Pahang Court History

​BACKGROUND HISTORY OF THE KUANTAN PAHANG COURT COMPLEX

Based on historical records, Kuantan has existed as a settlement around the 19th century or since the early 1850s. Kuantan is the capital of Pahang State which is located on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia between latitude 3° 49' 0" in the north and longitude 102° 20' 0" in the east. To the east is the South China Sea with a coastline of 56 km (35 miles). To the west are Maran and Jerantut Districts, to the north is Terengganu State and to the south is Pekan District.

The Kuantan Courthouse was built in 1915. During the British colonial period, it was used by the colonial side to try cases under English law. In accordance with the provisions of the Courts Ordinance 1948, the Kuantan Court began operating on 1 January 1949. The Court Complex housed the High Court, the Sessions Court and the Magistrate's Court.

Bangunan Mahkamah Kuantan pada tahun 1915

At the beginning of its establishment, the Kuantan Court was a one-story building and cases were tried in a circuit by judicial officers from the Kota Bahru Court and the Kemaman Magistrate's Court. Cases in the High Court were heard by Mr. Justice Moor from Kota Bahru, Kelantan while the cases in the Sessions Court were heard by Mr. J.R Whimster, President of the Sessions Court of Kota Bahru, Kelantan. As for the Magistrate's Court, the hearing of the cases is handled by Magistrate Tuan Embong bin Dato' Jaya at the Kemaman Magistrate's Court, Terengganu.

In 1973, a two-storey building was completed with the High Court on the upper floor and the Sessions Court on the lower floor. This building was inaugurated by His Majesty Al-Marhum Sultan Sir Abu Bakar Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mu'adzam Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Billah Sultan Abdullah on April 19, 1973. The old court building was renovated to accommodate the Magistrate's Court. At the same time, a decision was made to enlarge the Administration Division by equipping the entire Court building with an air conditioning system. The state of Pahang at that time was the first state to have a fully air-conditioned court building. The Pahang State Government also contributed a total of RM16,000 for the purchase of Legal Journals for the Kuantan Court Library at that time.

In 1975, the Kuantan Court received the first local High Court Judge, YA. Dato' Wan Hamzah bin Wan Mohd Salleh. The increase in cases and the increasing workload has caused the number of Sessions Court Judges and Magistrates to increase. In 1992, the old Court building was renovated from two courtrooms to four courtrooms, one courtroom for the Sessions Court and three courtrooms for the Magistrate's Court. At the same time, the waiting room provided for the public at that time was converted into a Criminal Registration and Administration Unit.

Kompleks Bangunan Mahkamah Kuantan di Jalan Masjid

In addition to that, the Wisma Pahlawan Building space has been rented and used as the Kuantan Civil Magistrate's Court. While the structure of the Court in the old building has been rearranged, namely two courtrooms for the Criminal Magistrate's Court and two courtrooms for the Sessions Court.