Gemas

---

title: "Gemas" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["world-war-ii-sites-in-british-malaya", "towns-in-negeri-sembilan", "mukims-of-negeri-sembilan", "tampin-district"] description: "Town in Tampin, Malaysia" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemas" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in Tampin, Malaysia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Gemas
image_skyline	Pekan Gemas.jpg
image_caption	Federal Route 1 passes through Gemas town centre, on the Negri side.
image_flag	Flag of Negeri Sembilan.svg
pushpin_map	Malaysia West
pushpin_mapsize	300
pushpin_label_position	right
map_caption	Location of Gemas in Peninsular Malaysia
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_type1	State
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_type3	Luak
subdivision_name	Malaysia
subdivision_name1	Negeri Sembilan
subdivision_name2	Tampin
subdivision_name3	Pasir Besar
leader_title	Member of Parliament
population_as_of	2010
population_total	29,777
population_blank1_title	Demonym
population_blank1	Gemasian
timezone	MST
utc_offset	+8
timezone_DST	Not observed
coordinates
postal_code	73400
blank1_name	National calling code
blank1_info	07
native_name	zmi
settlement_type	Town and mukim
translit_lang1_type1	Jawi
::

| name = Gemas | image_skyline = Pekan Gemas.jpg | image_caption = Federal Route 1 passes through Gemas town centre, on the Negri side. | image_flag = Flag of Negeri Sembilan.svg | pushpin_map = Malaysia West | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | pushpin_label_position = right | map_caption = Location of Gemas in Peninsular Malaysia | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_type3= Luak | subdivision_name = Malaysia | subdivision_name1 = Negeri Sembilan | subdivision_name2 = Tampin | subdivision_name3= Pasir Besar | leader_title = Member of Parliament | leader_name = | population_as_of = 2010 | population_total = 29,777 | population_blank1_title = Demonym | population_blank1 = Gemasian | timezone = MST | utc_offset = +8 | timezone_DST = Not observed | coordinates = | postal_code = 73400 | blank1_name = National calling code | blank1_info = 07 | native_name = zmi | settlement_type = Town and mukim | translit_lang1 = | translit_lang1_type1 = Jawi | translit_lang1_info1 = | translit_lang1_type2 = | translit_lang1_info2 = | translit_lang1_type3 = | translit_lang1_info3 = | translit_lang1_type4 = | translit_lang1_info4 =

| other_name = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Negeri_Sembilan-Johor_state_border_monument,_Gemas.jpg" caption="Negeri Sembilan-Johor state border monument"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Stesen_Keretapi_Gemas.jpg" caption="KTMB]] Gemas railway station, now a museum"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Gemas_New_Station_1.jpg" caption="KTMB]] Gemas railway station."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Gemas_New_Station_2.jpg" caption="Platforms of the new Gemas station."] ::

Gemas (Negeri Sembilan Malay: Gomeh) is a small town and a mukim (township) in Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, near the Negeri Sembilan-Johor state border. It is 101 km southeast of Seremban, the state capital city, and 32 km north of Segamat, Johor.

Gemas is at the railway junction between the Malaysian west and east coast rail lines.

Demographics

Malays make up the majority of the population at 83% followed by the Chinese 8%, Indians at 5% and others 4%.

Gemencheh Bridge during Battle of Malaya

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/GemenchehBridge.jpg" caption="[[Gemencheh]] Bridge (middle distance) in 1945."] ::

During the Battle of Malaya in the Second World War, Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas was the site of a fierce battle between the Imperial Japanese Army and the 2/30th Battalion, 8th Division, Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Commanding Officer of the Battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan. Gemencheh Bridge was a bridge over the Kelamah River (Sungai Kelamah in Malay) that connected Gemas with the larger neighbouring town of Tampin. The Japanese had passed through Tampin and needed to cross the bridge to reach Gemas.

On 14 January 1942, "B" Company of the 2/30th Battalion, launched an ambush against the Japanese in the hope of preventing them from advancing further south. As the advancing Japanese soldiers passed by the ambush site, the bridge was blown. The battle following the ambush, and a further battle closer to Gemas, lasted two days. It ended with the Australian withdrawal through Gemas to Fort Rose Estate.

Four days later, another encounter between Japanese and Allied soldiers took place near Parit Sulong during the Battle of Malaya. Allied troops, including the Australian 2/19th and 2/29th Battalions, were surrounded and routed there.

A memorial to Australians killed there is by the site of the destroyed Gemencheh Bridge in Federal Route 1.

Politics

Gemas forms its own electoral district in the Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly.

On the national level, Gemas is part of Tampin constituency of the Malaysian Parliament.

Since 1988 Gemas is also an autonomous sub-district (daerah kecil), consisting of the Adat Perpatih customary districts of Gemas and Air Kuning. Municipal works and parliamentary representation remain under Tampin.

References

References

1. (2017). "Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use". Malaysian National Committee on Geographical Names.
2. "Undi.info".
3. "SEJARAH PENUBUHAN PDKG".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::