Tampin is located around 60 km south of the state capital city of Seremban and 30 km northwest of Malacca City, Malacca.
Toponymy
Tampin gets its name from the container or pouch weaved from the pandanusfronds. The container was used to store condiments such as the sticky dessert kelamai or dodol and the shrimp paste belacan. The Tampin Adat Territory, a specific subdivision within the district of the same name that also encompasses the town is also known as Luak Tampin, with luak being the local term for a territory, area or district.
Tampin was originally part of Luak of Rembau. After the Naning War in 1832, Raja Ali declared himself the ruler of Seri Menanti and his son-in-law, Syed Shaaban, as the ruler of Rembau. This enraged other rulers of Negeri Sembilan as they had no right to the posts. In 1834 a civil war ensued, which resulted in Raja Ali and Syed Shaaban retreating to Tampin and the area from Mount Tampin to Bukit Putus being removed from Rembau.[9] The provinces of Repah, Keru, Tebong and Tampin Tengah formed the district known as Tampin. Syed Shaaban became the first ruler of Tampin and proclaimed himself the title Tunku Besar Tampin. The district is one of the original confederation of nine states collectively known as Negeri Sembilan, which literally mean
"Nine States" in Malay.
On 11 March 1889, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Cecil Smith, held a meeting with the rulers of Jelebu, Sungai Ujong, Rembau, Seri Menanti and Tampin. The purpose of this meeting was to combine the districts to better manage them under British rule. Tampin, Rembau and Seri Menanti agreed to the proposal and were united as the Seri Menanti Confederation. The newly formed confederation accepted Martin Lister as its first British Resident.[10]
After the independence of Malaya in 1957, Negeri Sembilan and its districts started forming local administrative councils. Formerly known as the Tampin Town Board, the Tampin District Council was established on 1 July 1980, as a result of a restructure of the state via the Local Government Act of 1976.
There are 6 government elementary schools and 4 government secondary schools located in or near the main town area of Tampin. Schools that located outside of the state border of Negeri Sembilan are not included in the list.
Elementary schools
SJK(C) Kampung Baru Tampin
SJK(C) Chung Hua
SJK(T) Tampin
SK Dr Sulaiman
SK Tengku Zainun
SK Tunku Besar Tampin
Secondary schools
SMA Repah Tampin
SMK Taman Indah
SMK Tunku Besar Tampin
SMK Tunku Syed Idrus (formerly SMK Tampin)
Gallery
State border signboard between Tampin and Pulau Sebang (2008)
Downtown Tampin, seen from the Malaccan side
The state border (marked by traffic lights) amidst a busy traffic, seen from the Negri side