malay school, Sekolah Kebangsaan Wan Ibrahim. This was her first school learning the A, B and C and she also attended the Quran class held at the Mosque nearby the Fire Station. She was just beginning to enjoy her schooling days in the second year when her father was then transferred to Raub.

The school (above) and the mosque (below), where learning starts

Kuala Lipis was formerly a small remotely situated and undeveloped but a busy town as a State Capital, where all state administration were centred here. When the State Capital moved to Kuantan, all the state administrative offices also follow suit, and thus it became a quiet town.

The route from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu now passes by this town with the new bridge built across the river. New road system in the town, a new pedestrian bridge to cross the railway lines, new housing estates are among the new developments. The old narrow road in the old town area is now a one-way street to accommodate the many vehicles. The three rows of the pioneer shop houses in this town is still the pride of Kuala Lipis, which include the market which is now known as “Medan Tangga”

Medan Tangga

The Post Office is still at the same area with the milestone marked as zero (0) which was built to mark the beginning of the mileage from Kuala Lipis to other towns in Pahang.

The mileage started off from Kuala Lipis (Left), and the distance to Kuantan – in miles, not kilometres (Right)

During the British occupancy, they built buildings that stand proud and that have been the landmark to the town itself until today. These buildings were built for the British Residence and the other staffs of the British Administrative. An engineer told me that these building stands without concrete pillars compared to the modern day buildings.  They are now occupied by the Government Offices, the Clifford Secondary School, as a rest house, among others.

The building now as a Government Office – Historic Architecture

The rainy season has prevented us to drive or walk around the town. We left Kuala Lipis for Kuala Lumpur after staying here for two days. It was a memorable visit after so many years we haven’t been there to see the development of this small but historic town.

Date: 31 May 2014 !