Masjid Tanah

Middle of Masjid Tanah town with its historic clock tower, called the Big Ben. A local team in the 1970s also carried the same name.

Masjid Tanah Downtown

Masjid Tanah is a mukim in Alor Gajah District, Malacca, Malaysia.^[1] The name Masjid Tanah originates from a mosque (masjid) built from soil (tanah). The town has been inhibited since mid 1500 AD starting from a small village. It is one of the largest towns in Malacca. In the late-1990s, the value of real estate in Masjid Tanah received a boom when the government decided to build an oil refinery owned by Petronas at Sungai Udang near the town.

It has many beaches in Pengkalan Balak, 7 km away, and is close to Tanjung Bidara and Kuala Sungai Baru. Datuk Abu Seman Yusop, the former Malaysian Deputy of Home Minister (2009–2013), comes from this town. He is also the former PR for Masjid Tanah. After the 2013 Malaysian General Election, he was succeeded by Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (2013–current), the first female PR for Masjid Tanah.

History

The name of Masjid Tanah comes from the mosque that was made from soil by a Sheikh from Gujerat in around 1800. This mosque was also built by a local named Hj. Sulong bin Sibeng. Most of the mosque that was built from soil was demolished but recreated in 1951. This mosque was shared by several kampung (villages).

Each kampung has their own leader (ketua kampung). Most of the kampung are named by origin of plant. This tradition of taking the name based on plant is maybe taken from the idea of the name of Malacca itself. Malacca is a name of a tree.

Masjid Tanah located in Alor Gajah is very near to Negeri Sembilan. Hence, most of people is originate from Negeri Sembilan. They usually have the accent of Negeri Sembilan or Minang and shared the same culture of adat perpatih. In some kampung the "culture of doing thing together" or "gotong royong" was still implemented. But most of the culture is now forgotten. The young preferred to work in urban areas and the houses in kampung are mostly uninhibited.

Education

• Institute of Poultry Technology

Tourist attractions

• Al-Khawarizmi Astronomy Complex
• Tanjung Bidara
• Turtle Conservation and Information Centre

Gallery

• 
  Coconut trees at Pengkalan Balak beach
• 
  Kemunting Beach in Pengkalan Balak
• 
  Sunset at Pengkalan Balak
• 
  Sungai Tuang's village mosque is situated in Pengkalan Balak

See also

• List of cities and towns in Malaysia by population

References

State of Malacca
Capital: Malacca City
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Administrative divisions	Districts Alor Gajah District Central Malacca District Jasin District Cities/Municipalities Malacca City Alor Gajah Jasin Towns Ayer Keroh Asahan Batang Melaka Batu Berendam Bemban Bukit Beruang Bukit Katil Cheng Durian Tunggal Hang Tuah Jaya (state administrative centre) Klebang Krubong Kuala Sungai Baru Lendu Lubuk China Machap Baru Masjid Tanah Melaka Pindah Merlimau Naning Nyalas Pulau Sebang Ramuan China Selandar Serkam Simpang Ampat Sungai Rambai Sungai Udang Tampin Tanjung Bidara Tanjung Kling Tanjung Tuan Telok Mas Umbai Housing estates Taman Angkasa Nuri Taman Belimbing Setia Taman Bukit Katil Damai 2 (Phase 6·7·8) Taman Kesidang Taman Kota Laksamana Taman Merdeka Taman Maju Taman Melaka Baru Taman Melaka Perdana Taman Merdeka Jaya Taman Muzaffar Heights Taman Ozana Impian Taman Pertam Jaya Taman Saujana Taman Saujana Puri Townships Bandar Utama Cheng Malim Jaya Melaka Raya Bandar Jasin Bestari Villages Ayer Paabas FELDA Kemendor Lipat Kajang Paya Rumput Pokok Mangga Telok Gong FELDA Tun Ghafar Air Kangkong FELDA Tun Ghafar Bukit Senggeh FELDA Tun Ghafar Hutan Percha FELDA Tun Ghafar Kemendor FELDA Tun Ghafar Machap FELDA Tun Ghafar Menggong New villages Desa Taboh Naning Kampung Baru Ayer Keroh Kampung Baru Air Salak Kampung Baru Bertam Ulu Kampung Baru Bukit Beruang Kampung Baru Bukit Katong Kampung Baru Bukit Rambai Kampung Baru Gunung Emas Kampung Baru Lendu Kampung Baru Machap Baru Kampung Baru On Lok Kampung Baru Parit Keliling Kampung Baru Paya Mengkuang Kampung Maju Pondok Batang Kampung Baru Simpang Bekoh Kampung Baru Sungai Udang Kampung Baru Tanjung Minyak Kampung Baru Tiang Dua Kampung Permai
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Coordinates: 2°21′N 102°07′E / 2.350°N 102.117°E / 2.350; 102.117