Perak (
Simplified Chinese:霹雳） is one of the 13 states of
Malaysia. It is the second largest state in
Peninsular Malaysia bordering
Kedah and
Yala Province of
Thailand to the north,
Penang to the northwest,
Kelantan and
Pahang to the east,
Selangor southward and to the west by the
Strait of Malacca.
Perak means
silver in
Malay. The name comes most probably from the silvery colour of
tin. In the 1890s, Perak, with the richest
alluvial deposits of tin in the world was one of the jewels in the crown of the
British Empire. However, some say the name comes from the "glimmer of fish in the water" that sparkled like silver. The Arabic honorific of the State is
Darul Ridzuan, the Land of Grace.
Ipoh, the state capital of Perak, is known historically for its tin-mining activities until the drop of tin price, which has severely affected the state economy. The royal capital, however, is set in
Kuala Kangsar, where the palace of the Sultan of Perak is located.
History
Legends tell of a Hindu-Malay kingdom called
Gangga Negara in the northwest of Perak. Archaeological discoveries indicate that Perak has been inhabited since prehistoric times.
The modern history of Perak began with the fall of the
Malacca Sultanate. The eldest son of the last Sultan of Melaka (Sultan Mahmud Shah), Raja Muzaffar Shah, fleeing the Portuguese conquest of 1511, established his own dynasty on the banks of the Sungai Perak (
Perak River) in 1528. As the Perak area was extremely rich in
tin, it was under almost continuous threat from outsiders.
DUTCH COLONIALISM.
The ruins of the Dutch Fort on Pangkor Island
The
Dutch unsuccessfully attempted to monopolize the tin trade in the 17th century, and built forts at the mouth of the Perak River and on
Pulau Pangkor.
Early history of the Dutch arrival in Perak began in 1641, when they captured the Straits of Malacca by taking control of tin-ore and spice trading. The Dutch attempted to monopolise the tin-ore tradings in Perak by influencing Sultan Muzaffar Syah, the Sultan, but did not succeed. They then turned to Sultanah Tajul Alam Safiatuddin, the Sultan of Aceh, to seek permission to trade in Perak. The event compelled the Sultan of Perak to sign the treaty, allowing the Dutch to build their plant in Kuala Perak on August 15, 1650, which caused dissatisfaction among the aristocracy of Perak.
In 1651, Temenggung and the people of Perak attacked and destroyed the Dutch plant. The Dutch were forced to leave their base in Perak.
In 1655, the Dutch sent a representative to Perak to renew the agreement made earlier and to seek compensation for the loss of their plant. Perak however did not honour the treaty and was thus surrounded by the Dutch. In retaliation, the people of Perak with Aceh, Ujung Salang, launched a surprise attack on the Dutch.
In 1670, the Dutch returned to Perak to build Kota Kayu, now known as
Kota Belanda ("Dutch Fortress"), on Pangkor Island.
Perak agreed to the construction because of news that the Kingdom of
Siam would be attacking the state. Nevertheless, in 1685, once again Perak attacked the Dutch on Pangkor Island and forced them to retreat and shut down their headquarters. The Dutch attempted to negotiate for a new treaty but failed.
[British colonialism
In the 19th century, the
Bugis,
Acehnese, and the
Thai all attempted to invade Perak. Only
British intervention in 1820 prevented
Siam from annexing Perak. Although the British were initially reluctant to establish a colonial presence in
Malaya, increasing investment in the tin mines brought a great influx of
Chinese immigrants, including Foo Ming, who formed rival clan groups allied with Malay chiefs and local gangsters, all of whom battled to control the mines. The Perak sultanate, involved in a protracted succession struggle, was unable to maintain order.
In her book
The Golden Chersonese and The Way Thither (published 1892 G.P. Putnam's Sons), Victorian traveller and adventuress
Isabella Lucy Bird (1831–1904) describes how Raja Muda Abdullah (as he then was) turned to his friend in
Singapore,
Tan Kim Ching. Tan, together with an English merchant in Singapore drafted a letter to Governor Sir Andrew Clarke which Abdullah signed. The letter expressed Abdullah's desire to place Perak under British protection, and "to have a man of sufficient abilities to show (him) a good system of government." In1874, the
Straits Settlements governor Sir Andrew Clarke convened a meeting on Pulau Pangkor, at which Sultan Abdullah was installed on the throne of Perak in preference to his rival,
Sultan Ismail. This
Pangkor Treaty also required that the
Sultan of Perak accept a
British Resident, a post granted wide administrative powers. In 1875, various Perak chiefs assassinated the British Resident
James W.W. Birch, resulting in the short-lived
Perak War of 1876. Sultan Abdullah was exiled to the
Seychelles, and the British installed a new ruler. The new resident, Sir
Hugh Low, was well-versed in the Malay language and local customs, and proved to be a more capable administrator. He also introduced the first
rubber trees in Malaya.
In
1896, Perak joined
Selangor,
Negeri Sembilan and
Pahang to form the
Federated Malay States. However, the British Resident system persisted until the
Malayan Union was established in 1948. Perak as a component of the
Federation of Malaya gained independence on August 31, 1957.
Administration
Constitutional monarchy
Under the laws of the
Constitution of Perak, Perak is a constitutional monarchy, with a constitutional hereditary ruler. The current
Sultan of Perak is
Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah, who was the ninth
Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and formerly the Lord President of the
Supreme Court of Malaysia.
State Government
Following the opposition coalition winning Perak in the
2008 general election,
Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin of
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) was appointed as the new
Menteri Besar (
Chief Minister) of the state eventually,
[3] although the
Democratic Action Party (DAP) won the most seats compared to other opposition parties. The
Menteri Besar did not come from the Chinese-based party as the state
constitution states that the
Chief Minister must be a
Muslim, unless the
Sultan specially appoints a non-Muslim
Chief Minister. As DAP does not have any Muslim assemblymen, if the Sultan insists that the
Chief Minister must be a
Muslim, then the assemblymen would have to come from either
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or PAS, which formed the coalition state government with DAP. On February 3, 2009,
Barisan Nasional, the national ruling party, gained control over the state government, after the defections of three Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen.
[4] However, several cases have been filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court challenging the validity of the new Barisan Nasional government, causing a constitutional crisis. Adding to this crisis is the fact that the Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar has refused to resign and states that he is still the legal Menteri Besar until he is removed through vote of no confidence or snap election.
Administrative divisions
Perak is divided into 10 administrative districts which are further divided into local administrative
Municipal councils. The following is a list of the 10 administrative districts in terms of population.
[5]
| Rank | Districts | Population 2009 |
| 1 | Kinta | 846,300 |
| 2 | Larut & Matang | 320,100 |
| 3 | Manjung | 239,400 |
| 4 | Hilir Perak | 232,800 |
| 5 | Kerian | 196,500 |
| 6 | Batang Padang | 191,900 |
| 7 | Kuala Kangsar | 176,000 |
| 8 | Perak Tengah | 116,500 |
| 9 | Hulu Perak | 114,900 |
| 10 | Kampar | 98,534 |
Map
Please note that the districts of Kerian and Larut, Matang dan Selama have been wrongly labelled in the map on the right. Both districts are in the northwest corner of the state. Kerian district is in the west and Larut, Matang dan Selama is in the east.
Perak constitutional crisis
In February 2009, Barisan Nasional retook Perak State Assembly from the Pakatan Rakyat government, after the defections of
Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang),
Jamaluddin Mohd. Radzi (Behrang) and
Mohd. Osman Jailu (Changkat Jering) to Barisan Nasional as independent assemblymen. The Sultan of Perak dismissed the Pakatan Rakyat government but refused to dissolve the state assembly and thus trigger new elections. Amid multiple protests, lawsuits and arrests, a new Barisan Nasional-led State Assembly was sworn in on May 7, but the takeover was ruled illegal by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 2009, restoring power to the Pakatan Rakyat.
[6] However immediately on the next day, the court of appeal suspended the judgement of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur pending a new judgement from the court of appeal, and followed by May 22, 2009, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's decision and returned power back to the Barisan Nasional.
Demographics
Once Malaysia's most populous state, Perak has yet to recover from an economic slowdown caused by the decline in the tin mining industry. The weak economy has led to a massive drain in manpower to higher-growth states such as
Penang,
Selangor and the Federal Territory of
Kuala Lumpur. Perak's population is at an annual rate of 0.4% growth.
- 2001 - 2,051,236
- 2006 - 2,283,000
- 2010 - 2,258,428[2] (official 2010 census)
The ethnic composition of the population was estimated in 2001 to be:
- Bumiputera (1,101,105 or 53.68%)
- Chinese (643,129 or 31.35%)
- Indian (262,121 or 12.78%)
- Other (6,536 or 0.32%, including 2,080 Thai)
- Non-Citizen (38,345 or 1.87%)[7]
The population breakdown estimation for 2010 is:
- Bumiputera - 1,360,506 or 55.74%
- Chinese - 702,170 or 28.77%
- Indian - 296,600 or 12.15%
- Others - 8,842 or 0.36%
- Non-Citizen - 72,751 or 2.98%
Geography
Perak covers an area of 21,035 km
2 (8,122 sq mi),
[1] making up 6.4 percent of total land banks in Malaysia.
[8] It is the second largest Malaysian state in the Malay Peninsula, and the fourth in the whole of Malaysia.
Perak's days are warm and sunny, while its nights are cool the whole year through, with occasional rains in the evenings. Temperature is fairly constant, that is, from 23 °C to 33 °C, with humidity often more than 82.3 percent. Annual rainfall measures at 3,218 mm.
[8]
Economy
Perak was one of Malaysia's wealthiest states during
Malaya's colonial period, as much of Malaya's mineral deposits were situated here. The tin industry here subsequently flourished under the auspices of the British fueled by the ongoing
Industrial Revolution then. The global tin industry collapsed in the 1980s, subsequently forcing the closure of many local tin mines concurrently crippling Perak’s economy.
This turn of events led the local state government to diversify the economy's base towards commodity-based manufacturing. The mid-1980s witnessed a large influx of electronics
SMEs from Taiwan to Silibin and Jelapang industrial estates, but these have relocated to China in the 1990s as a result of outsourcing. A local auto manufacturing hub called
Proton City at
Tanjung Malim has been developed with the establishment of state-of-the-art car manufacturing facilities, it is the largest manufacturer of
Proton cars. However, the economy has never fully recovered from the decline of the tin industry.
Agriculture is also one of Perak's main industries, especially those concerning rubber, coconut and palm oil. Tourism is a growing industry given the state's abundant natural attractions.
[8]
Perak is set to become the second state (after
Kelantan) to introduce the gold
dinar and silver
dirham as official currency.
[9]
Transportation
Railway
The railway service is undergoing major upgrading with the advent of electrified trains running on double tracks from
Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh. Ipoh Railway Station is an imposing structure in the city centre. Built in the
Moorish style, this white structure, nicknamed the
Taj Mahal of Ipoh, was completed in 1935 to replace the original railway platform shed built in 1917. The
Ipoh Railway Station is said to be the second most beautiful railway station in Malaysia after the
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. It is located on Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab.
Tourism
There are several places of interests in Perak, such as its state capital,
Ipoh, legendary for their silky noodles in soup called 'Sar Hor Fun' and
Hainanese chicken rice. Tambun pomelos are another attraction to locals from other states.
Kuala Kangsar, just 48 km north of Ipoh on the Perak River, is the royal town of Perak. It is dominated by three buildings:
Istana Iskandariah, Istana Kenangan and the
Ubudiah Mosque. The Istana Iskandariah, located on a hill overlooking the river, is the palace of the Sultan of Perak. Istana Kenangan, which was constructed as a temporary residence during the Iskandariah's construction is known for its beautiful architecture. The
Ubudiah Mosque is an impressive structure topped with a constellation of bright golden domes.
[10]
Kellie's Castle is located in
Batu Gajah. It was built in 1915 and was never completed as the owner William Kellie Smith returned to England and died there. Many believe the castle is haunted, having many secret rooms and even a hidden tunnel. Today, it is opened as a tourist attraction.
Accessible from
Lumut, the Pangkor Island holds a mix of quaint fishing settlements and white beaches decked with rich vegetation. The warm waters are perfect for swimming and diving while the atmosphere is simply relaxing. Many resorts are available for accommodation on this popular island.
A beautiful white water rafting location in Perak is at My Gopeng Resort (
Gopeng). Many are here to do white water rafting (Grade 3), waterfall abseiling, rafflesia's flower trekking, jungle trekking and many others adventurous packages in Perak.
Cuisine
Main article:
Ipoh cuisine, a Malay delicacy made from glutinous rice cooked in a bamboo tube over slow fire is a must-have during the festivities such as
Hari Raya Aidilfitri and
Hari Raya Haji, especially along with some
rendang. Some say lemang originated from the indigenous people who cook their rice using
bamboo.
Tempoyak is another popular Malay delicacy. It is durian extract which is preserved and kept in an urn. Commonly eaten with chillies and other dishes, it is well known due to the popularity of its key ingredient, durian, among the locals.
