Tampin gets its name from the container or pouch weaved from the pandanus fronds. The container was used to store condiments such as the kelamai or dodol and the shrimp pastebelacan. The district of Tampin is also called Luak Tampin as the wordluak is the local term for district. Tampin was originally governed by the Rembau District administration. After the Naning War in 1832 Raja Ali declared himself the ruler of Seri Menanti and his son-in-law, Syed Shaaban, as the ruler of Rembau. This enraged other rulers of Negeri Sembilan as they had no right to the posts. In 1834 a civil war ensued, which resulted in Raja Ali and Syed Shaaban retreating to Tampin and the area from Mount Tampin to Putus Hill being removed from Rembau. This area consisting of the provinces Repah, Keru, Tebong and Tampin Tengah formed the district known as Tampin. Syed Shaaban became the first ruler of Tampin and proclaimed himself the title Tunku Besar Tampin. The district is one of the original nine states collectively known as Negeri Sembilan, which means "Nine States" in Malay. On 11 March 1889, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Cecil Smith, held a meeting with the rulers of Jelebu, Sungai Ujong, Rembau, Seri Menanti and Tampin. The purpose of this meeting was to combine the districts to better manage them under British rule. Tampin, Rembau and Seri Menanti agreed to the proposal and were united as the Seri Menanti Confederation. The newly formed confederation accepted Martin Lister as its first British Resident. After the independence of Malaya in 1957, Negeri Sembilan and its districts started forming local administrative councils. Formerly known as the Tampin Town Board, the Tampin District Council was established on July 1, 1980 as a result from a restructure of the state via the Local Government Act of 1976.
Government
The Negeri Sembilan side of the town is governed by the Tampin District Council, while the Malacca side of the town called Pulau Sebang and is governed by the Alor Gajah Municipal Council.
Tampin is well served by the Malaysian transportation system. By car it is accessible by either North–South Expressway using the Simpang Ampat exit in neighbouring Malacca, or using route which connects Tampin to Seremban and Johor Bahru. This town is also connects to Alor Gajah and Malacca using Route. Tampin is also the southern end of Route which begins in Karak in the east coast state of Pahang. Motorists from Malacca are thus able to access the East Coast Expressway to get to Kuantan or Kuala Terengganu while bypassing Kuala Lumpur. In terms of public transport, Tampin is served by the West Malaysian railways system. In fact, Gemas which is part of Tampin district, is the meeting point of West Malaysia's eastern and western railway lines. The Pulau Sebang/Tampin railway station is in Pulau Sebang, which is on the Malaccan side, about 1 kilometer from the town centre. Furthermore, since Malacca Town does not have a railway station, people living in Malacca normally have to travel to the station in order to get on a train. There was a track from Pulau Sebang to Malacca City before World War II but it was dismantled by the Japanese during the war for the construction of the infamous Burmese Death Railway.
