History

Kuantan in the first century was a part of Chih-Tu empire. In the 11th century, this piece of land was conquered by another small empire called Pheng-Kheng before being taken over by the Siamese during the 12th century. During the 15th century, Kuantan was ruled by the Malacca Empire.
Kuantan is said to have been founded in the 1850s. The word "Kuantan" was mentioned by Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir (Munshi Abdullah) circa 1851/2 as below:

...On Thursday night came a boat from Kuantan. Then they told the ship's crew there's a pirate ship at Tanjung Tujuh, forty of them and at Pulau Kapas, and as well at Pulau Redang; it was spotted by two Kuantan boats and they set off...

In its early days, it was known as Kampung Teruntum (Teruntum Village). The village was situated at the mouth of Teruntum River which is in front of the current hospital and it was established by Haji Senik and his followers in the 1850s. Early primary economic activities included fishing and small businesses. The main evidence of the establishment of the village is the cemetery that is situated near Taman Esplanade in front of the current Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan.
Towards the late 19th century, arrival of Chinese miners and traders saw the establishment of a township in Kuantan and nearby tin mining areas such as Gambang and Sungai Lembing. Similar to what occurred in other states in Peninsular Malaysia, rubber plantations attracted Indian settlers as well.
The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse took place off the coast of Kuantan on 10 December 1941.

Governments

Kuantan Municipal Council

The Pahang state government shifted the administrative centre of Pahang from Kuala Lipis to Kuantan in 1955.

Administrative divisions

Kuantan District is divided into 7 mukims, which are:^[1]

• Berserah
• Kuala Kuantan I
• Kuala Kuantan II
• Penor
• Sungai Karang
• Ulu Kuantan
• Ulu Lepar

The urban area of Kuantan city is located mostly in the mukims of Kuala Kuantan and Beserah.

Urban development

Kuantan will see many new developments including:

• Relocation of the state administration centre to its proposed site in Bandar Indera Mahkota(KotaSAS).
• Kuantan Port City consist of Kuantan Port expansion, Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, and Kuantan Integrated Biopark^[2]
• East Coast Railway Line (ECRL) from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan.^[3]
• Kuantan Waterfront Resort City at Tanjung Lumpur.