Perak (pop. 2,352,743) is a state in Peninsular Malaysia. Thailand forms the boundary to the north, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor to the south, and Kedah and the Strait of Malacca to the west. Perak covers an area of 8,122 square miles (21,035 square kilometers). Ipoh is the state capital.
About 55 percent of the population are Malay. About 30 percent are Chinese and over 10 percent are Indian. Most of the Chinese live in the large towns, and the Malays live in the agricultural areas.
Economy.
Agriculture is the most important economic activity in the state. The most important crops are coconuts, palm oil, rice, and rubber.
The tin industry was the basis of the state’s modern economy. But since the 1980’s, the tin industry has become less important. As deposits have become exhausted, some mines have closed, and controls have been placed on tin exports. To counteract this decline, the state embarked on a program to introduce new industries. It placed particular emphasis on the development of tourism. It also encouraged manufacturing, especially the processing of foodstuffs and wood, and high technology industries.
Forestry is also important in the economy of Perak. Timber is extracted from the mangrove forests, the lowland rain forests, and the mountain forests. Many people also work in commercial fishing from the small ports along Perak’s coast.
Land.
Perak’s eastern border with Kelantan and Pahang lies along the crest of the Main Range, among whose peaks are Gunung Korbu and Gunung Batu Putih. This mountainous region is heavily forested. From the northern part of the Main Range, a short spur, the Kledang Range, extends southward into the state. Between the Kledang and the Main Range lies the Kinta Valley, one of the world’s richest tin-mining districts. To the west of the Kledang Range is the more substantial Bintang Range, whose major peaks include Gunung Bubu and Gunung Inas.
The Perak River flows north to south between the Bintang and Kledang ranges. It rises in the mountainous north of the state, near the borders with Thailand and Kelantan, and discharges into the Strait of Malacca. The rest of Perak extends over the western coastal plain, and is mostly flat and poorly drained. There are extensive expanses of mangrove forest.
History.
There has been human settlement in Perak since prehistoric times. There were probably Indian trading settlements on the coast before 1100, and permanent Malay settlements from the 1300’s. In the early 1500’s, Bruas, southwest of present-day Ipoh, was a busy port and the main settlement in Perak.
Sultan Muzaffar, the eldest son of the last sultan of Melaka, established the present Perak sultanate about 1528. The state, even then, was famous for its mineral wealth. As a result, foreign powers threatened the state almost constantly. During the 1500’s, the Acehnese from the northern tip of Sumatra were the most serious threat. In 1641, the Dutch acquired Melaka, and began to seek control of Perak and its wealth. In an attempt to establish a monopoly over the state’s trade, the Dutch constructed forts on Pangkor Island and at the mouth of the Perak River.
In the 1700’s, the threat to Perak came principally from the Bugis in Selangor to the south and from the Thais who dominated Kedah to the north. The rapidly growing international demand for tin from the mid-1800’s brought major changes to Perak. From the 1840’s, many Chinese miners came to the principal tin fields. The rapid expansion of tin production led to severe lawlessness. Chinese miners split into rival factions and fought for control of the richest tin-bearing land. By the late 1860’s, a fierce succession dispute among the Malay rulers and conflict between Chinese gangs threatened to destroy the state. The supply of tin decreased sharply during this period.
The threat of anarchy prompted British intervention. Under the terms of the Pangkor Treaty of Jan. 20, 1874, the British settled the succession dispute and the new sultan accepted the appointment of a British government representative called a resident. Many of the Malay rulers strongly opposed this settlement. In November 1875, Malay chiefs assassinated J. W. W. Birch, the first British resident. The British pursued the Malays who killed Birch and crushed possible resistance. In 1896, the British brought Perak, with Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Pahang, into a Federation of Malay States (FMS), with the federal capital in Kuala Lumpur.
Under British administration, the economy of Perak grew rapidly. In the early 1900’s, rubber challenged tin as the major export commodity. Both those commodities depended on Chinese and Indian labor and immigrants from those countries arrived in huge numbers. Many of them settled permanently in the state.
During World War II, British rule in Perak collapsed from late 1941 as the Japanese advanced across the peninsula. With Japan’s surrender in August 1945, the state once again came under British rule. In 1948, Perak became part of the Federation of Malaya. During the emergency of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, there was a high level of Communist terrorist activity. The government took strong measures against the Communists. The Federation of Malaya became independent from British rule on Aug. 31, 1957.
