Tangkak

Overview

Tangkak is a district capital of Ledang, in the state of Johor. It is located in the north-western corner of the state of Johor, and lies close to the neighboring state of Malacca. Tangkak is nicknamed ‘Syurga Kain’ or ‘Fabric Town’, which alludes to its many cloth shops.  Tangkak is easily accessible from the North South Expressway via Exit 23, the Tangkak exit. There are also many buses which depart from Kuala Lumpur to Tangkak. There are also numerous medical centres as well as the Tangkak District Hospital, which also functions as a teaching hospital for the Melaka Manipal Medical College.

According to locals, the origins of Tangkak’s name emerged from ‘tang merangkak’ or ‘about crawling’. It was believed that Long Mahmud had led 7 brothers from the Riau Provinice in Indonesia to start the first settlement. They were sailing along the Kesang River before arriving at Tangkak River. As they saw the flat terrain, they decided to stay at the place. Unfortunately, the riverbanks were muddy and slippery and this caused them to crawl to get up the riverbank.

Tangkak is also renowned for housing Gunung Ledang (or Mount Ophir), which is the highest mountain in Johor. Gunung Legand is located only 17 kilometres from the town centre of Tangkak. In fact, in 1901, Tangkak was founded at the foot of Gunung Ledang, and back then it was under the direct control of the Muar district.