Pengenalan.

Bukit Jugra yang terletak di Jugra, Kuala Langat, Selangor mempunyai keunikannya yang tersendiri. Jugra merupakan sebuah bandar yang menghadap Selat Melaka dan berhampiran dengan Sungai Langat. Bandar yang paling hampir dengan Jugra adalah Bandar Banting yang jaraknya kira-kira 20 kilometer. Mengikut sejarah, ketika zaman pemerintahan Sultan Abdul Samad yang memerintah negeri Selangor dari tahun 1859 hingga 1898, Bukit Jugra Banting telah dijadikan tempat bersemayam Sultan Selangor pada ketika itu. Antara yang menjadi tarikan pelancong di Bukit Jugra Banting sehingga kini selain makam kerabat di raja Selangor adalah rumah api yang dikenali sebagai Rumah Api Bukit Jugra. Rumah Api Bukit Jugra setinggi 146 meter ini dibina pada tahun 1976 dan ditadbir oleh Jabatan Maritim Malaysia.

Fungsi rumah api suatu ketika dahulu adalah memberi kemudahan kepada para pedagang atau pelayar untuk keluar masuk ke pelabuhan terutama pada waktu malam. Namun, kini rumah api tidak lagi digunakan dan hanya dijadikan sebagai bahan sejarah untuk generasi kini dan akan datang. Selain terkenal dengan sejarahnya yang tersendiri, Bukit Jugra Banting sering menjadi tumpuan pengunjung untuk melihat dan mengenali Rumah Api Bukit Jugra dengan lebih dekat. Rumah api yang tersergam indah ini memberi seribu satu kelebihan kepada pengunjung terutama kepada peminat sejarah. Bukit Jugra selain menjadi pilihan pencinta sejarah Rumah Api Bukit Jugra, turut diadakan aktiviti luncur udara yang melibatkan penyertaan seramai lapan ahli Kelab Rekreasi Utusan Malaysia (KRUM) bersama Persatuan Luncur Udara Malaysia (PLUM) pada 19 dan 20 Jun 2010 yang lalu. Terbang tinggi di udara melebihi ketinggian Rumah Api Bukit Jugra Banting setinggi 146 meter memberi pengalaman yang cukup berharga buat peserta, di samping dapat menikmati pemandangan berlatarbelakangkan perairan Selat Melaka yang begitu indah.

Kesan Sejarah - Tapak Perigi Lama Jugra

Tapak Perigi Lama Jugra ini terletak di kaki Bukit Jugra, kira-kira 200 meter dari Bangunan Muzium Tapak (Insitu) Jugra, Kuala Langat. Tapak Perigi Lama ini di jumpai semasa kerja-kerja survei arkeologi di jalankan pada bulan November 2001. Di sekitar tapak ini terdapat beberapa unit perigi lama yang dipercayai digunakan sebagai sumber air pada masa dahulu.  Di kawasan tapak di Bukit Jugra ini juga dipercayai terdapatnya runtuhan banguan berdasarkan jumpaan sebahagian kecil tembok atau dinding batu yang masih elok semasa kerja-kerja carigali dijalankan pada tahun 2003. Selain jumpaan tembok batu tersebut, jumpaan-jumpaan lain seperti serpihan seramik, tembikar, porselin dan logam juga telah ditemui.  

BANTING, a town in the district of Kuala Langat, Selangor, has a laid-back lifestyle and offers good food, reasonably-priced shopping and has a rich history. Situated on the banks of Sungai Langat, the town, with a population of about 50,000, has many attractions and one of them is a good place to shop for textiles.

The Indah Pesona Textile godown at Wisma MDKL is popular for its low-priced baju kurung and curtains. If you love saris and Punjabi suits, go to Jalan Pekan Banting. There you will find many items from India and the biggest of the shops is called Harekrishna. After watching the beautiful sunset at Morib beach, treat your family to a hearty meal as a whole stretch of stalls selling everything from satay to sotong and ikan bakar comes alive at night. On Sundays, there is a karaoke session with a small price of RM2 per song. Historically, the beach was a landing point for the British and Indian liberation forces during World War II.

Nature lovers can go jungle-trekking in the forest reserve at Bukit Jugra. Before reaching the peak, a lighthouse stands guard to guide vessels plying the Straits of Malacca. The view from the peak is breathtaking, so don’t forget to bring along a camera. Bukit Jugrah used to be called Parcelar Hill — derived from the Arabic word balasar, which means “above the head”.

Visitors should not miss the prominent Kanchong Darat landmark which is the Sidek residence belonging to Datuk Sidek Abdullah Kamar, the father of the Sidek badminton brothers. The brothers’ eldest sister stays there now, but visitors who wish to see the house are always welcome.

Before reaching Bukit Jugra, visitors will come across Makam Sultan Abdul Samad, the resting place of Sultan Abdul Samad Almarhum Raja Abdullah. He reigned as the Sultan of Selangor from 1857 to 1898. During his reign, Selangor saw its only civil war, which came to be known as the Klang War.

Banting town is also famous for its rojak mee and cendol. According to locals, the best rojak mee, which is pasembur and yellow noodles with five different curries, can be found at Restoran Tawaqal. The restaurant, run by a family of Indian Muslims from India, has been at Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad since 1941. Only two cendol stalls are worth mentioning here.

Both can be found along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad — one in front of the old Lido cinema, which uses the traditional method to shave the ice, and the other in front of the KFC restaurant. Istana Bandar is historical as the fifth Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah, built the royal palace in 1905.

It was the birth place of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, the 11th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who died in office. The palace is open daily to the public. Admission is free. Visiting hours are from 8am to 6pm. For those who want fresh fish, Kampung Endah fishing village is the spot to visit. Fishermen can be seen unloading their catch or mending broken nets here. There is a Chinese restaurant in the area and patrons can ask the restaurant to cook the fish for you.

Another popular tourist spot is Fazz Enterprise Kerepek House located at Kanchong Darat which offers 75 different traditional crackers and kuih. It is owned by the Mahmuddin Abas family which grows its own tapioca, banana and oil palm to make the snacks. The family also owns a small shop selling furniture made from Indonesian Jati wood.

Pantai Kelanang is a new tourist spot in Banting. Unlike Morib beach, which is a hive of activity, it is quite serene here. With a white sandy beach nestled behind mangrove trees, it is a place to relax and enjoy the peace and calm. To get to this beach, take the same road to Morib beach. After Tongkah, signboards have been placed to guide visitors. Banting town has suddenly captured the attention of all Malaysians and for the first time people all over the country are talking about it.

It did not even get so much of attention even when the Sidek brothers, who come from Kampung Olak Lempit not far from Banting town, were winning honours on the national and international front during their heyday. The town is located 32km from Klang and 20km from the KL International Airport (KLIA). 

The townspeople are as stunned as the rest of the nation over the brutal killing of millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya along with three others.The mood is sombre in Banting and the people were devastated, finding it difficult to believe such a ruthless crime took place in their area. Inevitably, the news of the murder and arrests had been the talking point in coffee shops, offices and schools especially over the past two days. StarMetro made a check around Banting town and found life continues to go on at a slow pace.

It resembles the usual set up of a small town which is mostly filled with double-storey shophouses. The visit also found that there were not many people out and about in the town which appeared rather quiet compared with normal days.The shops including restaurants and retail outlets were rather empty. The people seemed to have come to terms with the frequent appearance of police vehicles, journalists and photographers in town. Anthony Paul, 47, said Banting attracted a lot of attention from people all over the country. He said the news reports had also placed the town in a bad light.

BUKIT JUGRA

Jugra was the royal capital of Selangor when the then ruling monarch, Sultan Abdul Samad built Istana Jugra (Jugra Palace) and moved there in 1875. It was situated in a strategic location, not exactly at the river mouth but easily accessible from the Straits of Malacca, and protected by a hill, Bukit Jugra; which stands clearly out above the low-lying mangrove swamps. For centuries it served as a familiar landmark to navigators of the Straits of Malacca. Chinese, Arab and European mariners marked it in their charts; Bukit Jugra was also known to many foreign navigators as Parcelar Hill, derived from the Arabic name for it, balasar.

It was during this time that Jugra also briefly became the centre of British administration in Selangor, although this was soon moved to Klang, and a decade later to Kuala Lumpur. The Sultan continued to live at Jugra until he died in 1898, and the new Sultan, Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah also known as Sultan Sulaiman was proclaimed there. This was the last important occasion in Jugra.

After that, Jugra quickly shrank to become a backwater, as even the local administration was shifted to the new centre of Banting and Sultan Sulaiman made his official residence at Klang.