An Introduction to Perak

The Land of Grace

Introduction

Perak Darul Ridzuan, the second largest state in West Malaysia, has long been known for its tin-mining activities. Tin was what prospered the state but it was also what made it susceptible to threats of war and threats to its sovereignty. First, the Achinese, followed by the Dutch, then the Bugis, Thais and the British, all tried to stake a claim over its tin riches - all within a span of 4 centuries.

In the 19th century, Chinese miners migrated in droves attracted by its rich tin deposits. This destabilized the state as the feuding Chinese tin miners started bickering among themselves. A brewing succession dispute also added to the state of civil war. This gave an opportunity for the British to intervene leading to the Pangkor Engagement on the Perak chiefs in 1874 which gave control of the state to the British. A brief war then ensued when the first British Resident was assassinated by supporters of the Perak chiefs.

After the war was over, Perak slowly returned to normalcy. Laws were put in place by the British which initiated the British “residential system”, which installs a British Resident in each Federated Malay state. Their functions are similar to the governor.

Perak, literally translated as “silver”, occupies an area of 21,000 sq km and is populated by about 2 million residents of different races and ethnicities. It is divided into 9 districts and its major towns include lpoh, Kuala Kangsar, Taiping, Teluk lntan and Lumut.

Ipoh, the capital built from tin-mining activities, has now developed into one of the largest cities in Malaysia with all the usual amenities such as hospitals, schools, hypermarkets and an expanding residential and industrial landscape.

Hotels and Hospitals

Perak has a host of hotels and accommodation to choose from. Some of the hotels are the Blue Bay Resort Lumut, Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, Heritage Hotel in Ipoh, Impiana Hotel Ipoh, Regalodge Ipoh and the ever-popular resorts in Pangkor Island such as the Pangkor Island Beach resort, Pangkor Laut resort and Havana Beach Resort.

Some of the hospitals in Perak include Hospital Fatimah, Pusat Perubatan Ar-Ridzuan, Ipoh Specialist Hosptital, Perak Community Specialist Hospital, Kinta Medical Centre Sdn Bhd, Hospital Pantai Putri, Apollo Medical Centre Sdn Bhd as well as Sri Larut Specialist Centre in Taiping.

Transportation

One of the main methods of transportation is the train with services from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh. Nicknamed the Taj Mahal of Ipoh, it is said to be the second most beautiful railway station in Malaysia after the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station.

Ipoh can also be reached by bus as it is on the Kuala Lumpur/Butterworth route and services are regular. The north-south highway passes Ipoh and so does the old trunk road.

Perak has 2 airports, the Ipoh and Pangkor airports. However, the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh and the airport in Pangkor do not have very many international flights.

Economy

Perak has the largest manufacturer of Proton cars at its new centre called Proton City in Tanjung Malim. Agriculture is also one of Perak’s main industries and this includes rubber, coconut and oil palm plantations.

Tourism is a fast-growing attraction with Pangkor Island attracting visitors from all over the world with its world-class resorts. After Penang and Klang Valley, it is known to be a food mecca especially famous for its Ipoh Chicken rice and shredded chicken Hor Fun (rice flat noodles). The clear and clean water from its limestone caves is known to be full of minerals and has also been cited as a reason why Ipoh maidens have the fairest and most beautiful complexions of all the females in Malaysia.

Kuala Kangsar, deemed the royal town of Perak, Kellie’s Castle and My Gopeng Resort, a white water rafting location, and the limestone caves of Ipoh including the Sam Po Tong, a Chinese temple built inside a limestone cave have always attracted local visitors.

The limestones supply most of Malaysia’s marble for the building and road construction industry. Another industry that is gaining importance is the ceramic industry as Perak is known for its clay.

There are more than 4,500 industries in Perak, with 1,474 industries categorized as small and medium size Industry, while 444 industries are larger ones and the remainder are categorized as cottage smaller industry, which are mainly family- owned.

Perak State Development Corporation (PSDC) has also developed industrial parks catering to specific industries such as the Ceramic Park, the Furniture Park and the Pharmaceutical Park. Other industrial projects being developed here by (PSDC) are the Perak Hi Tech Park and the MSC Malaysia CyberCentre @ Meru Raya.

Shopping & Recreation

The most famous is the Ipoh Parade which have boutiques, restaurants, a bowling alley and a cinema. There is also The Greentown Shopping Mall which has a supermarket called Uda Ocean, and Kinta City Shopping Centre which has the Jaya Jusco Store and Tesco, Ipoh.

For golf enthusiasts, they can head down to the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort, Damai Laut Golf & Country Club, Golf Club Batang Padang Perak, Golf Club Brigade Utara, Golf Club Samudera, Kinta Golf Club and the Kuala Kangsar Golf Club. View more

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