Merlimau

Merlimau is a town in Malacca, Malaysia. It is situated about 22 kilometers south-east of Melaka Historical City. Until 40 years ago, it used to be the main town travelers passed when traveling south of West Malaysia. Since then it was left out until more shophouses were constructed. Merlimau is between Melaka Town and Muar. There are housing areas in Merlimau and in nearby areas such as Air Tawar and Batu Gajah.

The area along the Merlimau - Jasin road has become a place of residence for students of Merlimau Polytechnics. 2 secondary schools, the Sekolah Datuk Rahman Yaakub(SDARY) and Sekolah Dang Anum(SDA) were established as early as 1960s. The interchange with PLUS southern expressway was also opened at Lipat Kajang.

Merlimau has a Fire Brigade and post-office facilities. The police station is about 1 km down south on the road to Muar.

The famous historical Penghulu Nattar's House is located here. About 3 kilometers away in Kampung Simpang, visitors can also have a look at the Tun Teja Grave. The Tun Teja story goes back to the Malacca sultanate era.

At present, Merlimau is 30 minutes away from the new North-South Expressway, a 4-lane highway opened in June 2007. This new highway known as Lebuh AMJ links Simpang Ampat in Alor Gajah and Muar in Johor. The highway junction is about 3 kilometers from Merlimau town, at the Merlimau-Jasin Road intersection. Merlimau can also be accessed through the old federal road from Melaka to Muar. There is no railway station in Merlimau. The nearest railway station is at Pulau Sebang (about 60 kilometers away) or at the Batang Melaka Railway Station (42 kilometer north of Jasin District).

Around Merlimau are the Sebatu and Simpang Pantai Aquaculture Zones. Kuala Sebatu itself is occupied by few fisherman boats and has a view of mangrove trees and the Malacca Straits. This area measuring 550 hectares in Sebatu has been identified as the site for the High Impact Project for the Aquaculture Industry to cultivate and harvest green molluscs. With this project, the Agriculture & Agro-based Industry Ministry hopes to increase molluscs harvesting in the state by 3-fold before the end of the 9th Malaysian Plan (ref: NST 14 December 2007). The Simpang Pantai Aquaculture Zone, started at end 2006 on the 13.2 hectares area is predicted to produce 8 tonnes of products by the end of this year (ref: BH 6 July 2007).

These Sebatu and Simpang Pantai Aquaculture Zones are potential tourist attractions for Merlimau. Other attractions could be the mangrove swamps about 6 kilometers along the flat muddy beach south of Merlimau to the estuary of Sungai Kesang which separates Melacca and Johor. With proper planning, eco-tourism activities can be established without destroying the fauna and flora of the swamps.

Should the Melaka and Johor government construct a highway from Ayer Keroh Interchange of PLUS Southern Expressway to Segamat-Kuantan highway (Federal Road No. 12) end point at Batu Anam, accessibility to Merlimau from the East Coast will be a lot of easier.

Future highway

• Malaysian government could build a highway from these 3 towns, Asahan, Batang Melaka and Merlimau to Segamat, This construction could start in 2015 and completed in 2020.
• Malaysian government also can build a highway from Melaka, Muar to Segamat - Kuantan Highway is easier.

External links

Coordinates: 2°09′N 102°26′E / 2.15°N 102.433°E / 2.15; 102.433