Discover Perak

Discover Perak (31 January, 2006)


B. Melayu

Map of Towns in Perak

Towns of Perak

Map of Perak Tourist Attractions

Sights in Perak

Categories of Sights in Perak

Districts in Perak

About Perak

Perak is specially created to help people get to know Perak Darul Ridzuan. The name Perak Darul Ridzuan which means "Perak, the Land of Grace". It is one of the major states in Peninsular Malaysia. Perak has a land area of 21,000 sq km, making it the third largest state in Peninsular Malaysia after Pahang and Johor. The state of Perak is located between the main urban centres of Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Its capital, Ipoh, is becoming an increasingly vibrant city. Perak has a population of over 2 million people, making it one of the more densely populated states in the country. The state of Perak is divided into nine districts. Apart from the state capital Ipoh, major towns include Taiping, Kuala Kangsar, Kampar, Teluk Intan and Lumut. The Sultan of Perak is the constitutional state ruler residing in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, approximately an hour from Ipoh.

Taiping Lake Gardens (4 January 2006)


For centuries, the state of Perak is synonymous in Malaysia with tin mining. It is believed that the name of the state (Perak means silver, a misnomer for tin) came about because the word for tin appeared later than silver in the Malay language. According to another belief, the name was derived from the name of Tun Perak, the Bendahara (an archaic term for prime minister) of Malacca.

Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan (21 September 2004)


The Sultanate of Perak traces its roots to Sultan Muzaffar Shah, the eldest son of the last Sultan of Malacca. After the Sultanate of Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511, the Sultan of Malacca retreated to Johor, where he consolidated his power. His eldest son, however, chose to head north, and became the first Sultan of Perak in 1528. Perak is the only state in Malaysia whose royal house is descended directly from the Sultanate of Malacca.

Cave Temple in Ipoh (19 August 2006)


The state of Perak is named after its namesake river, just like Kelantan and Pahang. The capital was originally in Kuala Kangsar, until the discovery of huge quantity of tin led to the transfer of the capital, first to Taiping, and then finally to Ipoh. This wealth of tin deposit made Perak constantly under threat from foreign forces.

The Achinese from Sumatra raided the state in the 16th century. The town of Teluk Intan was founded by a woman from Mandailing, Sumatra. In 1641, the Dutch attempted to monopolise the tin trade of Perak by building a fort on Pangkor Island, at the mouth of the Perak River, but met with little success. In the 18th century, Perak had to withstand threats from the Bugis from the south and the Thais from the north.

The mosque at Pasir Salak Historical Complex (21 September 2004)


To work the tin mines, the Malay rulers brought in Chinese miners. This however lead to the destabilisation of the Malays. In the 1870s, succession dispute over the Perak throne and the gang-wars among the Chinese tin miners led to British intervention. They imposed the Pangkor Engagement and took control of the state, installing a British Resident in Perak who is the de facto ruler. However, opposition of the Perak Chiefs to Resident Birch resulted in his assassination at Pasir Salak, and a brief war.

Istana Kenangan, Kuala Kangsar, Perak (31 January 2006)

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About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.