Fort Lukut|Negeri Sembilan|Malaysia

Interesting Places In Malaysia


Situated 20 km southwest of Seremban on the road to Port Dickson. Located at Kota Lukut. Lukut emerged as a tin mining area in 1820. Fort Lukut is a malay fort built on hilltop around 1826. It served as a defensive wall against foreign attacks. Today, the remains of some of the laterite walls, moats and buildings can still be seen here. Traveling to Fort Lukut will bring the visitor past many neatly-planted rows of rubber trees and oil palms, which are among the mainstays of the state's economy.

Kota Lukut (Lukut Fort) was built by Raja Jumaat bin Raja Jaafar in 1847 on Bukit Gajah Mati (Dead Elephant Hill). This is the most important fort in Lukut while it was a mining centre in the late 1820s. It is a perfect example of an impressive defense system during the 19th century.

Raja Jumaat was the son of Raja Jaafar, a Riau Chieftain of Bugis ancestry who was sent by Sultan Muhammad of Selangor (1826-1858) to take charge of Lukut after the Sultan's previous representative, Raja Busu and his family were killed in 1834 during a clash with local Chinese secret society. In 1846, Raja Jumaat married Sultan Muhammad's daughter, Raja Senai, and was subsequently appointed as the Sultan's representative in Lukut.

Raja Jumaat built this fort a little after his arrival in Lukut. The fort is 607 feet long by 505 feet wide and had a ditch of 15 feet, which was defended by large muzzle loading guns. Apart from that, Raja Jaafar also built a large two-storey house in the centre of the fort and raised a body of 22 Malay Uniformed Police to protect the fort.

No comments: