The main trunk line of the Federated Malay States railways passes through Selangor. It enters the state at Tanjong Malim on the Perak boundary, runs southward through Kuala Lumpor and so into the Negri Sembilan. It runs for 81 m. in Selangor territory. A branch line 27 m. long connects Kuala Lumpor with Port Swettenham on the Klang Straits where extensive wharves, capable of accommodating ocean-going vessels, have been constructed. A second branch line, measuring rather more than 4 m. in length, has been opened to traffic. It connects the caves at Batu with Kuala Lumpor. Frequent communication is maintained by steamer between Port Swettenham and Singapore, and by coasting vessels between the former port and those on the shores of the Straits of Malacca. All the principal places in the state are connected with one another by telegraph.
For administrative purposes Selangor is divided into six districts: Kuala Lumpor, in which the capital and the principal tin-fields are situated; Ulu Selangor, which is also a prosperous mining district; Kuala Selangor, which is agricultural, and poorly populated by Malays; Ulu Langat, mining and agricultural; Kuala Langat, the residence of the late sultan Abdul Samad, agricultural; and Klang, the only prosperous port of the state. Much money has been expended upon the capital, Kuala Lumpor, which possesses some fine public buildings, waterworks, &c., and where the principal residence of the Resident-General is situated. In some sort Kuala Lumpor is the capital not only of Selangor, but also of the whole federation. Its scenery is very attractive.
Negri Sembilan (the Nine States) is a federation of small native states which is now treated as a single entity, being under the control of a British Resident, and is situated between parallels 2° 28′ and 3° 18′ N. and 101° 45′ and 102° 45′ E., on the western side of the Malay Peninsula. It is bounded on the N. by the protected state of Pahang, on the S. by the territory of Malacca, on the E. by Pahang and the independent state of Johor, and on the W. by the Straits of Malacca. The coast-line is about 28 m. in length, and the extreme distance from north to south is 55 m., and that from east to west about 65 m. The estimated area is about 3000 sq. m. Port Dickson, or Arang-Arang, is the only port on the coast. It is connected with the capital, Seremban, by a railway 24 m. in length. Most of the states comprising the federation depend largely for their prosperity upon agriculture, but in some of the districts tin is being worked in considerable quantities, with good results.
As is the case with the history of most Malayan states, much rests upon no surer ground than tradition, in so far as the records of the Negri Sembilan are concerned. At the same time the native story that the states which now form the History. federation of the Negri Sembilan were originally peopled by tribes of Sakai, or aborigines of the peninsula, who descended from the mountains of the interior and peopled the valleys, is supported by much corroborative evidence. Not only does the Malay’s contempt for the Sakai make it exceedingly unlikely that the tradition, which is hardly a matter for pride, should have been preserved if it were not true, but also many of the laws and customs in force in these states are wholly foreign to those of the Malays, and can plainly be traced to the aborigines. As an instance, the custom of inheriting rank and property through the mother instead of through the father may be mentioned. Tradition further relates that towards the end of the 18th century a raja of the royal house of Menangkabu came from Sumatra to rule over the federation of small states, each of which continued to be governed in all its local affairs by its own chief and by the village and other councils sanctioned by ancient custom. The Sumatran raja took the title of Iang-di-per-Tuan of Sri Menanti. Although they bore the name of the “Nine States,” only six seem to have belonged to the federation during the time of which history speaks. These are Sri Menanti, Johol, Tampin, Rembau, Jelebu, and Sungei Ujong. Later the two latter separated themselves from the confederation. Ancient tradition says that the names of the nine states were originally Klang, Jelebu, Sungei Ujong, Johol, Segamat, Pasir Besar, Naning, Rembau and Jelai. Of these Klang was annexed by Selangor, Segamat and Pasir Besar by Johor, and Naning by Malacca. During the last years of the 18th century the Iang-di-per-Tuan appointed an Iang-di-per-Tuan Muda to rule Rembau, and the state of Tampin was created to provide for the family of the new chief. In 1887 the governor of the Straits Settlements sent Mr Martin Lister to the Negri Sembilan, which had become disintegrated, and by his influence the ancient federal system was revived under the control of a Resident appointed by the governor. The states which formed this new confederation were Johol, Ulu Muar, Jempol, Terachi, Inas, Gunong Pasir, Rembau, Tampin and Gemencheh. Prior to this, in 1873, owing to a civil war in Sungei Ujong, Sir Andrew Clarke sent a military force to that state, put an end to the disturbances, and placed the country under the control of a British Resident. Jelebu was taken under British protection in 1886, and was thenceforth managed by a magistrate under the orders of the Resident of Sungei Ujong. In 1896, when the federation of all the Malayan states under British control was effected, Sungei Ujong and Jelebu were reunited to the confederation of small states from which they had so long been separated and the whole, under the old name of the Negri Sembilan, or Nine States, was placed under one Resident.
The population of the Negri Sembilan, which according to the census taken in April 1891 was only 70,730, had increased to 96,028 by 1901, and was estimated at 119,454 in 1905. Of these 46,500 are Chinese, 65,000 Malays, 6700 Tamils, and 900 Europeans and Eurasians. The births registered slightly exceed the deaths in number, there being a large Malay population in the Negri Sembilan among whom the proportion of women to men is fair, a condition of things not found in localities where the inhabitants are mostly Chinese immigrants.
The revenue of the Negri Sembilan amounted to only $223,435 in 1888. In 1898 it had increased to $701,334, in 1900 to $1,251,366, and in 1905 to $2,335,534. The revenue for 1905 was derived mainly as follows:—customs $1,268,602, land Finance and Trade. revenue $145,475, land sales $21,407, while the revenue farms contributed $584,459. The expenditure in 1905 amounted to $2,214,093, of which $1,125,355 was expended upon public works. The trade returns for 1905, which are not, however, complete, show an aggregate value of about $13,000,000. The value of the tin exported during 1905 exceeded $6,900,000, and the value of the agricultural produce, of which gambier represented $211,000 and damar $80,000, amounted to $407,990.
Seremban, the administrative capital of the Negri Sembilan, is connected with Port Dickson by a railway line, owned by the Sungei Ujong Railway Company, which is 24½ m. in length. It is also situated on the trunk line of the General. Federated Malay States, and is thus joined by rail to Selangor on the north and to Malacca on the south. Frequent steam communication is maintained between Port Dickson and the ports on the Straits of Malacca and with Singapore.
For administrative purposes the Negri Sembilan is divided into five districts, viz. the Seremban District, the Coast District, Jelebu, Kuala Pilah and Tampin. Each of these is under the charge of a European district officer, who is responsible to the Resident. The Iang-di-per-Tuan lives at Kuala Pilah, but the capital of the federation is at Seremban in Sungei Ujong, where the Resident is stationed. The hereditary chiefs of the various states aid in the government of their districts, and have seats upon the state council, over which the Iang-di-per-Tuan presides. The watering-place of Magnolia Bay, where excellent sea-bathing is obtainable, is one of the pleasure resorts of this part of the peninsula.
Pahang, on the east coast of the peninsula, is situated between parallels 2° 28′ and 3° 45′ N. and 101° 30′ and 103° 30′ E. It is bounded on the N. by the independent native states of Kelantan and Trengganu; on the S. by the Negri Sembilan and Johor; on the E. by the China Sea; and on the W. by the protected states of Perak and Selangor. The coast-line is about 112 m. in length; the greatest length is about 210 m., and greatest breadth about 130 m. The state is the largest in the peninsula, its area being estimated at 15,000 sq. m. The ports on the coast are the mouths of the Endau, Rompin, Pahang and Kuantan rivers, but during the north-east monsoon the coast is not easy of approach, and the rivers, all of which are guarded by difficult bars, are impossible of access except at high tides.
The principal river of the state is the Pahang, from which it takes its name. At a distance of 180 m. from the coast this river is formed by two others named respectively the Jelai and the Tembeling. The former is joined 20 m. farther up stream by the Lipis, which has its rise in the mountains which form the boundary with Perak. The Jelai itself has its rise also in a more northerly portion of this range, while its two principal tributaries above the mouth of the Lipis, the Telom and the Serau, rise, the one in the plateau which divides Perak from Pahang, the other in the hills which separate Pahang from Kelantan. The Tembeling has its rise in the hills which divide Pahang from Kelantan, but some of its tributaries rise on the Trengganu frontier, while the largest of its confluents comes from the hills in which the Kuantan River takes its rise. The Pahang is navigable for large boats as far as Kuala Lipis, 200 m. from the mouth, and light-draught launches can also get up to that point. Smaller boats can be taken some 80 m. higher up the Jelai and Telom. The river, however, as a waterway is of little use, since it is uniformly shallow. The Rompin and Kuantan rivers are somewhat more easily navigated for the first 30 m. of their course, but taken as a whole the waterways of Pahang are of little value. The interior of Pahang is chiefly noted for its auriferous deposits. Gunong Tahan is situated on the boundary between Pahang and Kelantan. Its height is estimated at 8000 ft. above sea-level, but it has never yet been ascended. Pahang, like the states on the west coast, is covered almost entirely by one vast forest, but in the Lipis valley, which formerly was thickly populated, there is a considerable expanse of open grass plain unlike anything to be seen on the western seaboard. The coast is for the most part a sandy beach fringed with casuarina trees and there are only a few patches of mangrove-swamp throughout its entire length.