This place has two names, Setul and Mantin. Setul is the name of certain plant called 'Setul'. Setul was the town with a police station. It is not at the present town of Mantin but at the 8th mile Seremban (junction to Lenggeng). The name Setul is still in use, in grants and licenses of land, e.g. Mukim Setul, not Mukim of Mantin. The town of Setul was transferred to Mantin. The present name of Mantin is well known for its tin mine owned by a Chinese towkay (prominent Chinese businessman), Kong Sang (广生号, actually a company's name). The Europeans called the place 'Mine Tin' while the Malays called it 'Mantin' for at this place tin (lombong timah) was plentiful. The residents of the place could not say 'Mine Tin' correctly and said Mantin instead[1]
The earliest account of Mantin was related to Kapitan Seng Ming Lee (甲必单盛明利), the first Chinese chief who was killed in 1860 in a war between Chinese secret societies (Hai San and Ghee Hin) near Sungei Ujong (presently Seremban).[2] His descendents fled to Mantin. Today (as of February 2009) the great-grand children of Kapitan Seng still live in Mantin.
Situated in a valley surrounded by hills, Mantin has been a favorite sanctuary and hiding place for war and crime refugees. In addition to Kapitan Seng Ming Lee's descendants, large groups of Hakka were said to have migrated here, especially from Titi, during Japanese occupation of Malaya during 1943.[3]
Until 1903, the geographical location of Mantin in a valley has made it inaccessible to mainstream transportation. A railroad from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban was completed in 1903.[4] The railroad passes through Batang Benar town, thus providing an access point at the western side of the town. At that time, British miners brought in large numbers of dredgers into Mantin, bringing about an economic boom. A Sikh temple and a Catholic church (St. Aloysius Catholic Church) was built around the turn of the century.
