Malacca, Malacca photo, Malacca video, Malacca culture, Malacca galleries, Malacca information, Malacca facilities, Malacca conceirge services, Malacca cafe, Malacca hotel, Malacca hostel, Malacca room categories, Malacca shopping complex, Malacca market, Malacca night market, Malacca beach, Malacca island, Malacca history, Malacca airport, travel, travelling, travel video, travel video clip, hotel, hostel, backpackers, beach, island, resort, tourism, holiday, destination, destination guide, guide, undersea world, diving, casino, crafts, cultural, culture, market, night market, history museum, nomad, districts, festival, archery, flying fox, scuba, diving, surf, winter, snow, ruins, hiking, rafting, reef, adventure, adventure nature, Lonely Planet, honored, Malacca, Turkey, dancing, movie, television, google,Malacca,Historic,City,Malaysia

Malacca – Historical City,Malaysia

[media id=52 width=500 height=400]

Malacca (Malay: Melaka, dubbed The Historical State or Negeri Bersejarah amongst locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang.

It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south.

The capital is Malacca Town. This historical city centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008.

Although one of the oldest Malay sultanates, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri or Governor, rather than a Sultan, acts as the head of state.

Geography

The state of Malacca covers an area of 1,650-km², or 0.5 percent of the whole area of Malaysia. The state is divided into 3 districts: Central Melaka (Melaka Tengah) (314 km²), Alor Gajah (660 km²), and Jasin (676 km²).

Malacca sits upon the southwestern coast of Malay Peninsula opposite Sumatra, with the state of Negeri Sembilan to the north and Johor to the east.

Malacca is also situated roughly two-thirds of the way down the West coast, 148 km south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and 245 km north of Singapore and commands a central position on the Straits of Malacca.

The state capital Malacca Town is strategically located between the two national capitals (of Malaysia and Singapore, respectively) and connected with excellent roads and highways.

Malacca still harbors no train station, though the terminal at Tampin, Negeri Sembilan is easily accessible. However, a domestic airport terminal rests in Batu Berendam.

The offshore Pulau Besar, Pulau Upeh and Tanjung Tuan are also parts of Malacca.

Economy

The tourism and manufacturing sectors are the two most important sectors in the state economy. Malacca has adopted as its slogan, “Visiting Malacca Means Visiting Malaysia” (“Melawat Melaka Bererti Melawati Malaysia“).

It is rich in cultural heritage and bears several places of historical interest.

Malacca is home to several modern shopping complexes to attract more visitors to the state.

Examples include Mahkota Parade Shopping Centre at Plaza Mahkota (City Centre), Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall (which is situated on the historical field of Padang Pahlawan, where Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj announced the independence day of the Federation Of Malaya), Melaka Mall Shopping Complex (formerly known as Kotamas Shopping Complexe), A’Famosa Safari and Theme Park and Plaza Melaka Raya at the Taman Melaka Raya.

Malacca also has its very own hypermarket and departmental store.

A few examples include Parkson Departmental Store (Mahkota Parade and Melaka Mall), Jusco Supermarket and Departmental Store (Ayer Keroh and coming soon near Melaka Sentral), Tesco Hypermarket and Giant Hypermarket at Bachang Utama; also a Supermarket at (Mahkota Parade).

Apart from tourism, Malacca is also a manufacturing centre for products ranging from food and consumer products, through high-tech weaponry and automotive components to electronic and computer parts.

There are at least 23 industrial estates that houses some 500 factories from the United States, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Transport

Pulau Sebang at Alor Gajah district, a town 30 km north of Malacca town, is the nearest train station that serves Malacca. There were railway tracks from Pulau Sebang to Malacca before World War II but were dismantled by the Japanese during the war for the construction of the infamous Burmese Death Railway.

It was never rebuilt after the war though traces of the line remain.

Malacca has a bus station, Melaka Sentral which has air-conditioned waiting areas and separate areas for buses plying the town routes and for buses plying the intertown routes with regular bus services to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and other places in Malaysia.

Batu Berendam Airport in Batu Berendam mainly serves chartered flights from around the region. It also serves as a flight school for Malaysia Flying Academy. It is now refurbished into a brand new international airport for the state of Melaka.

The Ayer Keroh exit at the North-South highway is the main entry to Malacca. There are two additional exits along the North-South highway, namely the Simpang Ampat and Jasin exits.

State government

Breakdown of State Seats Representatives elected 2008

Malacca is administered by its State Assembly and Executive Committee (EXCO).

The State Assembly represents the highest authority in the state and decides on policy matters. The EXCO is responsible to the State Assembly and comprises members who are appointed every five years by the political party in power.

It is headed by the Governor (Yang Di-Pertua Negeri) who is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

The Chief Minister’s Department is the administrative pillar of the State Government, and is responsible for the overall administration of the State, as well as its political interest.

The administrative complex houses the Chief Minister’s office, as well as the office of the State Secretariat. For administrative purposes, Malacca is divided into three districts under separate jurisdiction:

• Malacca Central District & Land Office
• Alor Gajah District & Land Office
• Jasin District & Land Office

These offices render various services and facilities to the people in their daily lives.

Culture

The historic centre of Malacca was inscribed on the World Heritage List on 7 July 2008 together with George Town, the capital of Penang.

The Malays who are the original settlers of Malacca since 1400, form the largest community. The Malaccan Malays are rich in culture from their daily life to the building arts. The famous Malacca Steps or Tangga Melaka are common in front of many Malay houses in Malacca.

Two of the most important museums in Malacca are the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum and the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum.

Malacca is well-known for its food. Most notable of all is the traditional Malay dishes like ikan asam pedas, sambal belacan and cencaluk.

Belacan, a Malay variety of shrimp paste, is prepared from fresh tiny shrimp of a species known as keragu in Malay.

These are mashed into a paste and dried in little mashed lumps, pounded and formed into large balls, dried again for a week or so, wrapped in plastic and stored for future use. It is in this form that most of these blachan balls are sold.

Belacan is used as an ingredient in many dishes, or eaten on its own with rice. A common preparation is sambal belacan, made by mixing belacan with chili peppers, minced garlic, shallot paste and sugar and then fried.

The aroma from the frying mixture can be unpalatable to Westerners who have not become accustomed to it, but is an absolute delight to the Asian connoisseur.

Malacca is also famous for satay celup. Raw fish and meat are skewered onto sticks which is then cooked in a peanut sauce. The satay celup is often self-service where you pay for individual sticks.

There is also Nyonya-Baba cuisine which is a mixture of Chinese (mostly southern Hokkien or Fujian influence), Portuguese, Dutch, Indian, British and Malay cooking with most dishes being spicy in nature.

Interesting dishes of the Peranakan include Itik Tim (a soup containing duck and salted vegetables), Ayam Pong Teh (chicken casserole with salted brown-bean sauce which is usually served with potatoes) as well as the famous Nyonya Laksa.

Chicken Rice Ball is another dish popular with domestic Chinese tourists.

Breakdown of State Seats Representatives elected 2008

St. Paul’s Hill (A’Famosa)

The Portuguese colonised Melaka from 1511 to 1641. The first thing they did was build a fort overlooking the river, calling it A’Famosa.

As Melaka was the centre of struggles between super powers of the time, and suffered the constant threat of attack, the A’Famosa fort was critical in Portugal maintaining its colonial foothold in the Far East.

Within the fort walls were housing and food stores, a castle, a meeting room for the Portuguese Council and five churches.

A seven-month attack by the Dutch just about destroyed the entire fortress, leaving only the entrance façade and the structure of a church at the top of the hill.

Go for a stroll up St. Paul’s Hill on a cool late afternoon and wander among the majestic trees and historical remnants. Here, you can almost imagine the glories and miseries of the besieged lives the Portuguese would have led right here all those years ago…

Christ Church, Malacca

Christ Church: Constructed in 1753, the structure reflects original Dutch architecture.

The building houses hand-crafted church benches, jointless ceiling skylights, a copper replica of the Bible, a headstone written in the Armenian language, and a replica of “The Last Supper”.

St. John’s Fort

Reconstructed by the Dutch in the third quarter of the 18th century, the cannons in this fort point inwards towards the mainland because at that time, the threat to Malacca was mainly from inland rather than the sea.

Taming Sari Tower

Witness a host of interesting and historical sights of Melaka from a height of 80 metres of Menara Taming Sari.

Rest assured with the beauty of the vast scenic Melaka straits and the fast development of Melaka, your visit will be an unforgettable and memorable one.

Menara Taming Sari which located at Jalan Merdeka, Banda Hilir, Melaka was opened on 18 April 2008. The 110 metre viewing tower was designed based on the legendary Taming Sari Keris.

It will be the 1st tower in the country to have a fully revolving structure. The air-conditioned viewing cabin will be able to accommodate 66 people at one time.

Taman Mini Malaysia & Mini ASEAN

The Taman Mini Malaysia cultural park is located a few kilometres outside of Melaka, near the town of Ayer Keroh.

If you have an interest in traditional architecture and ways of life, this is a great place to go exploring. Each of the homes represents the architectural style of the 13 states in Malaysia and is furnished with various items, arts and crafts which depict the culture of each state.

Inside each house, you can find a range of genuine handicrafts originating from each state or county. The life-like figures ‘inhabiting’ each charming home on stilts are garbed in their respective traditional costumes.

Other attractions in the park include weekly cultural shows and traditional games. Basically, this is an opportunity to see all Malaysian architecture and heritage in a short all-encompassing outing. And it’s a nice break from the hustle and bustle of nearby urban Melaka.

Malacca, Malacca photo, Malacca video, Malacca culture, Malacca galleries, Malacca information, Malacca facilities, Malacca conceirge services, Malacca cafe, Malacca hotel, Malacca hostel, Malacca room categories, Malacca shopping complex, Malacca market, Malacca night market, Malacca beach, Malacca island, Malacca history, Malacca airport, travel, travelling, travel video, travel video clip, hotel, hostel, backpackers, beach, island, resort, tourism, holiday, destination, destination guide, guide, undersea world, diving, casino, crafts, cultural, culture, market, night market, history museum, nomad, districts, festival, archery, flying fox, scuba, diving, surf, winter, snow, ruins, hiking, rafting, reef, adventure, adventure nature, Lonely Planet, honored, Malacca, Turkey, dancing, movie, television, google,Malacca,Historic,City,Malaysia