KUALA PILAH IN HISTORY 19 -
ONE FAMILY's STORY
Kuala Pilah may have been founded as early as 1850 as a small trading village for jungle produce on the upper reached of the Muar River or the Ulu Muar as it was more correctly
called that still stands as the Pekan Lama near the Muar River bridge not far from the new District offices and new 1950 police station of Kuala Pilah. the Discovery of Tin (the Tin rush) and later the Rubber boom of the late 1920s came much later.
This is the brief story of one family that grew up in KP from the 1930 era, schooled in Kuala Pilah' TMS that celebrates ins centennial (1914-2014) and indeed taught others as teachers in TMS and today has spread its children and grandchildren and great grandchildren on to 5 continents of the world - on the occasion
of Mothers' Day 2014 and Sellapakiam's 111th birthday on 1 May 2014
The Muttu Ramalingam - Sellapakiam clan of 9 children and parents started in Kuala Pilah and today has 37 grand and great-grandchildren
K Sella Pakiam 1 May 1903-22 July 1962 and her parents Kathiripillai and Parvathy
Sarojini Devi, Savithiri Devi Mrs.Sellapakiam Muttu Ramalingam with Skandadeva aged 3, Kumara deva aged 4, Muttu Ramalingam Advocate and Solicitor , Pathmavathy Devi
The Story of this KP family actually dates back to 1888 when Mr Ramasamy a former postmaster of Kelang first came from Thondaimanaru Ceylon to work in Rawang as a telegraph operator. His son MUTTU RAMALINGAM was born in Kuala Kubu Bahru on 30 December 1899 and lived in the post office building with his post master father and his mother and 3 siblingsin Kelang and attended St John's school in KL travelling by train daily.
Mr Muttu-Ramalingam Ramasamy went to Ceylon to complete schooling in 1914 and higher education in the Law college in Colombo and returned in 1930 to open the first law practice in Kuala Pilah . He was active in many KP committees, pre war and after the war including the management boards of TMS, Tamil school, Kandasamy temple , KP Scouts and President of Rotary Club Seremban
Ford Car similar to one owned pre war
Kuala Pilah those days already had developed into a prosperous town built on the booming tin industry of Parit Tinggi . It had expanded from the tiny riverside kampong that is still there as Pekan Lama near the Police station off Bahau Road. Already there were the 3 main streets that form the downtown area of the Pilah of today with oldest Lister road probably developed in the 1880s and parallel to it Jalan Yam Tuan that was developed from 1916 (pearl theatre bears testimony to the 1916 Pangung wayang even today and in the 1928 or so the third street, later called Jalan Tung Yen after towkay Tung Yen or Deng Zeru a tin miner of great repute and a koumintang leader who helped in so many ways develop KP in the early 1900s including the building of Lister Memorial . His was the warden for mines in Guangdong when he died in 1932 and soon after that the 3rd street of KP was named Jalan Tung Yen
Towkay Tung Yen 1920
Several shops on Jalan Tung Yen bear the date 1928. Being developed from the Seremban Road end This 3rd street to develop had just built no.196 which Mr. R Muttu Ramalingam rented for his law practice as one of its last buildings to be built. Its design therefore differs a little from the rest on the same street .
Being the last building it bordered the new Jalan Ulu muar and overlooked the wide green lung of KP- a valley that overlooked the Jalan Lister to Bahau road and the post office and an identical building that was the earlier police station destroyed in the wartime of WW2.
The Valley From 196 Jalan Tung Yen
196 Jalan Tung Yen from Hill Road and the Valley
Mrs Sella Pakiam Muttu Ramalingam aged 38 on the Moonlight Balcony of 196. Mrs Sellapakiam Mutturamalingam . Those days when cameras were a novelty and expensive few took pictures of buildings most pictures of the 1930s that families still have are those of each others portraits.
Pathmavathy Devi (with pigtail)dancing with friends in TMS padang 1937
Pathmavathy Devi, Kumara Deva and Sarojini Devi in a 1937 picture
a 1955 picture of Jalan Muar from 196 Balcony showing Shell, Mobil Petrol Pumps in front of the old bus stand - note a real bullock cart one of the first with rubber tires .
Ganeshadeva, Parameshvara Deva, Indira Devi and Rukmani Devi with Uncle Ponnudurai in a 1949 picture
Indira devi, Parameshvara Deva and Mother Sellapakiam in a 1947 picture
Standing Skandadeva, Ganeshadeva, Parameshvara Deva Savithiri Devi Kumara Deva
in a 1955 picture, Kiala Pilah
1964 photo of
Kumara Deva, Skandadeva, Muttu Ramalingam, Ganeshadeva, Parameshvara Deva in Kuala Pilah, 196 Jalan Tung Yen, Jalan Muar entrance to house.
Indira devi, Muttu Ramalingam with Shantini Mahesan, Rukumani Devi and Mahesan
Driver, Savithiri devi Leslie Mootoo with Mallika Mootoo and Prema Mootoo in front
at Batu Brendam airport, Melaka in a 1966 photo.
Families and friends at 24 Jalan Jelutong 3/16, Shah Alam photo taken in 1992
Skandadeva, Kumaradeva, Ganeshadeva, Parameshvara Deva
in a 1998 Picture at 196
Parameshvara Deva, Skandadeva, Kumara Deva, Ganeshadeva
THE KUALA PILAH THE FAMILY KNEW
TMS from 1914 onwards
TMS 1937
TMS 1990
Tuanku Muhammad school which was in the old district office and moved to its own building after 1914 then moved to its present buildings in 1930.
KP OLD Rest House 1891
KP Tan Puan Fountain 1937
Pekan Lama, KP 1860s?
Railway repair Shed KP built 1910
Rubber Shop on Jalan Tung Yen
Government Quarters, KP probably built around late 1920s
Ulu Muar Club built at least before1930
Look Up Kuala Pilah History
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