Perak F.C. II Players
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Perak (;
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 ...
: ''Peghok'') is a
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
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 ...
on the west coast of 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 ...
. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of
Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...
to the north,
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 ...
to the northwest,
Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...
and
Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...
to the east, and
Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...
to the south.
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
's Yala and
Narathiwat Narathiwat (, ) is a town ( thesaban mueang) in southern Thailand and capital of Narathiwat Province. The town is in the Mueang Narathiwat District and was established in 1936. As of 2008, the population was 40,521. It lies 1,141 km south ...
provinces both lie to the northeast. Perak's capital city,
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 ...
, was known historically for its
tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
-mining activities until the price of the metal dropped, severely affecting the state's economy. The royal capital remains
Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ) is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of George Town, Penang, Ge ...
, where the palace of 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 ...
is located. As of 2018, the state's population was 2,500,000. Perak has
diverse Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce * Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers ...
tropical rainforests Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid z ...
and an
equatorial climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
. The state's main
mountain ranges A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
are composed of the
Titiwangsa Titiwangsa is one of the main areas located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Kuala Lumpur General Hospital is located south of Titiwangsa. The current member of Parliament of Malaysia, parliament for Titiwangsa is Johari Abdul Gha ...
, Bintang and Keledang Ranges, where all of them are part of the larger
Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range (, ; , , ; ) is the geographical name of a roughly 1,700 km long mountain chain, part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mo ...
system that connects
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and Malaysia. The discovery of an ancient skeleton in Perak revealed missing information on the migration of ''
Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
'' from mainland
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
through
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
to the
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
continent. Known as Perak Man, the skeleton is dated at around 10,000 years old. An early
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
or
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
kingdom, followed by several other minor kingdoms, existed before the arrival of Islam. By 1528, a Muslim sultanate began to emerge in Perak, out of the remnants of the
Malaccan Sultanate The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malays (ethnic group), Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswa ...
. Although able to resist Siamese occupation for more than two hundred years, the sultanate was partly controlled by the
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
-based
Aceh Sultanate The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam (; Jawoë: ), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long pe ...
. This was particularly the case after the Aceh lineage took over the royal succession. With the arrival of the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
(VOC), and the VOC's increasing conflicts with Aceh, Perak began to distance itself from Acehnese control. The presence of the English
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
(EIC) in the nearby
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...
of Penang provided additional protection for the state, with further Siamese attempts to conquer Perak thwarted by British expeditionary forces. The
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London (), was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Angl ...
was signed to prevent further conflict between the British and the Dutch. It enabled the British to expand their control in the Malay Peninsula without interference from other foreign powers. The 1874 Pangkor Treaty provided for direct British intervention, with Perak appointing a British
Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...
. Following Perak's subsequent absorption into the
Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...
(FMS), the British reformed administration of the sultanate through a new style of government, actively promoting a
market-driven economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding fixed investment, investment, Production (economics), production, and Distribution (economics), distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signal, price signals ...
and maintaining law and order while combatting the
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
widely practised across Perak at the time. The three-year Japanese occupation in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
halted further progress. After the war, Perak became part of the temporary
Malayan Union The Malayan Union (; Jawi: كساتوان مالايا) was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single g ...
, before being absorbed into the
Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...
. It gained full independence through the Federation, which subsequently became Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Perak is ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse. The state is known for several traditional dances: ''bubu'', ''dabus'', and ''labu sayong'', the latter name also referring to Perak's unique traditional
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
. The head of state is 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 ...
, and the head of government is the ''
Menteri Besar head of government, Heads of government in Malaysia's many states of Malaysia, states take on various titles. Seven out of nine in the Peninsular Malaysia, Peninsular who each have Monarchies of Malaysia, historical monarchs are known as the Men ...
''. Government is closely modelled on the
Westminster parliamentary system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of the system include an executive branch made up ...
, with the state administration divided into administrative districts. Islam is the state religion, and other religions may be practised freely. Malay and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
are recognised as the official languages of Perak. The economy is mainly based on
services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
and
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
.


Etymology

There are many theories about the origin of the name Perak. Although not used until after 1529, the most popular etymology is "
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
" (in Malay: ''perak''); associated with
tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
mining from the state's large
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
deposits, reflecting Perak's position as one of the world's largest sources of tin. The first Islamic kingdom established in the state was of the lineage of the
Sultanate of Malacca The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malays (ethnic group), Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswa ...
. Some local historians have suggested that Perak was named after Malacca's ''
bendahara Bendahara ( Jawi: ) was an administrative position within classical Malay kingdoms comparable to a vizier before the intervention of European powers during the 19th century. A bendahara was appointed by a sultan and was a hereditary post w ...
'',
Tun Perak Bendahara Paduka Raja Tun Perak (Jawi script, Jawi: , died 1498) was the fifth and most famous bendahara, a Malay people, Malay rank similar to a prime minister, of the Sultanate of Malacca. He served under four sultans (Muzaffar Shah of Malacca, ...
. In maps prior to 1561, the area is marked as ''Perat''. Other historians believe that the name Perak derives from the Malay phrase "''kilatan ikan dalam air"'' (the glimmer of
fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
in water), which looks like silver. Perak has been translated into
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
as (''Dār al-Riḍwān''), "abode of grace".


History


Prehistory

Among the prehistoric sites in Malaysia where artefacts from the
Middle Palaeolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...
era have been found are
Bukit Bunuh Bukit Bunuh is a hill located within an oil palm plantation in Perak, Malaysia. The site is of geological and palaeoarchaeological interest. The area showed existence of the species ''Homo erectus'' dating over 1.83 million years ago. The area ...
, Bukit Gua Harimau, Bukit Jawa, Bukit Kepala Gajah, and Kota Tampan in the Lenggong Archaeological Heritage Valley. Of these, Bukit Bunuh and Kota Tampan are
ancient lake An ancient lake is a lake that has consistently carried water for more than one million years. Twelve of the 20 ancient lakes have existed for more than 2.6 million years, the full Quaternary period. Ancient lakes continue to persist due to plat ...
side sites, the geology of Bukit Bunuh showing evidence of
meteoric impact An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal effe ...
. The 10,000-year-old skeleton known as Perak Man was found inside the Bukit Gunung Runtuh cave at Bukit Kepala Gajah. Ancient tools discovered in the area of Kota Tampan, including
anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually Forging, forged or Steel casting, cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are massive because the hi ...
s, cores,
debitage In archaeology, debitage is all the material produced during the process of lithic reduction – the production of stone tools and weapons by knapping stone. This Assemblage (archaeology), assemblage may include the different kinds of lithic fla ...
, and
hammerstone In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the wo ...
s, provide information on the migrations of ''
Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
''. Other important
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
sites in the country include Bukit Gua Harimau, Gua Badak, Gua Pondok, and
Padang Rengas Padang Rengas ( Jawi: ڤادڠ رڠاس; ) is a small town in Kuala Kangsar District, Perak, Malaysia. It has a police station, railway station, rural health centre, market and Schools ~ SJK(C) Khiu Min, SK Tun Dr. Ismail, SK Perempuan & SMK ...
, containing evidence of human presence in the
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
Hoabinhian The Hoabinhian is a lithic techno-complex of archaeological sites associated with assemblages in Southeast Asia from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, dated to –2000 BCE. It is attributed to hunter-gatherer societies of the region whose te ...
era. In 1959, a British artillery officer stationed at an inland army base during the
Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...
discovered the
Tambun rock art Tambun rock art, is a series of Neolithic-era cave paintings at the Gunung Panjang limestone hill in Tambun, on the outskirts of Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. The paintings were discovered on a rocky overhang in 1959 by 2/Lt R. L. Rawlings of the 2nd Ba ...
, identified by archaeologists as the largest
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
site in the Malay Peninsula. Most of the paintings are located high above the cave floor, at an elevation of .
Seashell A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. Most seashells are made by Mollusca, mollusks, such as snails, clams, and oysters ...
s and
coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
fragments scattered along the cave floor are evidence that the area was once underwater. The significant numbers of statues of
Hindu deities Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. Julius J. L ...
and of
the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
found in
Bidor Bidor (Jawi: بيدور) is a town and mukim in Batang Padang District, southern Perak, Malaysia. Geography Bidor is located 59 km southeast from state capital Ipoh and 116 km northwest of Kuala Lumpur. It is south of Tapah, north o ...
, Kuala Selensing, Jalong, and Pengkalan Pegoh indicate that, before the arrival of Islam, the inhabitants of Perak were mainly
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
or
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. The influence of Indian culture and beliefs on society and values in the Malay Peninsula from early times is believed to have culminated in the semi-legendary
Gangga Negara ''Gangga Negara'' (literally City of the Ganges) was a semi-legendary Malay-Hindu kingdom mentioned in the ''Malay Annals''. Researchers believe that the kingdom was centred at Beruas and it collapsed after an attack by King Rajendra Chola I ...
kingdom. The ''
Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' ( Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: ), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and destruction of the Malacca Sultanat ...
'' mention that Gangga Negara at one time fell under Siamese rule, before Raja Suran of Thailand sailed further south down the Malay Peninsula.


Sultanate of Perak

By the 15th century, a kingdom named Beruas had come into existence. Inscriptions found on early
tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...
s of the period show clear
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic influence, believed to have originated from the
Sultanate of Malacca The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malays (ethnic group), Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswa ...
, the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, and the rural areas of the
Perak River The Perak River (; ) is the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia after Pahang River in Pahang, Malaysia. A number of towns are on the banks of the river including the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Most of the settlements in what is today ...
. The first organised local government systems to emerge in Perak were the Manjung government and several other governments in Central and Hulu Perak (Upper Perak) under Raja Roman and Tun Saban. With the spread of Islam, a sultanate subsequently emerged in Perak; the second oldest Muslim kingdom in the Malay Peninsula after the neighbouring
Kedah Sultanate The Kedah Sultanate () is a History of Islam, Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union but ...
. Based on ''Salasilah Raja-Raja Perak'' (Perak Royal Genealogy), the Perak Sultanate was formed in the early 16th century on the banks of the Perak River by the eldest son of Mahmud Shah, the 8th
Sultan of Malacca The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as I ...
. He ascended to the throne as Muzaffar Shah I, first Sultan of Perak, after surviving the capture of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511 and living quietly for a period in Siak on the island of
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
. He became sultan through the efforts of Tun Saban, a local leader and trader between Perak and Klang. There had been no sultan in Perak when Tun Saban first arrived in the area from Kampar in Sumatra. Most of the area's residents were traders from Malacca and
Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...
, and from Siak, Kampar, and
Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of i ...
in Sumatra. Among them was an old woman, Tok Masuka from
Daik Daik ( Jawi: ; ) is the main village (''kelurahan'') on the island of Lingga of Lingga Regency, in the Riau Islands in Indonesia. It is located at . History Daik was the capital of the Lingga Sultanate for almost 100 years, from 1819 to 1911. ...
, who raised a Temusai child named Nakhoda Kassim. Before her death, she called on the ancestors of
Sang Sapurba Sri Maharaja Sang Sapurba Paduka Sri Trimurti Tri Buana, (1245–1316) also known as Sri Nila Pahlawan, is a figure in the Malay Annals and ''Tambo Minangkabau'' highly revered as the legendary great ancestor of some of the major dynasties of the M ...
to take her place, to prevent the royal lineage from disappearing from the Malay Peninsula. Tun Saban and Nakhoda Kassim then travelled to Kampar, where Mahmud Shah agreed to their request and named his son the first Sultan of Perak. Perak's administration became more organised after the sultanate was established and adopted Malacca's form of elective monarchy. With the opening up of Perak in the 16th century, the state became a source of tin ore. It appears that anyone was free to trade in the commodity, although the tin trade did not attract significant attention until the 1610s. Throughout the 1570s, the
Sultanate of Aceh The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam (; Jawoë: ), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long per ...
subjected most parts of the Malay Peninsula to continual harassment. The sudden disappearance of Perak's Sultan Mansur Shah I in 1577 gave rise to rumours of abduction by Acehnese forces. Soon afterwards, the late sultan's widow and his 16 children were taken as captives to Sumatra. Sultan Mansur Shah I's eldest son, Raja
Alauddin Mansur Syah Sultan Alauddin Mansur Syah (died 1585 or 1586) was the eighth Sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He ruled Aceh from 1579 to 1585 or 1586 and was known as a pious Muslim ruler with cultural interests. His reign also saw some military expansion o ...
, married an Acehnese princess and subsequently became the Sultan of Aceh. The Sultanate of Perak was left without a ruling monarch, and Perak nobles went to Aceh in the same year to ask the new Sultan Alauddin for a successor. The ruler sent his younger brother to become Perak's third monarch. Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Shah ruled Perak for seven years, maintaining the unbroken lineage of the Malacca dynasty. Although Perak did fall under the authority of the Acehnese Sultanate, it remained entirely independent of Siamese control for over two hundred years from 1612, in contrast with its neighbour, Kedah, and many of the Malay sultanates in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, which became
tributary state A tributary state is a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This token often ...
s of Siam. In 1620, the Acehnese sultanate
invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...
Perak and captured its sultan. When Sultan Sallehuddin Riayat Shah died without an heir in 1635, a state of uncertainty prevailed in Perak. This was exacerbated by a deadly
cholera epidemic Seven cholera pandemics have occurred in the past 200 years, with the first pandemic originating in India in 1817. The seventh cholera pandemic is officially a current pandemic and has been ongoing since 1961, according to a World Health Organi ...
that swept through the state, killing many royal family members. Perak chieftains were left with no alternative but to turn to Aceh's sultan
Iskandar Thani Iskandar Thani Alauddin Mughayat Syah (1610 – 15 February 1641) was the thirteenth sultan of Aceh, following the powerful Iskandar Muda. Iskandar Thani was the son of the 11th sultan of Pahang, Ahmad Shah II, who was brought to Aceh in the co ...
, who sent his relative, Raja Sulong, to become the new Sultan of Perak as
Muzaffar Shah II Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah II or Muzafar II, born Khalil Khan, was a Sultan of the Muzaffarids (Gujarat), Muzaffarid dynasty, who reigned over the Gujarat Sultanate from 1511 to 1526. He was the eldest son of Sultan Mahmud Begada. He briefly ...
. Aceh's influence on Perak began to wane when the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
(VOC) arrived, in the mid-17th century. When Perak refused to enter into a contract with the VOC as its northern neighbours had done, a blockade of the Perak River was ordered that halted the tin trade, causing suffering among Aceh's merchants. In 1650, Aceh's sultana
Taj ul-Alam Sulṭāna Taj ul-Alam Safiatuddin Syah (1612 – 23 October 1675; born Putri Sri Alam) was the fourteenth ruler of Aceh. She was the daughter of the sultan Iskandar Muda and the wife of his successor, Iskandar Thani. She became sulṭāna ...
ordered Perak to sign an agreement with the VOC, on the condition that the tin trade would be conducted exclusively with Aceh's merchants. By the following year, the VOC had secured a monopoly over the tin trade, setting up a store in Perak. Following long competition between Aceh and the VOC over Perak's tin trade, on 15 December 1653, the two parties jointly signed a treaty with Perak granting the Dutch exclusive rights to tin extracted from mines located in the state. A
fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
was built on
Pangkor Island Pangkor Island (; Tamil language, Tamil: பங்கோர் தீவு) is an island in Manjung District, Perak, Malaysia. It has a population of approximately 10,000. Nearby islands include Pangkor Laut Island, Giam Island, Mentagor Isla ...
in 1670 to act as a warehouse to store tin ore mined in Perak even though Perak nobles had destroyed an earlier store structure, on orders from the Dutch base in Batavia. This warehouse was also destroyed in further attacks in 1690, but was repaired when the Dutch returned with reinforcements. In 1699, when the regionally dominant
Sultanate of Johor The Johor Sultanate ( or ; also called the Sultanate of Johor, Johor-Pahang-Riau-Lingga, or the Johor Empire) was founded by Sultan of Malacca Mahmud Shah of Malacca, Mahmud Shah's son, Alauddin Riayat Shah II of Johor, Alauddin Riayat Shah ...
lost its last Malaccan dynasty sultan, Sultan Mahmud Shah II, Perak now had the sole claim of being the final heir of the Sultanate of Malacca. However, Perak could not match the prestige and power of either the Malacca or Johor Sultanates. The early 18th century started with 40 years of civil war where rival princes were bolstered by local chiefs, the
Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...
and Minang, fighting for a share of the tin revenue. The Bugis and several Perak chiefs were successful in ousting the Perak ruler, Sultan Muzaffar Riayat Shah III in 1743. In 1747, Sultan Muzaffar Riayat Shah III, now only holding power in the area of Upper Perak, signed a treaty with Dutch Commissioner Ary Verbrugge under which Perak's ruler recognised the Dutch monopoly over the tin trade, agreed to sell all tin ore to Dutch traders, and allowed the Dutch to build a new warehouse fort on the Perak River estuary. With construction of the new warehouse near the Perak River (also known as Sungai Perak), the old warehouse was abandoned permanently and left in ruins. The mid-18th century saw Sultan Muzaffar ruling inland Perak while the coastal region was ruled by Raja Iskandar, animosity grew between the two as Raja Iskandar was unable to reach the tin-bearing highlands while the Sultan had restricted access to the strait. Reconciliation occurred later with Iskandar's marriage to the Sultan's daughter. His accession in 1752 saw unprecedented peace in Perak, especially due to an alliance (which lasted until 1795) with the Dutch to protect Perak against external attacks. When repeated Burmese invasions resulted in the destruction and defeat of the Siamese
Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...
in 1767 by the Burmese
Konbaung dynasty The Konbaung dynasty (), also known as the Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်), was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in history of Mya ...
, neighbouring Malay tributary states began to assert their independence from Siam. To further develop Perak's tin mines, the Dutch administration suggested that its 17th sultan, Alauddin Mansur Shah Iskandar Muda, should allow Chinese miners into Perak. The sultan himself encouraged the scheme in 1776, requesting that additional Chinese workers be sent from
Dutch Malacca Dutch Malacca (1641–1825) was the longest period that Malacca was under foreign control. The Dutch ruled for almost 183 years with intermittent British occupation during the French Revolutionary and later the Napoleonic Wars (1795–1815). ...
. The
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (; 1780–1784) was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on t ...
in 1780 adversely affected the tin trade in Perak, and many Chinese miners left. In a move which angered the Siamese court, neighbouring Kedah's Sultan
Abdullah Mukarram Shah Paduka Sri Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah ibni al-Marhum Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Mu'adzam Shah II ( Jawi: ڤدوك سري سلطان عبد الله مكرم شاه ابن المرحوم سلطان محمد جيوا زين العاب ...
then entered into an agreement with the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
(EIC), ceding
Penang Island Penang Island is the main constituent island of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located off the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Malacca Strait, with the Penang Strait separating the island from Seberang Perai on the mainla ...
to the British in 1786 in exchange for protection. Siam regained strength under the
Thonburi Kingdom The Thonburi Kingdom was a major Thai people, Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin, who reunited Siam follow ...
, led by
Taksin King Taksin the Great (, , ) or the King of Thonburi (, ; ; Teochew: Dên Chao; 17 April 1734 – 7 April 1782) was the only king of the Thonburi Kingdom that ruled Thailand from 1767 to 1782. He had been an aristocrat in the Ayutthaya Kingdom ...
, after freeing itself from Burmese occupation. After repelling another large-scale Burmese invasion, the Rattanakosin Kingdom (
Chakri dynasty The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the Monarchy of Thailand, king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and ...
) led by
Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...
, as the successor of the Thonburi Kingdom, turned its attention to its insubordinate southern Malay subjects, fearing renewed attacks from Burma along the western seaboard of the Malay Peninsula. Attention to the south was also needed because of disunity and rivalries among the various southern tributary sultanates, stemming from personal conflicts and a reluctance to submit to Siamese authority. One example of this resistance was the Sultanate of Pattani under Sultan Muhammad, who refused to aid Siam during the Siamese war of liberation. This led Rama I's younger brother, Prince Surasi, to attack Pattani in 1786. Many Malays were killed, and survivors were taken to the Siamese stronghold in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
as
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
s. Siam's subjugation of Pattani served as a warning to the other Malay tributary states, particularly Kedah, they too having been forced to provide thousands of men, and food supplies, throughout the Siamese resistance campaign against the Burmese. In 1795, the Dutch temporarily withdrew from Malacca for the duration of the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
in Europe. Malacca's authority was transferred to the British
Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...
. When war ended, the Dutch returned to administer Malacca in 1818. In 1818, the Dutch monopoly over the tin trade in Perak was renewed, with the signing of a new recognition treaty. In the same year as when Perak refused to send a
bunga mas The bunga emas dan perak ( "golden and silver flowers", ), often abbreviated to bunga mas ( Jawi: "golden flowers"), was a form of tribute sent every three years to the king of Ayutthaya ( Siam) from its vassal states in the Malay Peninsula, ...
tribute to the Siamese court, the king
Rama II of Siam Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father Ra ...
had Kedah attack Perak. The Sultanate of Kedah knew the intention behind the order was to weaken ties between fellow Malay states, but complied, unable to resist Siam's further territorial expansion into inland Hulu Perak. Siam's tributary Malay state, the
Kingdom of Reman The Kingdom of Reman or Kingdom of Rahman (; Jawi: كراجأن رمان; ; ) was a landlocked semi-independent Malay kingdom in the northern Malay Peninsula. It was one of seven regions of Patani Kingdom, an autonomous tributary state of S ...
, then illegally operated tin mines in Klian Intan, angering the Sultan of Perak and provoking a dispute that escalated into civil war. Reman, aided by Siam, succeeded in controlling several inland districts. In 1821, Siam invaded and
conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...
the Sultanate of Kedah, angered by a breach of trust. The exiled Sultan of Kedah turned to the British to help him regain his throne, despite Britain's policy of non-engagement in expensive minor wars in the Malay Peninsula at the time, which the EIC upheld through the
Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...
. Siam's subsequent plan to extend its conquests to the southern territory of Perak failed after Perak defeated the Siamese forces with the aid of mixed
Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...
and Malay reinforcements from the
Sultanate of Selangor Sultan of Selangor (سلطان سلاڠور) is the title of the constitutional ruler of Selangor, Malaysia who is the head of state and head of the Islamic religion in Selangor. The current monarch, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ascended the ...
. As an expression of gratitude to Selangor for assisting it to defeat Siam, Perak authorised Raja Hasan of Selangor to collect
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
es and
revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
in its territory. This power, however, was soon misused, causing conflict between the two sultanates.


British protectorate

When the EIC established a British presence in Penang, the British already had a trading post in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, avoiding involvement in the affairs of the nearby Malay sultanates. In 1822, the British authority in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
sent British diplomat
John Crawfurd John Crawfurd (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a British physician, colonial administrator, diplomat and writer who served as the second and last resident of Singapore. Early life He was born on Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, the son of Sam ...
to Siam to negotiate trade concessions and gather information with a view to restoring the Sultan of Kedah to the throne. The mission failed. In 1823, the Sultanates of Perak and Selangor signed a joint agreement to block the Dutch tin monopoly in their territories. EIC policy shifted with the
First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War (; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War in English language accounts and First English Invasion War () in Burmese language accounts, was the first of three wars fought between the ...
in 1824 with Siam becoming an important ally. Through its governor,
Robert Fullerton Robert Fullerton (16 January 1773 – 6 June 1831) was a Scottish colonial administrator who served as the first Governor of the Straits Settlements, appointed by the East India Company. Early life He was born in Edinburgh the son of William Fu ...
, Penang tried to convince the main EIC authority in India to continue helping the Sultan of Kedah to regain his throne. Throughout 1824, Siam aimed to expand its control towards Perak and Selangor. The dispute between the British and Dutch formally ceased when Dutch Malacca in the Malay Peninsula was exchanged with
British Bencoolen British Bencoolen, variously known during its existence as Fort York, Fort Marlborough, Bencoolen, Benkulu, or "the West Coast", was a possession of the British East India Company (EIC) extending nearly 500 miles (800 km) along the southwestern c ...
in Sumatra, both parties agreeing to limit their sphere of influence through the signing of the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty. In July 1825, an initial negotiation was held between Siam, represented by their tributary state the Kingdom of Ligor, and the EIC. The King of Ligor promised that Siam would not send its armada to Perak and Selangor, resolving the issue of its attacks. The British renounced any aspiration of conquering Perak or interfering in its administration, promising to prevent Raja Hasan of Selangor from making trouble in Perak, and to try to reconcile the differences between Selangor and Ligor. A month later, in August 1825, Sultan of Selangor Ibrahim Shah signed a friendship and peace treaty with the EIC, represented by John Anderson, ending the long feud between the governments of Selangor and Perak. Under the treaty, Selangor gave assurances to the British that it would not interfere in the affairs of Perak; the border between Perak and Selangor was finalised; and Raja Hasan of Selangor was to be immediately exiled from Perak, paving the way for peace between the two Malay states and the resolution of the power struggle between the British and Siam. In 1826, the Kingdom of Ligor broke its promise and attempted to conquer Perak. A small British expeditionary force thwarted the attack. The Sultan of Perak then ceded to the British Dindings and Pangkor (the two now constitute
Manjung District The Manjung District, formerly known as Dindings, is a district in the south-western part of the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is the 26th-most populated district in Malaysia. It is administered by the Manjung Municipal Council (), formerly kn ...
) so that the British could suppress
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
activity along the Perak coast where it became part of the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...
. The same year, the British and Siam concluded the
Burney Treaty The treaty between Rattanakosin Kingdom, Kingdom of Siam and Great Britain commonly known as the Burney Treaty was signed at Bangkok on 20 June 1826 by Henry Burney, an agent of British East India Company, for Britain, and King Rama III for Thail ...
, signed by British Captain
Henry Burney Henry Burney (27 February 1792 – 4 March 1845),Holmes and Co. (Calcutta)''The Bengal Obituary'' W. Thacker, 1851, p. 209 was a British army officer and diplomat for the British East India Company. Early life His parents were Richard Thomas ...
and the Siamese government, the British agreed not to intercede in the affairs of Kedah despite their friendly relations with Kedah's ruler, and the Siamese agreed not to attack Perak or Selangor. The discovery of tin in Larut and rapid growth of the tin ore trade in the 19th century saw an increasing influx of Chinese labour. Later, rivalry developed between two Chinese
secret societies A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
. This, coupled with internal political strife between two factions of Perak's local Malay rulers, escalated into the
Larut Wars The Larut Wars were a series of four wars that began in July 1861 and ended with the signing of the Pangkor Treaty of 1874. The conflicts were fought among local Chinese secret societies over the control of mining areas in Perak which later inv ...
in 1841. After 21 years of wars, neighbouring Kedah freed itself from full Siamese rule in 1843, although it remained a Siamese tributary state until 1909. By 1867, the link between the Straits Settlements on the Malay coast and the British authority in India was broken, with separate administration and the transfer of the respective territories to the
Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...
. The
Anglo-Dutch Treaties of 1870–1871 The Anglo-Dutch Treaties of 1870–1871 were three related treaties between Great Britain and the Netherlands, dealing with colonial disputes and other colonial affairs between the two countries. History In 1868, two treaties were being dra ...
enabled the Dutch to consolidate control over Aceh in Sumatra. This later escalated into the
Aceh War The Aceh War (), also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1904), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Kingdom of the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh ...
. Internal conflicts ensued in Perak. In 1873, the ruler of one of Perak's two local Malay factions, Raja Abdullah Muhammad Shah II, wrote to the Governor of the Straits Settlements,
Andrew Clarke Andrew Clarke may refer to: * Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1793) (1793–1847), Governor of Western Australia *Sir Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1824) (1824–1902), Governor of the Straits Settlements, son of the above *An ...
, requesting British assistance. This resulted in the Treaty of Pangkor, signed on Pangkor Island on 20 January 1874, under which the British recognised Abdullah as the legitimate Sultan of Perak. In return, the treaty provided for direct British intervention through the appointment of a Resident who would advise the sultan on all matters except religion and customs, and oversee revenue collection and general administration, including maintenance of peace and order. Britain's first priority in the region was preventing the internecine warfare among the Chinese at Larut which had been disrupting trade, and in bringing about an end to the piracy plaguing the region. The treaty marked the introduction of a British residential system, with Perak going on to become part of the
Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...
(FMS) in 1895. It was also a shift from the previous British policy of non-intervention in Perak's affairs. James W. W. Birch was appointed as Perak's first
British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...
, and
Captain Speedy Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
, already stationed at Larut with a number of
Sepoys ''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Europ ...
, was appointed Assistant Resident. However, Birch's inability to understand and communicate well with the locals, ignorance of Malay customs, and disparagement of the efforts of the sultan and his dignitaries to implement British tax control and collection systems caused resentment. This was also not helped by a lack of a coherent British policy for the area, and poor understanding from the Sultanate as to the implications of a British Resident. As a result, local nationalist Maharaja Lela and the new monarch, Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II, opposed him, and the following year, in 1875, Birch was assassinated through a conspiracy of local Malay dignitaries Seputum, Pandak Indut, Che Gondah, and Ngah Ahmad. The assassination angered the British authority, and following anti-British uprisings in several areas, a major military campaign was fought by the British in Perak in 1875-76. The perpetrators were arrested and executed and the sultan and his chiefs, also suspected of involvement in the plot, were
banished Banished may refer to: * The punishment of being exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumsta ...
to the British Seychelles in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
in 1876. The swiftness of the campaign would also act as a wake-up call to the chiefs that, unlike their other rivals, the British thoroughly intended to make their mark on the country, and had the power to enforce it. During his exile, the Sultan had the use of a government-owned residence at Union Vale in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, Mahé. The other exiled chiefs were given allowances but remained under strict surveillance. The sultan and his chiefs were temporarily relocated to
Félicité Island Félicité Island is a heavy forested granitic island east of La Digue in the Seychelles. It is the fifth-largest island in the Seychelles archipelago, measuring . Until the 1970s it was a coconut plantation that had a population of about 50. In ...
for five years, before being allowed to return to Victoria in 1882 when the turmoil in Perak had subsided. The sultan led a quiet life in the Seychellois community, and had communications access to
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...
. After many years, the Sultan was pardoned following petitioning by the Seychellois and correspondence between W. H. Hawley of Government House, Mauritius, and
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...
Henry Holland. He was allowed to return to the Malay Peninsula, and spent most of his later life in Singapore and Penang before returning to
Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ) is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of George Town, Penang, Ge ...
in Perak in 1922. Being the only candidate to the Sultanate who could be confidently ascertained to be innocent of the plot, Abdullah's brother
Yusuf Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...
was dully appointed Sultan, albeit one that would be considered far more of a British puppet than before. Despite this, the Malay population seemed largely to welcome the British as a source of stability compared to the often feuding chiefs. Initially, the now vacant role of British Resident was taken over by James Guthrie Davidson, a previous resident of Selangor. However, the low pay and insecure position resulted in him disengaging from the role and leaving after only one year in office. Needing someone both local and skilled enough to handle the complicated circumstances of Perak, the Governor would subsequently appoint the more experienced Hugh Low, who had spent much of the past twenty-eight years in nearby
Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan (), is an island federal territory of Malaysia. It includes and six smaller islands off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria, which is best kno ...
, and who was considered a safe pair of hands by both London and the Governor. British Resident in Perak
Hugh Low Sir Hugh Low, (10 May 182418 April 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he was appointed as British administrator in the Malay Peninsula where he made the first t ...
proved an effective administrator, preferring to adopt a generous approach that avoided confrontation with local leaders. As a result, he was able to secure the co-operation of many rajas and village ''
penghulu ( Jawi: ; also ) is the headman or chief of a region in traditional societies in the Malay Archipelago. The term is currently used in Brunei and Malaysia as the community leader of the smaller country subdivision or settlement. Etymology The wor ...
'' with his policy rather than resorting to force, despite giving transport infrastructure little attention during his term. In 1882,
Frank Swettenham Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham (28 March 1850 – 11 June 1946) was a British colonial administrator who became the first Resident general of the Federated Malay States, which brought the Malay states of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and ...
succeeded Low for a second term as the Resident of Perak. During his mandate, Perak's rail and road infrastructure was put in place. Increasing numbers of labourers were brought from India, primarily to work as railway and municipal
coolie Coolie (also spelled koelie, kouli, khuli, khulie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian people, Indian or Chinese descent. The word ''coolie'' was first used in the 16th cent ...
s. The British introduced several changes to the local political structure, exerting influence on the appointment of the sultan and restricting the power of his chiefs to Malay local matters. The sultan and his chiefs were no longer entitled to collect taxes but received a monthly allowance from the state treasury in compensation. British intervention marked the beginning of Perak's transition from a primarily Malay society to a multi-ethnic one. The new style of government worked to promote a
market-driven economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding fixed investment, investment, Production (economics), production, and Distribution (economics), distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signal, price signals ...
, maintain law and order, and combat
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
, seen by the British as an obstacle to economic development and incompatible with a
capitalist economy Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by a n ...
. Under the Anglo-Siamese Treaty, signed in Bangkok in 1909, Siam ceded its northern Malay tributary states of Kedah,
Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...
, Perlis, and
Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...
and nearby islands to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. Exceptions were the
Patani Pattani (or Patani in Malay spelling) may refer to: Places Continental Asia * Patani (historical region), a historical region in the Malay peninsula, in Thailand and Malaysia. * Pattani Province, modern province in southern Thailand ** Pattani, ...
region, which remained under Siamese rule, and Perak, which regained the previously lost inland territory that became the
Hulu Perak District Hulu Perak District () is a district in Perak, Malaysia. It is the largest district in Perak. In the east of the district it borders the districts of Jeli and Gua Musang in Kelantan, to the west it borders Baling and Kulim Districts of Kedah, t ...
. The treaty terms stipulated that the British, through their government of the FMS, would assume responsibility for all debts owed to Siam by the four ceded Malay states, and relinquish British
extraterritorial rights Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries. Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the external ...
in Siam.


Second World War

There had been a Japanese community in Perak since 1893, managing the bus service between the town 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 ...
and
Batu Gajah Batu Gajah (population 133,422) is the seat of Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. It is administered by the Batu Gajah District Council (), formerly known as Kinta West District Council (). Etymology The name ''Batu Gajah'' in Malay means "e ...
, and running
brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
s in Kinta. There were a number of other Japanese-run businesses in Ipoh, including
dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...
s,
photo studio A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs. History Since the early years of th ...
s,
laundries Laundry is the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this uni ...
,
tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
s,
barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...
s, and hotels. Activity increased as a result of the close relationship created by the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance The was an alliance between the United Kingdom and the Empire of Japan which was effective from 1902 to 1923. The treaty creating the alliance was signed at Lansdowne House in London on 30 January 1902 by British foreign secretary Lord Lans ...
. Early in July 1941, a Ceylonese Malay policeman serving under the British administration in Perak raised an alert after a Japanese business owner living in the same building told him that Japanese troops were on their way, approaching not around Singapore from the sea, as expected by the British, but from
Kota Bharu Kota Bharu ( Kelantanese: ''Koto Baghu''), colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mout ...
in Kelantan, with
bicycle infantry Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on (or, more often, between) battlefields using military bicycles. The term dates from the late 19th century, when the "safety bicycle" became popular in Europe, the United States, and Austra ...
and
rubber boat An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull are often flexible, while for boats longer than , the floor typically consist ...
s. The policeman informed the British Chief Police Officer in Ipoh, but his claim was laughed off. By 26 December 1941, the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
(IJA) had arrived in Ipoh, the capital, moving southwards from Thailand. The following day they went on to Taiping, leaving destruction and heavy casualties in their wake. The British forces, retreating from the north of the Malay Peninsula under Lieutenant-General
Lewis Heath Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Macclesfield Heath, (23 November 1885 – 10 January 1954) was an officer in the British Indian Army during the early to mid-twentieth century. Early life and family Heath was born 23 November 1885, the son of ...
, had moved a further to the Perak River (Sungai Perak), damaging the route behind them to slow the Japanese advance. With the approval of Lieutenant-General
Arthur Percival Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, (26 December 1887 – 31 January 1966) was a British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period, but is best known for his de ...
, the British mounted a defensive stand near the river mouth and in Kampar, leaving the towns of Ipoh, Kuala Kangsar and Taiping unguarded. Most civil administrations were closed down, since the European administrators and civilians evacuated south. By mid-December, the Japanese had reached
Kroh Kroh or Keruh (; ), now known as Pengkalan Hulu, is a town in Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia bordering Thailand and also the state of Kedah. The nearest town on the Thailand side is Betong in Yala province. History Kroh began as the ...
in the interior of Perak, moving in from Kota Bharu in Kelantan. The Japanese arrived both from the east and by boat along the western coast. Within 16 days of their first landings, they had captured the entire northern part of the Malay Peninsula. The British were left trying to blockade the main road heading south from Ipoh. While the defending troops briefly slowed the Japanese at the
Battle of Kampar The Battle of Kampar (30 December 1941 – 2 January 1942) was an engagement of the Malayan Campaign during World War II, involving British and Indian troops from the 11th Indian Infantry Division and the Japanese 5th Division. On 27 Dece ...
and at the mouth of the Perak River, the Japanese advance along the trunk road, followed up with bombing and water-borne incursions, forced the British to retreat further south. The Japanese occupied all of Malaya and Singapore. Tokugawa Yoshichika, of the
Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...
whose ancestors were
Shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...
s who ruled Japan from the 16th to 19th centuries, proposed a plan for reform. Under its terms,
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah-Penang, and Perlis would be restored and federated. Johor would control Perak, Selangor,
Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...
, and Malacca. An area in southern Johor would be incorporated into
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
for defence purposes. In the context of the military alliance between Japan and Thailand and their joint participation in the
Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...
against the Allied forces, in 1943 the
Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
gave Thailand back its former Malay tributary states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu, which had been ceded to the British under the 1909 treaty. These territories were then administered as Thailand's Four Malay States (), with Japanese troops maintaining a presence. Perak suffered under harsh military control, restricted movement, and tight surveillance throughout the Japanese occupation until 1945. The press in occupied Malaya, including the English-language occupation-era newspaper ''The Perak Times'', was entirely under the control of the Dōmei News Agency (''Dōmei Tsushin''), publishing Japanese-related war propaganda. The Dōmei News Agency also printed newspapers in Malay,
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
,
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
, and Japanese. The indigenous
Orang Asli The Orang Asli are a Homogeneity and heterogeneity, heterogeneous Indigenous peoples, indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. As of 2017, the Orang Asli accounted f ...
stayed in the interior during the occupation. Much of their community was befriended by Malayan Communist Party guerrillas, who protected them from outsiders in return for information on the Japanese and their food supplies. Strong resistance came mainly from the ethnic Chinese community, while some Malays collaborated with the Japanese through the
Kesatuan Melayu Muda Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) ( Jawi: كساتوان ملايو مودا; "Young Malays Union" in Malay) was the first leftist and national political establishment in British Malaya. Founded by Ibrahim Yaacob and Ishak Haji Muhammad, KMM grew ...
(KMM) movement for Malayan independence. But Malay support waned with increasingly harsh Japanese treatment of civilians during the occupation. Two Chinese
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
organisations operated within Perak in northern Malaya. One, the Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Army (OCAJA), was aligned with the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
. The other, the
Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army The Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) was a communist guerrilla army that resisted the Japanese occupation of Malaya from 1941 to 1945 in World War II. Composed mainly of ethnic Chinese guerrilla fighters, the MPAJA was the largest ...
(MPAJA), was closely associated with the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
. Although both opposed the Japanese, there were clashes between the two groups. Sybil Kathigasu, a Eurasian nurse and member of the Perak resistance, was tortured after the Japanese ''
Kempeitai The , , was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized in clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogated suspects ...
'' military police discovered a clandestine
shortwave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the High frequency, high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30& ...
set in her home. John Davis, an officer of the British commando
Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's O ...
, part of the
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
(SOE), trained local guerrillas prior to the Japanese invasion at the 101 Special Training School in Singapore, where he sought Chinese recruits for their commando teams. Under the codename Operation Gustavus, Davis and five Chinese agents landed on the Perak coast north of Pangkor Island on 24 May 1943. They established a base camp in the Segari Hills, from which they moved to the plains to set up an intelligence network in the state. In September 1943, they met and agreed to co-operate with the MPAJA, which then provided Force 136 with support and manpower. This first intelligence network collapsed, when many of its leaders, including Lim Bo Seng, were caught, tortured and killed by the ''Kempeitai'' in June 1944. On 16 December 1944, a second intelligence network, comprising five Malay SOE agents and two British liaison officers, Major Peter G. Dobree and Captain Clifford, was
parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
d into Padang Cermin, near
Temenggor Lake Temenggor Lake () is a lake in Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. It is the second largest lake in Peninsular Malaysia after Kenyir Lake in Hulu Terengganu District, Terengganu. This man-made lake is located south of the 1,533 m high Ulu Titi ...
Dam in Hulu Perak under the codename Operation Hebrides. Its main objective was to set up wireless communications between Malaya and Force 136 headquarters in
Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...
,
British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...
, after the MPAJA's failure to do so.


Post-war and independence

The Malay states became unstable following Japan's surrender to the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
in 1945. This was exacerbated by the emergence of nationalism and a popular demand for independence as the British Military Administration took over from 1945 to 1946 to maintain peace and order, before the British began introducing new administrative systems under the
Malayan Union The Malayan Union (; Jawi: كساتوان مالايا) was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single g ...
. The four Malay states held by Thailand during the war were returned to the British. This was done under a proposal by the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, offering Thailand admission to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
(UN) and a substantial American aid package to support its economy after the war. The MPAJA, under the
Communist Party of Malaya The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore fro ...
(CPM), had fought alongside the British against the Japanese, and most of its members received awards at the end of the war. However, party policy become radicalised under the authority of Perak-born
Chin Peng Chin Peng (21 October 1924 – 16 September 2013), born Ong Boon Hua, was a British Malaya, Malayan Communism, communist politician, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, and revolutionary, who was the leader and commander of the Malayan Commun ...
, who took over the CPM administration after former leader
Lai Teck Lai Teck (real name Phạm Văn Đắc or Hoang A Nhac; 1901–1947) was a leader of the Communist Party of Malaya and Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army. A person of mixed Sino-Vietnamese descent, prior to his arrival in Malaya, Lai Teck w ...
disappeared with party funds. Under Chin's authority, the MPAJA killed those they considered to have been Japanese collaborators during the war, who were mainly Malays. This sparked
racial conflict An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's position within so ...
and Malay retaliation. Death squads were also dispatched by the CPM to murder European plantation owners in Perak, and
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
leaders in
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
. The Malayan government's subsequent declaration of a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
on 18 June 1948 marked the start of the
Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...
. Perak and Johor became the main strongholds of the communist movement, the former through native-born figureheads like
Abdullah CD Cik Dat bin Anjang Abdullah (2 October 1923 – 13 January 2024), commonly known as Abdullah CD, was a Malaysian politician who served as chairman and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). Early life and career Abdullah wa ...
and Rashid Maidin. In the early stages their actions were not co-ordinated, and the security forces were able to counter them. Earlier in 1947, the head of the Perak's
Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...
, H. J. Barnard, negotiated an arrangement with the Kuomintang-influenced OCAJA leader
Leong Yew Koh Leong Yew Koh (; 22 August 1888 – 12 January 1963) was a Malayan politician who served as the 1st Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca from the independence of the Federation of Malaya in August 1957 to August 1959 and Minister of Health from ...
. This resulted in most OCAJA members being absorbed into the national Special Constabulary, and fighting against the MPAJA's successor, the
Malayan National Liberation Army The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) was a Communist guerrilla army that fought for Malayan independence from the British Empire during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and later fought against the Malaysian government in the Commun ...
(MNLA). The
Kinta Valley The Kinta Valley (Malay language, Malay: ) is a geographical feature and conurbation in central Perak, Malaysia, surrounding and including the state capital Ipoh. Historically the Kinta Valley was very rich in tin, and their mines have been among ...
, one of the richest tin mining areas in Malaya, accounted for most of the country's tin exports to the United States. On 1 May 1952, the Perak Chinese Tin Mining Association established the Kinta Valley Home Guard (KVHG) to protect it from the communists. Often described as a private Chinese Army, most of the KVHG's Chinese members had links to the Kuomintang. Many of the Kuomintang guerrillas were absorbed from the Lenggong area, where there were also members of Chinese secret societies whose main purpose was to defend Chinese private property against the communists. Throughout the first emergency the British authorities and their Malayan collaborators fought against the communists. This continued even after the proclamation of the independence of the
Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...
, on 31 August 1957. As a result, most of the communist guerrillas were successfully pushed across the northern border into Thailand. Other radical left nationalist movements started in Perak like those under
Ahmad Boestamam Ahmad Boestamam (30 November 1920 – 19 January 1983), or Abdullah Thani bin Raja Kechil, was a Malaysian freedom fighter and politician. He was the founding president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Parti Marhaen Malaysia and former chairmen of ...
and
Burhanuddin al-Helmy Dato' Seri Dr. Burhanuddin bin Muhammad Nur al-Hilmi ( Jawi: ; 29 August 1911 – 25 October 1969), commonly known as Burhanuddin al-Helmy, was a Malaysian Islamic thinker, anti-colonial nationalist, and politician. He served as the third Pres ...
; but were eventually overwhelmed by the
United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...
's local mobilisation in the same decade.


Malaysia

In 1961, the Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya,
Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...
, sought to unite Malaya with the British colonies of
North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...
,
Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
, and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. The
Federation of 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 ...
came into being on 16 September 1963, despite growing opposition from the governments of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, and from communist sympathisers and nationalists in Borneo. The Indonesian government later initiated a "policy of
confrontation Confrontation is an element of conflict wherein parties confront one another, directly engaging one another in the course of a dispute between them. A confrontation can be at any scale, between any number of people, between entire nations or cu ...
" against the new state. This prompted the British, and their allies
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, to deploy armed forces, although no skirmishes arising from the Indonesian attacks occurred around Perak. A second communist insurgency began in the Malay Peninsula in 1968. This affected Perak mainly through attacks from Hulu Perak by the communist insurgents who had previously retreated to the Thai border. The Perak State Information Office launched two types of
psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
to counter the increasing
communist propaganda Communist propaganda is the artistic and social promotion of the ideology of communism, communist worldview, communist society, and interests of the communist movement. While it tends to carry a negative connotation in the Western world, the te ...
disseminated from the insurgents' hide-out. The campaign against the second insurgency was carried out as two separate efforts, because communist activities in Perak were split into two factions. One faction involved infiltrators from across the Thai border; the other was a communist group living among local inhabitants. With the end of British rule in Malaya and the subsequent formation of the Federation of Malaysia, new factories were built and many new suburbs developed in Perak. But there was also rising radicalism among local Malay Muslims, with increasing
Islamisation The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...
initiated by several religious organisations, and by Islamic preachers and intellectuals who caught the interest of both Malay royalty and commoners. Good relations with the country's rulers resulted in Islamic scholars being appointed as palace officers and dignitaries, teachers, and religious judges, contributing to the further spread of Islam. Islam is now seen as a major factor that shaped current attitudes towards standing up for Malay rights.


Geography

Perak has a total land area of , and is situated in the west of the Malay Peninsula on the coast of the
Strait of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
. Its
exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
(EEZ) extends into the Strait. It is the second largest Malaysian state on the Malay Peninsula, and the fourth largest in Malaysia. The state has of coastline, of which are affected by
coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...
.
Mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
forests grow along most of Perak's coast, with the exception of Pangkor Island, with its rich
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and
fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
, where several of the country's
forest reserve Forest reserve(s) may refer to: * Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importan ...
s are located. There is extensive
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
land along the coastal
alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
zones of the west coast between central Perak and southern
Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...
. Perak has an overall total
forest cover Forest cover is the amount of trees that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Nearly a third of the world's land surface is covered with forest, with clos ...
of , including of forest lands, of mangroves, and another of forest plantations. A total of of forest has been gazetted by the state government as forest reserve, scattered across 68 areas throughout the state. Perak's geology is characterised by eruptive masses, which form its
hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...
s and
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
s. The state is divided by three
mountain chain A mountain chain is a row of high mountain summits, a linear sequence of interconnected or related mountains,Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p 87. . or a contiguous ridge of mountains within a larger mo ...
s into the three
plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
s of Kinta, Larut and Perak, running parallel to the coast. The
Titiwangsa Range The Titiwangsa Mountains (Malay language, Malay: ''Banjaran Titiwangsa'', ), also known as ''Banjaran Besar'' (lit. 'main range') by locals, is the chain of mountains that forms the backbone of the Malay Peninsula. The northern section of the r ...
passes along the eastern borders of Perak, with its highest point, the
Mount Korbu Mount Korbu () is a mountain in Hulu Kinta, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, about 25 km from Ipoh city center. It is the highest peak in the state of Perak and Kinta District, located on the Titiwangsa Mountains, the southernmost section of the Te ...
, is located in the district of Kinta near the border with the state of Kelantan. Other mountain ranges in Perak are the
Bintang Mountains The Bintang Mountains (Malay language, Malay: ''Banjaran Bintang'') is a mountain range, part of the Tenasserim Hills, that encompasses the states of Kedah and Perak, Malaysia. It runs from the province of Yala province, Yala, southern Thaila ...
and the Keledang Range. Alluvium covers much of the plains, with detached masses of
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...
appearing at rare intervals. An extensive network of rivers originates from the inland mountain ranges and hills. Perak's borders with the states of Kedah, Penang and Selangor are marked by rivers, including the Bernam and
Kerian River The Kerian River (), alternately ''Krian'', is a river in the northern part of the Malaysian state of Perak. The river originates from the Bintang Range. It flows westerly and discharges into the Strait of Malacca. The main tributaries are the ...
s. Perak has 11 major
river basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...
s of more than . Of these, the
Perak River The Perak River (; ) is the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia after Pahang River in Pahang, Malaysia. A number of towns are on the banks of the river including the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Most of the settlements in what is today ...
basin is the largest, with an area of , about 70% of the total area of the state. It is the second largest river basin on the Malay Peninsula, after the Pahang River basin. The Perak River is the longest river in the state, at some , and is the Malay Peninsula's second longest after the
Pahang River The Pahang River () mainly flows through the state of Pahang, Malaysia. Its drainage basin covers its Pahang as well as the neighbouring state of Negeri Sembilan. At 459 km in length, it is the longest river on the Malay Peninsula. Cours ...
. It originates in the mountains of the Perak-Kelantan- Yala border, snaking down to the Strait of Malacca. Other major rivers include the Beruas, Jarum Mas, Kurau, Larut, Manjung, Sangga Besar, Temerloh, and Tiram Rivers. Perak is located in a
tropical region The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's axi ...
with a typically hot, humid and wet
equatorial climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
, and experiences significant rainfall throughout the year. The temperature remains fairly constant, between .
Humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...
is often above 80%. Annual rainfall is about , with the central area of the state receiving an average of of rain. The state experiences two
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
seasons: the northeast and southwest seasons. The northeast season occurs from November to March, the southwest from May to September, and the transitional months for the monsoon seasons are April and June. The northeast monsoon brings heavy rains, especially in the upper areas of Hulu Perak, causing floods. Little effect of the southwest monsoon is felt in the Kinta Valley, although coastal areas of southern Perak occasionally experience
thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are som ...
, heavy rain and strong, gusting winds in the predawn and early morning. File:Mount Korbu.jpg,
Mount Korbu Mount Korbu () is a mountain in Hulu Kinta, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, about 25 km from Ipoh city center. It is the highest peak in the state of Perak and Kinta District, located on the Titiwangsa Mountains, the southernmost section of the Te ...
with surrounding
vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...
File:Mirror Lake in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.jpg, Mirror Lake in Ipoh File:Forest Brook in Tapah Hills, Perak, Malaysia.jpg, Forest Brook in Tapah Hills File:Twilight in Lumut Beach, Perak, Malaysia.jpg,
Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
in Lumut Beach


Biodiversity

The jungles of Perak are highly
biodiverse Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth ...
. The state's main natural park,
Royal Belum State Park Belum-Temengor is the largest continuous forest complex in Peninsular Malaysia. Specifically, it is located in the Malaysian state of Perak (Hulu Perak) and crosses into Southern Thailand. Belum-Temenggor is divided into two sections. Belum is lo ...
, covers an area of in northern Perak. It contains 18 species of
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
and
toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...
, 67 species of
snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
, more than 132 species of
beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
, 28 species of
cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...
, 97 species of
moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
, and 41 species of
dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...
and
damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies (which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Epiprocta) but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the win ...
. The park was further gazetted as a National Heritage Site by the federal government in 2012, and was inscribed on the World Heritage Site tentative list of
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
in 2017. Royal Belum State Park also hosts an estimated 304
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
species, including migratory species, in addition to birds endemic to the three forest reserve areas of Pangkor Island. Ten
hornbill Hornbills are birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia of the family Bucerotidae. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a horny casque on the upper ...
species are found within the area, including large flocks of the plain-pouched hornbill. Mammal species include the '' Seladang'',
Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...
, and
Malayan tiger The Malayan tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula, and has been classified ...
. The area is also notable for harbouring high concentrations of at least three ''
Rafflesia ''Rafflesia'' (), or stinking corpse lily, is a genus of Parasitic plants, parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. The species have enormous flowers, the buds rising from the ground or directly from the lower stems of their host p ...
'' species. The Pulau Sembilan (Nine Islands) State Park in western Perak covers an area of . Its
coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. ...
are home to
coral reef fish Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among the myriad inhabitants, the fish stand out as colourful and interesting to watch. Hundreds ...
species. In addition, 173 freshwater fish species have been identified as native to the state. Another natural attraction, the tin-mining ponds in Kinta District, was gazetted as a state park in 2016. The Kinta Nature Park, Perak's third state park, covers an area of . The government of Perak has stated its commitment to protecting its forests to ensure the survival of endangered wildlife species, and to protect biodiversity. The Perak Forestry Department is the state body responsible for forest management and preservation. In 2013, the state planted some 10.9 million
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s under the "26 Million Tree Planting Campaign: One Citizen One Tree", associated with global
Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...
. Widespread conversion and reclamation of mangroves and
mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...
s for economic and residential purposes has caused the rapid decline of shore birds, 86% of the reduction on the Malay Peninsula having occurred on Perak's coasts.
Poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...
in forest reserve areas has caused a stark decline in
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
populations. The Perak State Park Corporation estimates that there were only 23
Malayan tiger The Malayan tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula, and has been classified ...
s left within the state's two forest reserves of Royal Belum and Temenggor in 2019. The state government of Perak has also been blamed in part for destroying forest reserves for the lucrative
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
and
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
businesses. Records since 2009 reveal that more than of permanent forest reserves have been degazetted in the state, the latest occurring within the Bikam Permanent Forest Reserve in July 2013. A number of business activities permitted by the state government have caused environmental damage, including to many of Perak's rivers, which require extensive water treatment because of severe pollution. Between 1982 and 1994, the state government was embroiled in a radioactive environmental pollution controversy over the deaths of seven residents who suffered from
birth defect A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can range from mild to severe. Birth de ...
s and
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
resulting from exposure. The factory involved was only closed and cleaned up following lengthy court action by affected residents and increasing international pressure. No responsibility has been accepted by the associated companies, the state government, or the federal government. Although Perak has the highest number of mangrove reserves of the Malay Peninsula states, with 19 reserves in the mangroves of Matang, growing uncontrolled clearance of mangroves for
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...
projects and residential areas is causing significant
coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...
in addition to the damage resulting from
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
.


Government and politics

Perak is a
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
, with a ruler elected by an electoral college composed of the major chiefs. The sultan is the constitutional head of Perak. The current
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 ...
is Nazrin Shah, who acceded to the throne on 29 May 2014. The main royal palace is the Iskandariah Palace in Kuala Kangsar. Kinta Palace in Ipoh is used by the sultan as an occasional residence during official visits. Other palaces in Ipoh include the Al-Ridhuan Palace, Cempaka Sari Palace, and Firuz Palace. The state government is headed by a ''
Menteri Besar head of government, Heads of government in Malaysia's many states of Malaysia, states take on various titles. Seven out of nine in the Peninsular Malaysia, Peninsular who each have Monarchies of Malaysia, historical monarchs are known as the Men ...
'' (Chief Minister), assisted by an 11-member Executive Council (Exco) selected from the members of the
Perak State Legislative Assembly The Perak State Legislative Assembly () is the unicameral state legislature of the Malaysian state of Perak. It is composed of 59 members representing single-member constituencies throughout the state. Elections are held no more than five years a ...
. The 59-seat Assembly is the legislative branch of Perak's government, responsible for making laws in matters regarding the state. It is based on the
Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...
. Members of the Assembly are elected by citizens every five years by
universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
. The Chief Minister is appointed on the basis of his or her ability to command a majority in the Assembly. The majority (33 seats) is currently held by
Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
(BN) and
Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...
(PH). Prior to the major British overhaul of Perak's administration,
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
was widely practised along with a type of
corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...
labour system, called ''kerah''. The chief of a given area could call on his citizens to work as
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
without pay, although under normal circumstances food was still provided. The system was created to ensure the maintenance of the ruling class. It was often described as onerous and demanding, as there were times when the call to duty, and its duration, interfered with citizens' individual work. The slaves were divided into two classes: debtor-bondsmen and ordinary slaves. The debtor-bondsmen had the higher status, being ranked as free men and acknowledged as members of their masters' society. In contrast, the ordinary slaves had no prospect of status redemption. As Islam does not allow enslavement of fellow Muslims, the ordinary slaves came mainly from non-Muslim groups, especially the Orang Asli,
Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...
, and
Africans The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each ethnicity generally having their own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Sahara ...
purchased by Malays on
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
in
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
.


State administration issues and subsequent 2009 constitutional crisis

The opposition
Pakatan Rakyat Pakatan Rakyat (PR; ) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Par ...
(PR) coalition won in Perak in the 2008 general election. Although the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
(DAP) had won the most seats of the opposition parties,
Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin (born 17 March 1957) is a Malaysian politician and engineer who has served as a member of the Perak State Executive Council since November 2022 under Saarani Mohamad and from May 2018 to March 2020 under Ahmad Fa ...
of the
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party, also known as the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ( Malay: ''Parti Islam Se-Malaysia''; abbrev: PAS), is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. Ideologically focused on Islamic fundamentalism and Malay dominanc ...
(PAS) was appointed ''Menteri Besar'' of the state. This happened because the state constitution states that the ''Menteri Besar'' must be a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, unless the sultan specially appoints a non-Muslim to the office. As the DAP did not have any Muslim assemblymen in Perak at that time, the ''Menteri Besar'' had to come from one of its two allied parties, the People's Justice Party (PKR) or the PAS. However, the national ruling party,
Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
(BN), gained control over the state government administration when three PR assemblymen,
Hee Yit Foong Hee Yit Foong (; born 4 December 1963) is a Malaysian politician who is infamous for her role in the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis by resigning from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) which she represented in the 2008 Malaysian general e ...
( Jelapang), Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi ( Behrang), and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (
Changkat Jering Changkat Jering (Jawi language, Jawi: چڠكت جريڠ) is a small town in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It connects Taiping to the North–South Expressway (Malaysia), North–South Expressway via the southern exit, as w ...
) defected to the BN as independent assemblymen during the crisis, on 3 February 2009. A statement from the office of the Sultan of Perak urged the PR ''Menteri Besar'' to resign, but also refused to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly, which would have triggered new elections. Amid multiple protests, lawsuits and arrests, a new BN-led Assembly was sworn in on 7 May. The takeover was then ruled illegal by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, on 11 May 2009, restoring power to the PR. The following day, the
Court of Appeal of Malaysia The Court of Appeal (; Jawi: ) is an appellate court of the judiciary system in Malaysia. It is the second highest court in the hierarchy below the Federal Court. This court was created in 1994 as part of reforms made to the judiciary to cre ...
suspended the High Court ruling pending a new Court of Appeal judgement. On 22 May 2009, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's decision and returned power to the BN. Many opposition party supporters believed that the crisis was effectively a "power grab", in which the democratically elected government was ousted through the political machinations of the more dominant national ruling party.


Departments

* Perak State Finance Office * Perak Irrigation and Drainage Department * Perak State Forestry Department * Perak Social Welfare Department * Perak Syariah Judiciary Department * Perak Public Works Department * Perak State Islamic Religious Affairs Department * Perak Public Service Commission * Perak State Agriculture Department * Office of Lands and Mines Perak * Perak State Mufti Office * Perak Town and Country Planning Department * Department of Veterinary Services of Perak


Statutory bodies

* Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council * Perak State Public Library Corporation


Administrative divisions

Perak is divided into 12
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
(''daerah''), 81 ''
mukim A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English language, English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay language, Malay from the Arabic word ...
s'', and 15 local governments. There are district officers for each district and a village chief (''ketua kampung'' or ''
penghulu ( Jawi: ; also ) is the headman or chief of a region in traditional societies in the Malay Archipelago. The term is currently used in Brunei and Malaysia as the community leader of the smaller country subdivision or settlement. Etymology The wor ...
'') for each village in the district. Before the British arrived, Perak was run by a group of relatives and friends of the sultan who held rights to collect taxes and duties. The British developed a more organised administration following Perak's integration into the
Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...
(FMS). The FMS government created two institutions, the State Council and the Malay Administrative Service (MAS). The two institutions encouraged direct Malay participation and gave the former ruling class a place in the new administrative structure. Most of the sultan's district chiefs removed from authority at that time were given new positions in the State Council, although their influence was restricted to Malay social matters raised in council business. The sultan and the district chiefs were compensated for their loss of tax revenue with a monthly allowance from the state treasury. The role of the local ''penghulus'' changed considerably when they were appointed no longer by the sultan but by the British Resident. Colonial land policy introduced individual landholding, thereby making land a commodity, and the ''penghulu'' were then involved in matters relating to this property. The Perak State Council was established in 1875 to assist the British Resident in most administrative matters. It also brought together the Malay chiefs and Chinese leaders (''
Kapitan Cina Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China or Capitan Chino (; ; ; ), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore, Borneo and the Philippines. Office holders exercis ...
'') to deal with certain administrative issues relating to Perak's growing Malay and Chinese populations. The State Council also helped provide education and training to assist Malays in qualifying for government positions. When the post of the FMS Resident was abolished, other European-held administrative posts were gradually occupied by local appointees. As in the rest of Malaysia, local government comes under the purview of state government. On 26 November 2015, it was announced that the
Batang Padang District The Batang Padang District () is a district in Perak, Malaysia. This district is administered by a local council, namely, the Tapah District Council, based in Tapah. The major towns of Batang Padang are Bidor, Tapah and Sungkai. In August 2007 ...
sub-district of Tanjung Malim would become Perak's 11th district, to be called Muallim. Sultan Nazrin officiated at its formal creation on 11 January 2016. On 9 January 2017, the sultan proclaimed
Bagan Datuk Bagan Datuk (formerly spelled Bagan Datoh), is a town and mukim in Bagan Datuk District, Perak, Malaysia. Location Bagan Datuk is the most southwest district in the state of Perak. It is about 130 km (by car) from the state capital Ipo ...
the 12th district of the state. The proclamation marked the start of transformation for the district, one of the biggest
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
producers in Malaysia.


Economy

From the 1980s on, Perak began an economic transition away from the
primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...
, where for decades income was generated by 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 ...
industry. Early in 2006, the state government established the Perak Investment Management Centre (InvestPerak) to serve as the contact point for investors in the
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
and
services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
sectors. The state's economy today relies mainly on the
tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
. In 2017, the
tourism industry Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
contributed RM201.4 billion (14.9%) to the state
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP). Through the
Eleventh Malaysia Plan The Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) ( Malay: ''Rancangan Malaysia ke-11'') 2016–2020 is Malaysia's five-year development plan towards realising the goal of Vision 2020. The preparation of the 11th Malaysia Plan is based on the National Developm ...
(11MP), the state has set targets under its five-year 2016–2020 development plan, including economic development corridor targets for Southern Perak. Perak has several development corridors, with a different focus for each district. A 20-year masterplan was also formulated in 2017 to drive economic development in the state, with a development value of up to RM30 billion. In the first quarter of 2018, the state received a total of RM249.8 million in investments. A year later, investments in the first quarter of 2019 had increased to RM1.43 billion. Perak ranks fifth after
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 ...
, Kedah,
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
and Selangor in total value of investments. In 2018, investments of RM1.9 billion were planned for the implementation of a range of manufacturing projects and associated factory construction from 2019. Since 2005, Perak has made efforts to remain the biggest
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
producer in Malaysia. In 2008, the state sought to legalise the prawn-farming industry, mostly located in western Perak with some activity in
Tanjung Tualang Tanjung Tualang is a mukim in Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. History It was originally one of the major tin-mining towns in Malaysia around early 1900s. Tanjung Tualang obtained its name from a type of tree called tualang and later a major ti ...
. In 2016, some 17,589 young people in Perak were involved in implementing a range of state initiatives in Perak's agriculture sector. In 2019, the Perak State Agriculture Development Corporation (SADC) launched the Perak AgroValley Project to increase the state's agricultural production. This initiative covers an area of in the Bukit Sapi Mukim Lenggong region. Most of Perak's abandoned tin mine lakes provide suitable environments for the breeding of
freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...
. 65% of abandoned mines have been used for fisheries production, with 30% of the fish exported to neighbouring
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and Indonesia. To further improve agricultural productivity and meet increasing demand, the state plans to expand the permanent cultivation of
vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...
,
flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
, coconut,
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
,
durian The durian () is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognized species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species ...
, and
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
, in different areas throughout Perak. The construction sector accounted for 5.6% of Perak's economic growth in 2015, dropping to 4.0% the following year. Development and
housing projects Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a combination thereof ...
represented the sector's major contribution to the state's economic growth.


Tourism

The tertiary sector is Perak's main economic sector. In 2018, the state was the second most popular destination for domestic tourists in Malaysia, after the state of
Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...
. Perak's attractions include the royal town of Kuala Kangsar and its iconic buildings, such as the Iskandariah Palace, Pavilion Square Tower, Perak Royal Museum, Sultan Azlan Shah Gallery, and
Ubudiah Mosque The Ubudiah Mosque () is a small Sunni mosque located in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia. History The mosque is located beside the Royal Mausoleum on Jalan Istana at Bukit Chandan in Kuala Kangsar. The mosque was designed by ...
. The British colonial legacy in Perak includes the Birch Memorial Clock Tower, Ipoh High Court, Ipoh railway station, Ipoh Town Hall and Old Post Office,
Kellie's Castle Kellie's Castle (sometimes also called Kellie's Folly) is a castle located in Batu Gajah, Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. The unfinished, ruined mansion was built by the Scottish planter William Kellie-Smith. According to differing account ...
, Majestic Station Hotel,
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 ...
,
Maxwell Hill Bukit Larut is a hill resort in Malaysia located in the state of Perak, Malaysia, 10 kilometres southwest from Taiping, Perak, Taiping. It was established under the direction of British colonists in 1884 as a place of observation for tin mining a ...
(Bukit Larut), Perak State Museum, Royal Ipoh Club, St. John Church, and Taiping Lake Gardens. The historical events of the local Malay struggle are remembered in the Pasir Salak Historical Complex. There are also several historical ethnic Chinese landmarks, mainly in Ipoh, the capital. They include the Darul Ridzuan Museum building, a former wealthy Chinese tin miner's mansion; Han Chin Pet Soo, a former club for Hakka miners and haven of shadowy activities; and the
Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan (; zh, 安顺斜塔) is a leaning clock tower in Teluk Intan, Hilir Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. It is the Malaysian equivalent of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is and, from the outside, looks like an eight s ...
. The state also contains a number of natural attractions, including
bird sanctuaries Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...
,
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
s, forest reserves, islands, limestone cliffs, mountains, and white sandy beaches. Among the natural sites are Banding Island, Belum-Temengor Forest Reserve, Kek Lok Tong Cave Temple and Zen Gardens, Kinta Nature Park, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Mount Yong Belar, Pangkor Island,
Tempurung Cave Tempurung Cave is a limestone cave located in Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia, spanning more than 4 kilometers, making it one of the longest caves in Peninsular Malaysia. Its name is taken in conjunction with its shape like a coconut shell. The lengt ...
, and Ulu Kinta Forest Reserve. Recreational attractions include the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, D. R Seenivasagam Recreational Park, Gaharu Tea Valley Gopeng, Go Chin Pomelo Nature Park, Gunung Lang Recreational Park, Kinta Riverfront Walk, Kuala Woh Jungle Park, Lang Mountain,
Lost World of Tambun The Lost World of Tambun (LWOT) is a theme park and hotel in Sunway City, Tambun, in the Malaysian city of Ipoh. Managed by the Sunway Group, the park opened on 11 November 2004. Construction The park was built within the surroundings of limes ...
, My Gopeng Resort, Perak Herbal Garden, Sultan Abdul Aziz Recreational Park, and Sungai Klah Hot Spring Park.


Infrastructure

Perak has a 2016–2020 state government development plan. A Development Fund amounting to RM397,438,000 was approved by the State Legislative Assembly in 2016. The 2018 Budget allocated Perak a further RM1.176 billion, of which RM421.28 million was earmarked for development expenditure, and RM755.59 million for management costs. In addition to attracting investors, the state government is working to improve and build new infrastructure. The new government elected in 2018 announced its intention to continue development projects initiated by the previous government for all districts in Perak.


Energy and water resources

Electricity distribution in Perak is operated and managed by the
Tenaga Nasional Berhad Tenaga Nasional Berhad (, abbreviated as TNB; TENA, ), also known as Tenaga Nasional or simply Tenaga, is the Malaysian multinational electricity company and is the only electric utility company in Peninsular Malaysia and also the largest pu ...
(TNB). The Temenggor Power Station in Gerik has a capacity of 348 MW, the largest of the many
hydroelectric plants Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
in the state. Built by the British, Chenderoh Power Station, the state's oldest hydroelectric dam power station, has a capacity of 40.5 MW. Other hydroelectric power stations include the Sultan Azlan Shah Kenering Power Station (120 MW), Sultan Azlan Shah Bersia Hydroelectric Power Station (72 MW), Sungai Piah Lower Power Station (54 MW), and Sungai Piah Upper Power Station (14.6 MW). The 4,100 MW Manjung Power Plant, also known as the Sultan Azlan Shah Power Station, is a
coal-fired power station A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate ...
located on an
artificial island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...
off the Perak coast. It is owned and operated by TNB Janamanjung, a wholly owned
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of the TNB. The plant is considered one of the biggest
Independent Power Producer An independent power producer (IPP) or non-utility generator (NUG) is an entity that is not a public utility but owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users. NUGs may be privately held facilities, corporations ...
(IPP) projects in Asia. The GB3
combined cycle power plant A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
in Lumut, operated by
Malakoff Malakhov () is a Russian language, Russian family name derived from the Biblical name of Malachi. Alternative spellings include Malakov and Malakoff. The name may refer to: People ''Listed alphabetically by given name'' *Andrey Malakhov (born 1972 ...
, has a capacity of 640 MW. The state's piped
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...
is managed by the Perak Water Board (PWB), a corporate body established under the Perak Water Board Enactment in 1988. It serves over 2.5 million people and is among the biggest water operators on the Malay Peninsula, after Selangor and Johor. Before the PWB was established, water services were initially provided by the Perak Public Works Department, and subsequently by the Perak Water Supply Department. The state's water supplies mainly come from its two major dams, the Air Kuning Dam in Taiping and the Sultan Azlan Shah Dam in Ipoh.


Telecommunications and broadcasting

Telecommunications in Perak was originally administered by the Posts and Telecommunication Department and maintained by the British
Cable & Wireless Communications Cable & Wireless Communications Ltd operating as C&W Communications is a telecommunications company which has operations in the Caribbean and Central America. It is owned by Liberty Latin America and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, US. ...
, responsible for all telecommunication services in Malaya. The first telegraph line, connecting the British Resident's Perak House in Kuala Kangsar to the house of the Deputy British Resident at Taiping, was laid by the Department of Posts and Telegraph in 1874. Further lines were then built to link all of the key British economic areas of the time, and in particular the British Straits Settlements territory. Following the foundation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, in 1968 the telecommunications departments in Malaya and Borneo merged to form the Telecommunications Department Malaysia, which later became
Telekom Malaysia Telekom Malaysia Berhad or simply TM is a Malaysian telecommunications company that was founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio, and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become ...
(TM). The state remains committed to full co-operation with the federal government to implement the latest telecommunications development projects in Perak. Perak is set to become the first Malaysian state to introduce the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) for high-speed Internet in rural areas. Television broadcasting in the state is divided into
terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...
and
satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
. There are two types of
free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...
television providers:
MYTV Broadcasting MYTV Broadcasting Sdn Bhd (MYTV) is a Malaysian television broadcasting company based in Cyberjaya, Selangor. It provides free digital terrestrial television (DTT) in the country, considered a first of its kind in the country. The DTT service ...
(digital terrestrial) and
Astro NJOI Astro NJOI (stylised as NJOI) is a Malaysian free-to-view satellite and digital television service launched on 18 February 2012 in collaboration with the government of Malaysia and Astro. It was officially announced by Malaysia's sixth Prime Mi ...
(satellite), while
IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...
is accessed via
Unifi TV Unifi TV (formerly known as hyppTV, stylized as Unifi tv prior to January 2018) is an IPTV service operated by Unifi. It was launched in 2010 as part of Unifi's bundled service offering of VoIP telephone, Internet and IPTV. History An ea ...
through the UniFi
fibre optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...
internet subscription service. The Malaysian federal government operates one state radio channel, Perak FM.


Transport

Malaysia's North–South Expressway connects Perak with the other west coast Malaysian states and federal territories. Perak has two categories of roads, as of 2016 totalling of federal roads, and of
state roads State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
. A new highway, the
West Coast Expressway The West Coast Expressway (E32), abbreviated WCE, is an interstate controlled-access highway running along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The expressway is currently under construction, with several sections open for public use. Once co ...
, is being built to link the coastal areas of the state and reduce the growing
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...
. Perak has a dual carriageway road network and follows the left-hand traffic rule. Towns provide public transport, including buses, taxis, and Grab services. Under the
Eleventh Malaysia Plan The Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) ( Malay: ''Rancangan Malaysia ke-11'') 2016–2020 is Malaysia's five-year development plan towards realising the goal of Vision 2020. The preparation of the 11th Malaysia Plan is based on the National Developm ...
(11MP), around 23 infrastructure projects, worth RM4.7 billion, have been implemented. These include 11 road projects for the state, involving allocations of RM1.84 billion for upgrade and expansion works carried out by the
Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...
(PWD).
Ipoh railway station The Ipoh railway station is a Malaysian train station located on the heart of and named after the capital city of Ipoh, Perak. It serves as the main railway terminal for the state under ''Keretapi Tanah Melayu'' offering KTM ETS services, as wel ...
, on Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab in the state capital, is the oldest station of Perak's rail network. It was built by the British in 1917, and upgraded in 1936. In 2019, an integrated development project was launched to upgrade the railway station and its surrounding areas.
Boat service A boat service is regularly scheduled transport using one or more boats, typically on a river, at a set charge, normally depending on the length of the trip and the type of passenger. The service may only be available for foot passengers. Examples ...
s provide the main transport access to Pangkor Island, in addition to air travel.
Sultan Azlan Shah Airport Sultan Azlan Shah Airport is an airport serving the city of Ipoh in the Malaysian state of Perak. Situated approximately from the city center, it ranks as the 15th busiest airport in Malaysia. History History and Inception Ipoh Airport w ...
is Perak's main international airport, acting as the main gateway to the state. Other public airports include
Pangkor Airport Pangkor Airport is an airport on Pangkor Island, Manjung District, Perak, Malaysia. The airport is complemented by Sitiawan Airport located in the mainland. History In 1970, the Perak state government studied a site for an airstrip, located n ...
and
Sitiawan Airport Sitiawan Airport is an airport in Sitiawan, Manjung, Perak, Malaysia. The airport complements the existing Pangkor Airport. History Construction began in late 1993 at a cost of RM 25 million, using an existing airstrip converted into a 1,350 me ...
, and there are private or restricted airfields such as Jendarata Airport and the military
Taiping Airport Taiping Aerodrome is an aerodrome in Taiping, Larut, Matang and Selama, Perak, Malaysia. It is located at Jalan Muzaffar Shah ''formerly Creagh Road'', Assam Kumbang and also called Tekah Airstrip. The airport was built in early 1929, this woo ...
.


Healthcare

Health services in Perak are administered by the Perak State Health Department (). The state's main government hospital is the 990-bed Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, previously known as the Ipoh Hospital, which also incorporates a women's and children's hospital. Other hospitals include four specialist hospitals: Taiping Hospital, Teluk Intan Hospital, Seri Manjung Hospital, and the minor speciality Slim River Hospital; nine district hospitals: Batu Gajah Hospital, Changkat Hospital, Gerik Hospital, Kampar Hospital, Kuala Kangsar Hospital, Parit Buntar Hospital, Selama Hospital, Sungai Siput Hospital, Tapah Hospital; and one psychiatric hospital: Bahagia Ulu Kinta Hospital. Other public health clinics, 1Malaysia clinics, and rural clinics are scattered throughout the state. There are a number of private hospitals, including the Anson Bay Medical Centre, Apollo Medical Centre, Ar-Ridzuan Medical Centre, Colombia Asia Hospital, Fatimah Hospital, Ipoh Pantai Hospital, Ipoh Specialist Centre, Kinta Medical Centre, Manjung Pantai Hospital, Perak Community Specialist Hospital, Sri Manjung Specialist Hospital, Taiping Medical Centre, and Ulu Bernam Jenderata Group Hospital. In 2009, the state's doctor–patient ratio was 3 per 1,000.


Education

All primary and secondary schools are within the jurisdiction of the Perak State Education Department, under the guidance of the national
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
. Among the oldest schools in Perak are the King Edward VII School (1883), the Anglo-Chinese School (1895), and St. Michael's Institution (1912). As of 2019, Perak had a total of 250 government secondary schools, six
international school International schools are private schools that promote education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterised by a multinational student body an ...
s (City Harbour International School, Fairview International School Ipoh Campus, Imperial International School Ipoh, Seri Botani International School, Tenby Schools Ipoh, and the Westlake International School), and nine Chinese independent schools. There is one Japanese learning centre, located in the state capital, Ipoh.
Sultan Idris Education University Sultan Idris Education University (; commonly abbreviated as UPSI; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي ڤنديديقن سلطان إدريس) is a public university located in Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia. Established in 1922 as a teachers' college, ...
is the sole
public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
, and there are three
private universities Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...
: the
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (abbreviated as UTAR; ) is a not-for-profit private research university in Malaysia. UTAR ranked among top 100 in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2018 and top 600 in the Times Higher Educatio ...
(UTAR), Quest International University, and Universiti Teknologi Petronas, as well as the campus branch of the
University of Kuala Lumpur The University of Kuala Lumpur (, UniKL) is a multi-campus technical university with its main campus based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rated as a Tier-5 "Excellent University" by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia in 2009, 2011, 2013 and ...
Malaysian Institute of Marine Engineering Technology (UniKL MIMET), and the University of Kuala Lumpur Royal College of Medicine Perak (UniKL RCMP). Other colleges include the Cosmopoint College, Maxwell College Ipoh, Olympia College Ipoh, Sunway College Ipoh, Syuen College, Taj College, Tunku Abdul Rahman College Perak Branch Campus, and WIT College Ipoh Branch. There are several polytechnics, including the Sultan Azlan Shah Polytechnic in Behrang, and Ungku Omar Polytechnic in Ipoh.


Demography


Ethnicity and immigration

The 2015 Malaysian Census reported the population of Perak at 2,477,700, making it the fifth most populous state in Malaysia, with a non-citizen population of 74,200. Of the Malaysian residents, 1,314,400 (53.0%) are Malay, 713,000 (28.0%) are
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
, 293,300 (11.0%) are
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
, and another 72,300 (2.9%) identified as other bumiputera. In 2010, the population was estimated to be around 2,299,582, with 1,212,700 (52.0%) Malay, 675,517 (29.0%) Chinese, 274,631 (11.0%) Indian, and another 62,877 (2.7%) from other bumiputera. Once the most populous state during the British administration under the FMS, Perak has yet to recover from the decline of the tin-mining industry. The associated economic downturn resulted in a massive manpower drain to higher-growth states such as
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 ...
, Selangor, and
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 ...
. The current constitution defines Malays as someone who is Muslim and assimilated with Malay community Traditionally, the native Malays mostly live in
Lenggong Lenggong or Lenggong Valley () is a geographical area defined by the mountain ranges of Bintang in the west and Titiwangsa to its east. It is a rural area, with small kampongs surrounded by green vegetation and limestone hills with numerous ...
,
Gerik Gerik (alternate spelling: Grik) is a mukim and the district capital of Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. The town is also known as Rest Town due to its strategic location next to East-West Highway Federal Route 4, the main route linkin ...
, Kinta,
Bota Bota (Perak Malay: ''Bote''; Jawi: بوتا; ) is a mukim in Perak Tengah District, Perak, Malaysia. It comprises two geographical areas: Bota Kiri and Bota Kanan (Left Bota and Right Bota, respectively) as it is divided by the Perak River. T ...
and
Beruas Beruas (alternative spelling: Bruas) is a small town and mukim in Manjung District, Perak, Malaysia. Name Beruas is named for a local mangosteen-like tree, '' Garcinia hombroniana'', the "seashore mangosteen", called in the local Malay dial ...
while the Javanese mostly lived in Hilir Perak, comprising Bagan Datuk,
Batak Rabit Batak Rabit is a small town in Hilir Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. The town is located near Teluk Intan town. It was named after Batak mercenaries that comes from the Batak District in Sumatra that was brought by Raja Laut during a Selangor civ ...
, Sungai Manik, Teluk Intan, and a few other places along the Perak shores. The Mandailing and
Rawa Rawa may refer to: Places Poland *Rawa Mazowiecka, a town *Rawa (river) *Rawa County * Rawa, Lublin Voivodeship, a village Other places * Rawa, India *Rawa, Iraq, a town in Iraq *Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, on the Indonesian island of Sul ...
people were mostly in Gopeng, Kampar,
Tanjung Malim Tanjong Malim, or Tanjung Malim, is a town in Muallim District, Perak, Malaysia. It is approximately north of Kuala Lumpur and 120 km south of Ipoh via the North–South Expressway. It lies on the Perak-Selangor state border, with Sunga ...
, and Kampung Mandailing at Gua Balak. These people had mostly come from neighbouring Selangor, escaping the
Klang War The Klang War or Selangor Civil War was a series of conflicts that lasted from 1867 to 1874 in the Malay state of Selangor in the Malay Peninsula (modern-day Malaysia). It was initially fought between Raja Abdullah, the administrator of the ...
. The Buginese are found in Kuala Kangsar, especially in Kota Lama Kiri and
Sayong Sayong is a small village in Perak, Malaysia. It is famous for a traditional craft known as Labu Sayong, earthenware, gourd-shaped jars for keeping drinking water cool. Notable people * Panglima Bukit Gantang Tan Sri Dato' Seri Haji Abd ...
. The few Minangkabau people in the state lived among the other ethnic groups with no distinct villages or settlements of their own. As of 2015, there were some 3,200
Malaysian Siamese The Malaysian Siamese (Malay language, Malay: ''Orang Siam Malaysia'') are an ethnicity or community who principally resides in Peninsular Malaysia which is a relatively homogeneous cultural region to southern Burma and southern Thailand but wa ...
in Perak, a legacy of the Siamese presence in the northern Malay states. There is also a scattered Acehnese presence, dating back to the rule of the
Sultanate of Aceh The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam (; Jawoë: ), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long per ...
. Perak's highest
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
is mainly concentrated in the coastal and lowland areas. The Chinese and Indian population represents a higher percentage of the state's total population than in the neighbouring northern Malay states. The presence of these groups was particularly significant after the British opened many tin mines and extensive rubber plantations in the mid-19th century. More than half of Perak's inhabitants in the 1930s were
Chinese immigrants Overseas Chinese people are people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 million people livin ...
. Perak's Indian community is mostly of
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
ethnicity, although it also includes other South Indian communities such as the
Malayalees The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...
, principally in Sitiawan, Sungai Siput, Trolak and Kuala Kangsar; the
Telugus Telugu people (), also called Āndhras, are an ethno-linguistic group who speak the Telugu language and are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam district of Puducherry. They are the most populous of the four ...
, in Teluk Intan and Bagan Datuk; and the
Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...
, scattered in and around Perak, predominantly in
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 ...
and
Tanjung Tualang Tanjung Tualang is a mukim in Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. History It was originally one of the major tin-mining towns in Malaysia around early 1900s. Tanjung Tualang obtained its name from a type of tree called tualang and later a major ti ...
. Population density is relatively low in much of Perak's interior, where the indigenous
Orang Asli The Orang Asli are a Homogeneity and heterogeneity, heterogeneous Indigenous peoples, indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. As of 2017, the Orang Asli accounted f ...
are scattered, including in the northernmost border district of Hulu Perak. The indigenous people originally inhabited most of Perak's coastal areas but were pushed deeper into the interior with the arrival of increasing numbers of Javanese, Banjar, Mandailing, Rawa, Batak, Kampar, Bugis and Minangkabau immigrants in the early 19th century. The Orang Asli
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
s preserve stories of Rawa and Batak atrocities and enslavement of the aboriginal population.


Religion

As in the rest of Malaysia,
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
is recognised as the state religion, although other religions may be freely practised. According to the 2010 Malaysian Census, Perak's population was 55.3%
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, 25.4%
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 10.9%
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 4.3%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 1.7%
Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...
or followers of
Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
, 0.8% other religions or unknown, and 0.9% non-religious. The census indicated that 83.7% of Perak's Chinese population identified as Buddhist, with significant minorities identifying as Christian (9.2%), Chinese folk religion adherents (5.8%), and Muslim (0.2%). The majority of the Indian population identified as Hindu (87.6%), with significant minorities identifying as Christian (6.01%), Muslim (2.67%), and Buddhist (1.0%). The non-Malay bumiputera community was predominantly
irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...
(28.2%), with significant minorities identifying as Muslim (24.1%), and Christian (22.9%). Among the majority population, all Malay bumiputera identified as Muslim.
Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the Constitution. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the Malay people due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2. It took effect after 31 Aug ...
defines professing the Islamic faith as one of the criteria of being a Malay.


Languages

As a multi-ethnic state, Perak is also linguistically diverse. The main local variety of Malay spoken in the state is
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 ...
, which is characterised by its "e" (as in "red", ) and its "r", like the
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
"r" (). It is commonly spoken in central Perak, more specifically in the districts of
Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ) is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of George Town, Penang, Ge ...
and Perak Tengah. Speakers of the northern
Kedah Malay Kedah Malay or Kedahan (; also known as ''Pelat Utara'' or ''Loghat Utara'' 'Northern Dialect') or as it is known in Thailand, Syburi Malay ( ''Phasa Malāyū Saiburī'') is a Malayic language mainly spoken in the northwestern Malaysian state ...
dialect are also found in the northern part of Perak, comprising
Kerian The Kerian District (alternately Krian) is an administrative district in Perak, Malaysia. It covers the northwestern corner of Perak, bordering the states of Penang and Kedah to the north; the main town of Parit Buntar is located a mere southeast ...
, Pangkor Island, and
Larut, Matang and Selama The Larut, Matang and Selama District is a district of Perak, Malaysia. Taiping is the capital town of this district. Larut, Matang and Selama used to be three small different districts and they merged into one larger district later. Larut, Ma ...
districts. In the northeastern part of Perak (Hulu Perak), and some parts of Selama and Kerian, the Malay people speak another distinct Malay language variant known as
Reman Malay Reman Malay ('; Jawi: ; ), also known by several names such as Patani, Baling, Grik, and Tukugho, is a Malayic language spoken in the states of Kedah and Perak in northern Peninsular Malaysia. In the state of Kedah it is spoken in the districts ...
or locally known as ''Basa Ulu/Grik'' (named after
Grik Gerik (alternate spelling: Grik) is a mukim and the district capital of Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. The town is also known as Rest Town due to its strategic location next to East-West Highway Federal Route 4, the main route linkin ...
), which is most closely related to Kelantan-Pattani Malay in Kelantan and
southern Thailand Southern Thailand (formerly Southern Siam and Tambralinga) is the southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand by the Kra Isthmus. Geography Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bo ...
(Yawi) due to geographical proximity and historical assimilation. In the southern parts of Perak (Hilir Perak and Batang Padang), and also in the districts of Kampar and Kinta and several parts of Manjung, the dialect spoken is heavily influenced by the southern Malay dialects of the peninsula such as Selangor, Malacca, and Johore-Riau Malay. It is also influenced by several languages of the Indonesian archipelago: Javanese, Banjar,
Rawa Rawa may refer to: Places Poland *Rawa Mazowiecka, a town *Rawa (river) *Rawa County * Rawa, Lublin Voivodeship, a village Other places * Rawa, India *Rawa, Iraq, a town in Iraq *Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, on the Indonesian island of Sul ...
(a variety of
Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see bel ...
),
Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...
(
Mandailing The Mandailing (also known as Mandailing Batak) people are an ethnic group in Sumatra, Indonesia that is commonly associated with the Batak people. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They came und ...
), and Buginese, as a result of historical immigration, civil wars such as the Klang War, and other factors. Among Perak's various Chinese ethnicities,
Malaysian Cantonese Malaysian Cantonese ( zh, t=馬來西亞廣東話, j= ) is a local variety of Cantonese spoken in Malaysia. It is the ''lingua franca'' among Chinese throughout much of the central portion of Peninsular Malaysia, being spoken in the capital K ...
has become the
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
, although a number of
dialects A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...
are spoken including
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
,
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
,
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, Teochew,
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
, and Hokchiu. The Tamil community mainly speaks a Malaysian dialect of the
Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...
; the
Malayalees The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...
speak
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
; the Telugus speak the
Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...
; and the Sikhs speak
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...
. Over time,
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
became a lingua franca among Perak's different Indian communities as Tamil-speaking people became the majority in several west coast Malaysian states with higher Indian populations. A small number of Sinhala speakers also found in parts of the state capital, Ipoh. Several Orang Asli languages are spoken within the state, all belonging to the
Aslian The Aslian languages () are the southernmost branch of Austroasiatic languages spoken on the Malay Peninsula. They are the languages of many of the ''Orang Asli'', the aboriginal inhabitants of the peninsula. The total number of native speakers o ...
branch of the
Austroasiatic languages The Austroasiatic languages ( ) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority popu ...
. These languages are Lanoh, Temiar, Jahai, Kensiu, Kintaq, and Semai. Members of the Siamese community mainly speak a
Southern Thai Southern Thailand (formerly Southern Siam and Tambralinga) is the southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand by the Kra Isthmus. Geography Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bo ...
variant, and are fluent in Malay, also having some knowledge of some of the Chinese dialects. With the multi-ethnic make-up of Perak's society, some people speak more than one language.


Culture

Perak's
multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...
society reflects the influences of different ethnicities throughout its history. Several Malay art forms, such as
embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...
and performances like ''dabus'', show apparent Arab cultural influence. The state's characteristic embroidery, ''tekat emas'' (gold embroidery), was once presented to royalty. Designs are based on
floral Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants (Flowering plant, angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls in ...
, animal, and
geometric Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
motifs. ''Dabus'' has existed for some 300 years, and is inseparable from a ritual involving
incantation An incantation, spell, charm, enchantment, or bewitchery is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial ri ...
. It was brought to Perak by traders from Sumatra, and practised by the Malay community in Lumut, Pasir Panjang Laut Village in Sitiawan, and Teluk Intan. The traditional Malay
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
handicraft called ''labu sayong'' is part of the art heritage of Kuala Kangsar. Its unique design is uninfluenced by foreign techniques. ''Labu sayong'' is associated with a dance called the ''sayong''. Another dance local to the Malays of Perak is the ''bubu'', known for 120 years, which originates from Tanjung Bidara Village on Tiga Parit Island.
Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of ...
once flourished in the town of Ipoh, as the majority of Chinese there were Cantonese. The
history of China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the ...
, and particularly
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, is recreated in Qing Xin Ling Leisure and Cultural Village (nicknamed Little
Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...
) in Ipoh, with painted wooden structures around a lake set among limestone hills and caves. Another ethnic Chinese cultural location in Perak is
Bercham Bercham ( Jawi: برچم) is a suburb of Ipoh next to the North–South Expressway in Perak, Malaysia. It is located between the Ipoh South Interchange of North–South Expressway and Ipoh city. It is near Ipoh Garden, Tasek, Tambun and Tanj ...
, originally called ''Wo Tau Kok'' in Cantonese in the 1950s. The area was formerly a tin mining centre, which also become one of the relocation points for Malayan ethnic Chinese during the British era under the government's
Briggs Plan The Briggs Plan () was a military plan devised by British General Sir Harold Briggs shortly after his appointment in 1950 as Director of Operations during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). The plan aimed to defeat the Malayan National Libe ...
to protect and distance them from communist influence. Perak's Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities, representing its three main ethnic groups, each have their own traditional arts and dance associations to maintain and preserve their respective cultural heritage.


Cuisine

As a melting pot of different cultures, Perak features various cuisines. ''
Lemang Lemang (Minangkabau: ''lamang'') is a Minangkabau traditional food made from glutinous rice, coconut milk, and salt, cooked in a hollowed bamboo tube coated with banana leaves in order to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo. Originating ...
'', a Malay delicacy made from
glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...
cooked in a
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
tube over a slow fire, is very popular in the state. It is mainly served during the festivities of
Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...
(''Hari Raya Aidilfitri'') and
Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...
(''Hari Raya Haji''), along with ''
rendang Rendang is a fried meat or dry curry made of meat stewed in coconut milk and spices, widely popular across Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, where each version is considered local cuisine. It refers to both a cooking m ...
''. The method of its preparation is believed to derive partly from the indigenous Orang Asli of Perak, explaining the origins of the dish. Another popular Malay delicacy is ''
tempoyak Tempoyak (Jawi script, Jawi: ), asam durian or pekasam is a Malay cuisine, Malay condiment made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented durian. It is usually consumed by the ethnic Malays in Maritime Southeast Asia, notably in Indonesia ...
'', a durian extract that is preserved and kept in a traditional urn. It is commonly mixed with bird's eye chillies and eaten with other dishes.
Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...
is very common in Perak, because of the state's history of Chinese migration and trade relations over centuries. It was traditionally popular chiefly in Ipoh. Through over 2,000 years of contact with India, the influence of Indian cuisine also spread in Perak. The state is particularly known as a producer of the Bali
pomelo The pomelo ( ; or pummelo, ''Citrus maxima''), also known as a shaddock, is the largest citrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid citrus fr ...
(''limau bali''). This fruit was introduced by Hugh Low, Perak's fourth British Resident, who brought
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
lings from the neighbouring
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
and distributed them both in Penang and in Perak (mainly in Tambun). Other districts are also known for their agricultural production: Bidor for its
guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...
, Hulu Perak (durian), Menglembu ( groundnut), and Tapah ( petai).
Ipoh white coffee Ipoh white coffee (, ) is a popular coffee drink which originated in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, resulting in Ipoh being named one of the top three coffee towns by Lonely Planet. The coffee beans are roasted with palm oil margarine, and the resultin ...
, a popular Malaysian
drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...
, traces its origin to Ipoh.


Sports

Perak became a part of Malaya since 1957, and its athletes have represented Malaya, and later Malaysia, at the
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...
,
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
,
Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
, and
Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...
. The Perak State Youth and Sports Department was established in 1964 to raise the standard of sports in the state. Perak hosted the
Sukma Games The Sukma Games (, lit.: Malaysian Games) is a biennial national multi-sport event involving young athletes from Malaysia's 13 states and 3 Federal Territories. The games are regulated by the National Sports Council of Malaysia, the state spo ...
in 1994 and
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
. The state has a number of sports complexes, located around Ipoh and in other districts. The state government allocates funds for sports development to each district-level sports association. Ipoh's
Perak Stadium The Perak Stadium () is a stadium used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (wor ...
is the main stadium for
Perak F.C. Perak Football Club (Perak FC) was a professional football team based in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. Founded in 1921, it was one of the oldest football clubs in the country and last competed in the Malaysia Super League. Formerly overseen by the P ...
(formerly Perak FA). The team was formed in 1951, although the state had had a football team since 1921. Perak F.C. won the
Malaysia FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup () is an annual association football, football competition in Malaysia, established in 1990. It was previously managed by the Football Association of Malaysia, before being transferred to the Football Malaysia LLP, Malaysian ...
in 1990 and 2004; the
Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...
in 1926, 1931, 1957, 1967, 1970, 1998, 2000, and
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
; was runner-up in the
Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...
in 2006–07 and
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
; and won the President Cup Malaysia in 2006–07, 2012 and 2014. The state women's football team was runner-up in the
Tun Sharifah Rodziah Cup Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah () is a women's football tournament in Malaysia. It was established in 1976. The competition is managed by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). History Women's football competitions have been held in Malaysia ...
in 1977, 1979 and 1992. Another notable stadium in the state is Naval Base Stadium in Lumut. The annual
field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
tournament in Perak, the
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event from 1998, following its growth and popularity. The t ...
, traced its roots to former state Sultan
Azlan Shah Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuff Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah ( Jawi: ; 19 April 1928 – 28 May 2014) was Sultan of Perak from 1984 until his death in 2014, the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia), from ...
, an avid fan of the sport. Perak was the first Malaysian state to introduce
e-sports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
, in the Sukma Games. The state government is further targeting e-sports development with the increase in youth interest.


Notable people


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

*
Perak
at
Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...
{{Authority control States of Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia Strait of Malacca Feudalism in Malaysia Malaysia–Thailand border Former British colonies and protectorates in Asia English-speaking countries and territories