If you’ve never been to Kuantan’s scenic beach resort town of Cherating, then you’ve probably been living under a rock! With scenic views, white sand beaches and a whole lot of sun and fun, Cherating is the place to be for summer – and it’s getting an upgrade we might not need.
On Tuesday (10th June 2025), the Kuantan City Council (MBK) announced that they would be officially renaming Cherating to Cerating. Yes, you saw that right. The decision to eliminate the letter “H” in the name had not been clarified by the city council, but Malaysians were left baffled over the simple and quite unnecessary change.
The announcement posted on MBK’s socials has since sparked criticism towards the Kuantan city council, with some arguing that the name change could disrupt tourism campaigns and promotional efforts ahead of the upcoming “Visit Malaysia 2026”. Kampung Cherating Village Development and Security Committee chairman, Ahmad Nizam Abdul Ghani, mentioned that the change felt awkward and that the name Cherating was a well-established brand name for the town.
Netizens agreed with the sentiment, with the comment section of socials flooding with users relating the name change to different towns and districts in Malaysia and how it would sound without an unnecessary letter. Other users, however, called out the name change, noting the city council’s poor decision to unnecessarily change the name rather than to upgrade infrastructure around the town. Facebook user @/Mizs Mira Babydiey commented, “The city council is busy with things that are not important. Please change the street lights that are not working”.
Another user quipped, pairing the name change with government efforts. Twitter user @/adnin63690080 comments, “Apart from [the] rename, MBK and the state government should add value to the name. Such as [to] work closely with Tourism Malaysia to promote it internationally and keep the beach clean and attractive to tourists”.
With the growing dissatisfaction of people who call for the state government to rethink their decision, MBK has yet to release a statement on the situation. Which is better for you: Cherating or Cerating?
Sources: New Straits Times, Facebook, Twitter
Alyssa Gabrielle contributed to this article.
