Kuala Dungun’s shophouses recall Malaysia’s trading past
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In Kuala Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia, wooden shophouses built as early as the 1930s continue to operate as shops and restaurants.
These buildings, known locally as “kedai kayu”, first appeared when Kuala Dungun transformed from a fishing village into a trading hub connected to iron ore mining in Bukit Besi. Ang Ah Kiang, a 76-year-old resident, explained that the mining boom from the 1930s to the 1960s drove economic growth and the construction of around 100 wooden shoplots.
Many of these shops still serve their original purpose, housing businesses like grocery stores and hardware shops. Kamal Hamid has rented one of the buildings since 1986, continuing a family tradition as his father previously occupied the same space. The original owner of Kamal’s building was reportedly a former employee of the Bukit Besi iron ore mine, purchasing the property in the 1930s.
Wan Rosli Wan Ngah of the Malaysian Historical Society noted that the Dungun district office planned the town’s layout in 1933, building the wooden shops to encourage trade. Hokkien migrants from southern China began arriving in the area in 1922, establishing businesses and later settling into the newly built shophouses after a town reorganization and relocation of Malay residents. Today, these surviving buildings stand as a reminder of Kuala Dungun’s commercial history.
