Kangar (
Northern Malay: ''Kangaq'';
Jawi: كڠار) is the state capital and the largest town in
Perlis, Malaysia.
It has a population of 48,898 and an area of 2,619.4 ha. It is located next to the Thailand border, in the northernmost point of
Peninsular Malaysia. It is situated by the
Perlis River.
The town is also a gathering centre for the paddy rice production of the surrounding district. Its municipal government is unified with that of the neighbouring communities of
Arau
Arau is the royal capital of Perlis, Malaysia with a population of around 20,000. The red-roofed Istana (Royal Palace) is a mixture of colonial and pseudo-Moorish architectural styles.
This town is the disembarkation point for visitors travell ...
and
Kaki Bukit. The centre of Kangar is Sena Province. The town is the smallest state capital in Malaysia and its inhabitants are mostly farmers and civil servants. Its industries include cement, saw milling, rubber, paper, and processing of sugar and prawns.
History
Kangar existed from about 350 years ago, that is since 1653 when Kota Sena was built as the administrative centre for the 14th
Sultan of Kedah
The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a 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 Uni ...
,
Sultan Muhyiddin Mansor Shah. Kangar was then a land port or ''pengkalan'' where boats and tongkangs anchor at the confluence of Perlis River, which runs through Kangar town to
Kuala Perlis.
The name ''Kangar'' was derived from a type of tree. It was here at the port that trading was done, under a big tree that gave shade and respite to the traders. This tree that became a "witness" to many business deals was called ''Pohon Kangar''. Every trader and merchant who came and went to this place began calling it the ''Pohon Kangar'' Port, in honour of the tree.
Demographics
Majority of Kangar population speaks
Perlis Malay which is a sub-dialect of Kedah Malay but also has its own unique features compared to those of neighbouring Kedah.
The
Han Chinese, the second largest community in Kangar are primarily
Hokkien speaking. However, significant
Mandarin and
English is also well known amongst the local Chinese. In particular, Kangar, and by extension Perlis, is best known for its distinct
Hokkien dialect, known as
Penang Hokkien.
Hokkien serves as the ''
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' of Kangar.
Other languages spoken in Kangar includes
Tamil,
Telugu,
Malayali as well as
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
and
Hindi among the Kangar Indian population and
Southern Thai by the
Kedah-Siamese community.
Places of interest
Downtown Kangar is a mixture of old and new shophouses, and has an elegant colonial
State Secretariat Building and clocktower from the 1930s. Other major landmarks are:
*
PKENPS Tower @ K-PARC Kangar, tallest building in
Perlis
*
Dato' Wan Ahmad's House
Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin.
Origin
The oldest ...
*
Kubu Hill Recreational Park
*
Malay World Weaponry Museum
*
Medan Mountain
*
Perlis Craft Cultural Complex
*
State Museum and Heritage Hall
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, U ...
*
Alwi Mosque
The Alwi Mosque ( ms, Masjid Alwi) is a mosque in Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia.
Name
The mosque is named after the Raja of Perlis at that time, Raja Syed Alwi Ibni Almarhum Tuan Syed Saffi Jamalullail.
History
Efforts to collect funds to construct ...
, the former state mosque built in 1910
*
Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium
*
Kuala Perlis Bus Terminal and
Kuala Perlis Ferry Service
*
Dark Cave (Gua Kelam) of Kaki Bukit
*
Snake Farm of Sungai Batu Pahat
*
Bukit Ayer Recreational Park
*
Wang Kelian
Wang Kelian is a village in Perlis, Malaysia located on the Malaysia-Thailand Border. The village was popular with tourists as it was the location of a border market which straddles both sides of the border. However, it has lost it popularity fol ...
- Next to Thai border
*
Padang Besar Shopping Arcade - Duty Free Zone
Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the List of cities in Indonesia by population, 16th most populo ...
*
Royal Palace of Arau
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
*
Fish Grill Food Court of Kuala Perlis
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
*
Mini Putrajaya - State Assembly Building
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
*
Gua Cenderawasih Park - Look out point
Gua may refer to:
Biology
* GUA, a codon for the amino acid valine
* Gua or Guanine, a nucleobase found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA
Telecommunications
* GUA, Global Unicast Address
Languages
* Gua language, a Guang language of coast ...
Sister town
References
External links
Municipal Council of Kangar
Northern Corridor Economic Region
{{Perlis-geo-stub