Kuala Pilah & Nilai

Kuala Pilah is a town and district in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Commonly called Pilah by the mainly Malay Minangkabau inhabitants, it is also the name of a district. It is an old valley town with many of the pre-war Chinese shophouses still fronting the main streets surrounded by traditional style Malay village houses built on stilts nestled amongst extensive rice fields. Among the local specialities are Minangkabau food.

Kuala Pilah town itself is a main stopover for transport routes. It has a sizeable Chinese community that has existed since the mining days during the early British rule.

On the main road is a Chinese-styled arch dedicated to Martin Lister who was the first British Resident of Negeri Sembilan, commemorating his effort in ending the intermittent violent conflict between Chinese secret societies then rampant amongst the migrant Chinese populace. Lister was killed by his enemies in the nearby hills at Ulu Bedul. The old Kuala Pilah Resthouse was a government built resthouse during the British occupation. In the early years, resthouses were the only available hotels and where everyone from businessmen to travellers stayed.

Nilai is a town located in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Due to its proximity, and connection through the KTM to Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it is a rapidly growing town. Development projects can be seen as one drives around Nilai. Two of Malaysia's most well-known colleges and two universities are located in Nilai: Nilai University College, INTI International University, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and Islamic University College of Malaysia. As a result, the town is occupied by students from all over the world. Students from over 30 countries can be seen in Nilai.[citation needed]

Nilai has become a popular shopping town with the establishment of several major shopping malls such as Nilai 3 Wholesale Centre, Nilai Square, Mydin and Giant Hypermarket.

Negeri Sembilan

Negeri Sembilan (Jawi: نڬري سمبيلن; Chinese: 森美兰; English: "the State of nine") , is one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia. It is located on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and is bordered in the north by Selangor, in the east by Pahang and in the south by Malacca and Johor.

The name is believed to derive from the nine districts or negara (now known as luak) settled by the Minangkabau, a people originally from West Sumatra (present-day Indonesia). Minangkabau features are still visible today in traditional architecture and the dialect of Malay spoken.

Unlike the hereditary monarchs of the other royal Malay states, the ruler of Negeri Sembilan is known as Yang di-Pertuan Besar instead of Sultan. The election of the Ruler is also unique whereby he is selected by the council of Undangs who lead the four biggest districts of Sungai Ujong, Jelebu, Johol, and Rembau, making it one of the more democratic monarchies.

The capital of Negeri Sembilan is Seremban. The royal capital is Seri Menanti in the district of Kuala Pilah. Other important towns are Port Dickson and Nilai.

The Arabic honorific title of the state is Darul Khusus ("the Special Abode").

The ethnic composition in 2005 was:Malay (497,896 or 54.96%), Chinese (220,141 or 24.3%), Indian (137,588 or 15.18%), Other (50,267 or 5.54%).

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