The Badang-Endau transpeninsular shortcut
If (you are born in Batu Pahat ) or if (you have a wife from Batu Pahat), then (you might want to read this short article to entertain yourself or your wife). Batu Pahat is called Padram in ancient times and it is one of the earliest landmark you can find in old maps see, for instance, Maps of Malaya and Borneo: Discovery, Statehood and Progress . This two-kilogram coffee table book showcases the map collection the present Sultan of Selangor and his childhood friend Richard Curtis of Malay peninsula, such as this one: Barent Langenes's Descriptio Malaccae, Amsterdam, 1598 (87 mm × 106 mm). This map is derived from Jan Huygen van Linschoten's earlier map of 1595. Clearly visible in the map is the transpeninsular riverine network connecting Muar and Pam (Pahang). The second transpeninsular shortcut connecting Batu Pahat and Endau, however, is not shown in the map. Apart from Muar, Sincapura (Careful: This is not the modern island-state of Singap...