Kuala Kangsar (

Perak Malay Perak Malay (''Bahase Peghok'' or ''Ngelabun Peghok''; Standard Malay: ''bahasa Melayu Perak''; Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤيراق) is one of the Malay language, Malay Malayan languages, dialects spoken within the state of Perak, Malays ...

: ) is the royal town of

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

's capital, and southeast of George Town,

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. It is the main town in the administrative district of Kuala Kangsar, about 235 km from

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia. The town is administered by the Kuala Kangsar Municipal Council (), formerly known as Kuala Kangsar District Council () from 1 January 1980 until 17 February 2004.

History

The site must have had a strange effect on Sultan Yusuf Sharifuddin Mudzaffar Shah of Perak who ruled from 1877 to 1887. Unlike many rulers who protected their royal palaces and strongholds by selecting their vantage points carefully where they could detect enemy approach from afar, the Sultan had his first royal palace built beside the riverbank. He then named it 'Istana Sri Sayong'. Apart from being exposed to the impending threat of invasion, the other problem was the force of monsoon seasons, which led to numerous flooding as water gushed down from the jungles above through the many tributaries. The name Kuala Kangsar is believed to be derived from 'Kuala Kurang-Sa', which literally means '100 minus (-) one', usually interpreted as 'the 99th small tributary to flow into the Perak River'. One flooding was so severe, it almost swept the palace away. Finally, after the Big Flood or Air Bah in 1926, it was decided to move the place further up onto the knoll where stands the current Royal Palace named Istana Iskandariah with its Art-Deco architecture, a rare but significant piece of architectural milestone in

. The

Sultan of Perak The Sultan of Perak (, Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch and head of state of the Malaysia, Malaysian state of Perak. It is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. The current Sultan o ...

officially resides in Kuala Kangsar, and it has been Perak's royal seat since the 18th century. It is one of four towns that plays a role in Perak's complex succession system. It was the administrative seat of the first British Resident in the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

, James W. W. Birch, from October 1874 until he was murdered on 2 November 1875. It was the capital of

until 1876. Kuala Kangsar is also known in Malaysian history as the site where the first

Conference of Rulers The Conference of Rulers (also known as Council of Rulers or Durbar, ; Jawi: ) is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors (''Yang di-Pertua Negeri'') of the other four states in Malaysia. It was officially ...

of the Federated Malay States, the Durbar, was held in 1897. By the 1890s, the growth of the

tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...

towns of

and Taiping had eclipsed Kuala Kangsar, but it remains to this day one of the most attractive of the Malay royal capitals. The town is also the site of the first

rubber tree ''Hevea brasiliensis'', the Pará rubber tree, ''sharinga'' tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now p ...

planted in Malaysia. The person responsible was the English

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Henry Nicholas Ridley Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG (1911), MA (Oxon), FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. (10 December 1855 – 24 October 1956) was an English botanist, geologist and naturalist who lived much of his life in Singapore. He was instrumental in promoting rubber trees i ...

. He was the one who helped Malaya and eventually Malaysia become the largest rubber producer in the world. The tree still stands today. The first Malaysian

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

troop was established in Kuala Kangsar. Consequently, its squad number is 001.

Education

* SMJK Tsung Wah * Raja Perempuan Kelsom Secondary School (SMK RPK) * Madrasah Idrisiah Kuala Kangsar (MADID) *

Malay College Kuala Kangsar The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (abbreviated MCKK; ; ) is a residential school in Malaysia. It is an all-boys and all- Malay school in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak. It is sometimes dubbed "the Eton College of the East". The Malay Col ...

(MCKK) * Clifford Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Clifford) * Sultan Azlan Shah University (USAS) * Kolej Vokasional Kuala Kangsar (KVKK) * Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Sultan Azlan Shah (MRSM SAS) * Kolej RISDA PERAK Kuala Kangsar * Kolej Komuniti Chenderoh * Kolej Komuniti Kuala Kangsar * Kem PLKN Desa Rimba * Kem PLKN Kota Lama * SMK RAJA MUDA MUSA (RMM)

Tourist and historical attractions

* Ubudiah Mosque and the Royal Mausoleum * Ihsaniah Iskandariah Mosque * Istana Kenangan (Old Palace, now the Perak Royal Museum) * Pavilion Tower * Istana Iskandariah (The Royal Palace) * Kuala Kangsar Clock Tower * Malaya's first

* Sultan Azlan Shah Gallery * Victoria Bridge (built 1900) * Iskandariah Bridge * Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Bridge

Transportation

Two bridges now connect Kuala Kangsar to Sayong. Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Bridge is made out of concrete and located near the town while Sultan Iskandar Bridge is farther upstream and is made out of steel. Kuala Kangsar is easily accessible via the North–South Expressway and by train and it is possible you can access to West Ipoh Span Expressway in the future once it is finished.

Public Transport

Bus *BAS.MY Ipoh (A31A & A31B) *Perak Transit (shuttle K. Kangsar-Lenggong) *Sri Maju Express *Transnasional Express *Starmart Express *Ekspres Perdana *Konsortium Ekspres Mutiara *Konsortium Bas Express *Kumpulan Bas Perak *Maju Express *Grassland *Five Star *ALISAN *Red Omnibus (shuttle to K. Kangsar-Taiping) *Wai Thong Omnibus (Shuttle to K. Kangsar-Manong) Trains *

Inter-city rail Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

: Kuala Kangsar railway station

Notable people

* Rafidah Aziz, Malaysian politician * Yuna, singer-songwriter (paternal hometown)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Kuala Kangsar District Royal towns in Malaysia Towns in Perak