Gombak District

History

Gombak district was formed by combining portions of the former Greater Kuala Lumpur district and Rawang in February 1974. Until 1997, Rawang was the district capital; the capital has been moved to Bandar Baru Selayang.

Gombak (town) also refers to as a locality (town/area/suburb) in the northern and central portion of the Setapak subdistrict (both in Gombak and Kuala Lumpur). Before 1974, Gombak was a town before it became a district. Gombak was home to the settlements of the first Minangkabau immigrants in the 1800s and was established soon after. Old mosques in the Gombak area such as the Masjid Lama Batu 6 Gombak are still standing to this day. Today, Gombak can be referred to both the town and district itself but the locals usually refers Gombak as the town, not the district.

Geography

Gombak borders the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur to the south, the Ulu Selangor district to the north, Kuala Selangor District to the west, Petaling District to the southwest, Ulu Langat District to the southeast, and the State of Pahang to the east. Both Gombak and Kuala Lumpur, along with some other districts in Selangor, are situated within the Klang Valley. Other localities in Gombak district include Batu Arang, Kuang, Rawang, Kundang, Gombak town, Selayang, Batu Caves and Hulu Kelang.

Gombak River starts from this district and merges with the larger Klang River in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting place of the two rivers is the symbolic birthplace of Kuala Lumpur. At the center of the confluence is the elegant Masjid Jamek.

Administrative divisions

Gombak District is divided into 4 mukims, which are:

• Batu
• Rawang
• Setapak
• Ulu Klang

Government

Gombak is partly administrated by two different local governments completely within it, which fall under the state jurisdiction, not the district:

• Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (Among Mukim Ulu Kelang of the district)
• Selayang Municipal Council (Most part of district except Mukim Ulu Kelang area)

Demographics

| 1991 |352649 | 2000 |537525 | 2010 |668694 | 2020 |942336 | graph-pos = bottom

The following is based on Department of Statistics Malaysia 2010 census.

Gombak has one of the largest Hui Muslim Communities in Malaysia. Nearly 60% of Hui Chinese live in Gombak.

Education

The main campus of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM/UIAM) is located in Gombak town.

National education is under the purview of the Gombak District Education Office. As of 2014, there were 53 national type primary schools, eight national type (Chinese) primary schools, seven national type (Tamil) primary schools, 30 national type secondary schools (SMK), two national type secondary boarding schools (SM Berasrama Penuh), two national type secondary Islam religious school (SM Agama) and two national type secondary vocational schools (Kolej Vokasional).

Tourist attractions

Gombak has a large amount of recreational area and tourist attraction.

1. Batu Caves
2. Forest Research Institute Malaysia
3. Batu Dam, Batu Caves
4. Gua Damai Extreme Park, Batu Caves
5. Batu Arang Heritage Town
6. Orang Asli Museum, Gombak
7. Hutan Lipur Bukit Lagong, Selayang
8. Hutan Lipur Sungai Tua, Selayang
9. Kancing Forest Park, Rawang
10. Selayang Hot Spring, Selayang
11. Commonwealth Forest Park, Rawang
12. Templer Park, Rawang
13. Tasik Biru Kundang, Kundang
14. National Zoo of Malaysia
15. Klang Gates Dam
16. Batu Asah Waterfall, Hulu Kelang
17. Ampang Forest Reserve, Hulu Kelang
18. Selangor Fruit Valley, Batu Arang

Federal Parliament and State Assembly Seats

List of Gombak district representatives in the Federal Parliament (Dewan Rakyat)

List of Gombak district representatives in the State Legislative Assembly (Dewan Undangan Negeri)

Transportation

By rail

• KTM Komuter (commuter rail services):

Batu Caves-Pulau Sebang Line:

Tanjung Malim-Port Klang Line:

KTM ETS (inter-city rail services):

LRT Kelana Jaya Line

MRT Putrajaya Line

By car

The Gombak district is served by the following expressways:

• Federal Route 1 is the main thoroughfare going through Rawang town, Selayang and Batu Caves.
• Federal Route 68, also known as Jalan Gombak, runs through here before terminating in Bentong, Pahang.
• North-South Expressway Northern Route runs through Gombak district, providing exits to 114 Sungai Buloh North, 115 Rawang South and 116 Rawang.
• East Coast Expressway and Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway are the district's main gateway to the east coast states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.
• Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway connects Ijok near Kuala Selangor to Templer's Park near Rawang with exits to 2505 Kundang, 2506 Kuang and 2508 Templer Park are runs through Gombak district.
• Guthrie Corridor Expressway also runs through Gombak district, providing exits to 115 Rawang South and 3501 Kuang.

Notable people

• Mohd Ikhmil Fawedz Mohd Hanif

References

References

1. "Portal Rasmi PDT Gombak Perutusan Pegawai Daerah Gombak".
2. "Portal Rasmi PDT Gombak Orang Besar Daerah Gombak".
3. "Portal Rasmi PDT Gombak Profil Gombak".
4. Hailong, Ma. (2017). "The History of Chinese Muslims' Migration into Malaysia". King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.