Rawang is a town and a mukim in Gombak District, Selangor, Malaysia, about 23 km northwest of city centre Kuala Lumpur.

During the Selangor Civil War of the 1860s and 1870s, Yap Ah Loy's gangs who were aligned with Tengku Kudin repelled Syed Mashor's troops away from Kuala Lumpur and pushed them further north.

During the Battle of Rawang in 1871, Syed Mashor's followers and Chinese gangs loyal to him (led by Chong Chong) ended up being pushed up towards Serendah and Kuala Kubu Bharu, with Yap Ah Loy's men (led by Chung Piang) holding their ground at Rawang.

Numerous electrified tin mines were operated by Loke Yew and K. Thamboosamy Pillay, who both contributed significantly to the growth of Rawang.

When World War II struck, Rawang fell to the Japanese invasion, and the tin mining sector rapidly deteriorated.

[3] IGB and the Selangor State Development Corporation constructed a 400-hectare residential-cum-industrial area in Rawang, at a total cost of RM 169 million.

It also made Rawang one of the earliest towns in Malaysia to produce agricultural, natural resources, and cement output simultaneously.

Tin and rubber were major economic outputs of Rawang until the late 1970s, after which oil palm plantations started being established by private companies.

Rawang was the capital of Gombak until 1997 when it moved to Batu Caves and is now a major administrative center for the district of Selayang.

Until the mid-2000s, the borders of Rawang has greatly expanded to encompass the rubber estates outside Serendah to the north (now the townships of Bukit Beruntung and Bukit Sentosa) and Sungai Bakau and parts of Kundang to the west (now the townships of Bandar Tasik Puteri, Bandar Country Homes, Emerald West, and Anggun Rawang).

To sustain the growth in size and population, the PLUS North-South highway has now been complemented by the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (linking Rawang to Shah Alam), the LATAR highway (linking Rawang to Kuala Selangor) and Rawang–Serendah bypass that replaces an earlier Outer Ring Road proposal.

(Source https://dewan.selangor.gov.my/question/jumlah-dan-kepadatan-penduduk/) Formerly, besides tin mines, Rawang also had large swathes of rubber estates on the outskirts of the town.

This is reflected in the presence of Malay, English, Tamil, and Chinese primary schools in close proximity to one another since the early days.

The Tamil-Indian community was made up mostly of cement factory and plantation workers, including small businesses ranging from textile and silverware merchants to barbers and restaurants.

In recent decades, Rawang has continued to evolve as a dynamic urban center, attracting investment in residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects.

The town's population has grown significantly, driven by factors such as urbanization, migration, and the expansion of Greater Kuala Lumpur.

This tide has put tremendous strain on existing infrastructure, including the influx of Rohingya refugees and other social-economic problems that have gone unmonitored by the local authorities.

Tunku Abdullah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (BN, UMNO) Constituency delineated, renamed to Selayang.

There are frequent flash floods in Rawang Town on Maxwell Road and other poorly maintained facilities and grounds.

The Rawang Town Center has large tracts of secondary bushes that are not maintained and could easily be used for additional parking.

The Rawang State assemblyperson under the ruling Government seems inept to fix and overcome these persistent and perennial issues that affect the residents.

The trees along the roads at Templer Park have been cleared for the construction of more houses, and the slopes are left bare with much erosion.

The Rawang Bypass highway, the highest in Southeast Asia, cuts through the jungle and ends in Serendah to the north.

Some of the pioneer secondary schools, such as Sekolah Menengah Seri Garing, have a very large student population to the point that classes are even performed in shipping containers.

Rawang Tin residents who were affected by the excavation of the limestone open-cast quarry were resettled in Kuala Garing.

In 2006, a new wet market was opened in Bandar Baru Rawang in order to meet the increasing demand from the population.

GCE links Rawang to the state capital Shah Alam, while the LATAR is a shortcut to Kuala Selangor.