Kuala Kubu Baru (or KKB as it is affectionately called) is known for its history of being a battleground. Raja Mahadi and Syed Mashor built a kubu (fort) to fight Tengku Kudin's army during the Selangor Civil War here from 1867 to 1874. In recent times however, KKB is better known as an entry point to the more popular Frasers Hill and home to adventurous, fit hikers. Since we were neither adventurous nor fit, this town never crossed our minds. But the traffic-free old roads, short drive and lure of local food were too hard an option to resist.
As we drive closer to KKB, a different landscape starts to emerge: narrow roads are flanked by large trees and rivers flowing along grassy banks. We pass by large swaths of land, cradled by rolling hills in different hues of blue. In less than an hour, we reach a quaint town, dotted by rows of old shop houses with distinctive colonial facades. If we had any doubt we were in KKB, we just had to look at the signage that read: SUNGAI SELANGOR DAM (6.2 KM).
The Sungai Selangor dam is considered one of KKB's biggest attractions. Said to be one of the most breathtakingly beautiful dams in the country, it's the biggest of seven dams in the area. With a large body of water framed by emerald hills, it's not hard to understand why visitors make a point to park their cars there and take photos.
KKB and its surrounding area, collectively known as Ulu Selangor, were inhabited since the Neolithic Age 4,000 years ago (discovery of slab stone burials in the Bernam Valley in the North of Ulu Selangor) and through the Metal Age 3,000 to 2,500 years ago, with the discovery of iron artefacts and bronze celts in nearby Rasa and Kerling. Moving forward, the 18th century CE saw the arrival of people from Sumatra, the Rawa and Mendailing, who came in search of new land and for tin. Sungai Selangor was the main river that transported goods including tin, to Kuala Selangor, which was then the royal capital of Selangor. It became an important route and it even prompted the Dutch to set up post to collect taxes from the Malays when they managed to capture Kuala Selangor towards the later part of the 18th century CE. The Malays in Ulu Selangor were involved in the Selangor Civil War (1867-1874) and it was during this turbulent time that the town got its name. The conflict separated the Malays into two factions, on one side led by Raja Abdullah, Raja Ismail and, later, Tengku Kudin.
The opposing faction comprised Raja Mahadi, Raja Mahmud and Syed Mashhor. The Chinese rival groups also joined the fight with Hai San led by Yap Ah Loy, throwing their support for Tengku Kudin while Ghee Hin led by Chong Chong offered support to Raja Mahadi. The Malays in Ulu Selangor supported Raja Mahadi. As a defence against his rivals, Raja Mahadi had built an earthen fort near the mouth of a river and that was how the town got its name = Kuala Kubu (fort at the mouth of the river). Raja Mahadi managed to capture Kuala Lumpur in March 1872 but a year later, Tengku Kudin together with reinforcement from Pahang and Hai San came charging back to retake Kuala Lumpur.
Raja Mahadi fled to Singapore while Syed Mashhor retreated to Perak. Years later, both men were given pardons by Sultan Abdul Samad but Raja Mahadi died in Singapore while Syed Mashhor returned to Kerling as a Penghulu (chieftain). He developed the place by opening up lands for tin mining and he died in 1917. Selangor became a British Protectorate at the conclusion of the Selangor Civil War. At that time, tin mining activities in Kuala Kubu was second only to Kuala Lumpur and this prompted Frank Swettenham as the First Assistant Resident of Selangor to visit Kuala Kubu in 1875. He commented that the huge dam constructed by the Malays with the help of the Orang Asli in the 1700s as gigantic in size. Tin mining was carried out just below the dam.