The Kuala Kangsar (
Perak Malay
Perak Malay ( Standard Malay: ''bahasa Melayu Perak''; Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤيراق) is one of the Malay dialects spoken within the state of Perak, Malaysia. Although it is neither the official language nor the standard dialect i ...
: ''Kole Kangso'') is the royal town of
Perak,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. It is located at the downstream of
Kangsar River where it joins the
Perak River
The Perak River ( ms, Sungai Perak; ) 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 settlement ...
, approximately northwest of
Ipoh,
Perak's capital, and southeast of
George Town,
Penang. It is the main town in the administrative
district of Kuala Kangsar. It is about 235 km from
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
, Malaysia.
History
The site must have had a strange effect on Sultan Yusuf Sharifuddin Mudzaffar Shah of Perak who ruled from 1877 to 1887. Unlike many rulers who protected their royal palaces and strongholds by selecting their vantage points carefully where they could detect enemy approach from afar, the Sultan had his first royal palace built beside the riverbank. He then named it 'Istana Sri Sayong'.
Apart from being exposed to the impending threat of invasion, the other problem was the force of monsoon seasons, which led to numerous flooding as water gushed down from the jungles above through the many tributaries. The name Kuala Kangsar is believed to be derived from 'Kuala Kurang-Sa', which literally means '100 minus (-) one', usually interpreted as 'the 99th small tributary to flow into the Perak River'.
One flooding was so severe, it almost swept the palace away. Finally, after the Big Flood or Air Bah in 1926, it was decided to move the place further up onto the knoll where stands the current Royal Palace named
Istana Iskandariah with its Art-Deco architecture, a rare but significant piece of architectural milestone in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
The
Sultan of Perak
The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states.
When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...
officially resides in Kuala Kangsar, and it has been Perak's royal seat since the 18th century. It is one of four towns that plays a role in Perak's complex succession system. It was the administrative seat of the first British
Resident in the
Malay Peninsula,
James W. W. Birch, from October 1874 until he was murdered on 2 November 1875. It was the capital of
Perak until 1876.
Kuala Kangsar is also known in Malaysian history as the site where the first
Conference of Rulers of the Federated Malay States, the Durbar, was held in 1897.
By the 1890s, the growth of the tin mining towns of
Ipoh and
Taiping had eclipsed Kuala Kangsar, but it remains to this day one of the most attractive of the Malay royal capitals.
The town is also the site of the first
rubber tree
''Hevea brasiliensis'', the Pará rubber tree, ''sharinga'' tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family Euphorbiaceae originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now ...
planted in Malaysia.
The person responsible was the English
botanist Henry Nicholas Ridley
Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG (1911), MA (Oxon), FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. (10 December 1855 – 24 October 1956) was an English botanist, geologist and naturalist who lived much of his life in Singapore. He was instrumental in promoting rubber trees i ...
. He was the one who helped
Malaya and eventually Malaysia become the largest rubber producer in the world. The tree still stands today.
The first Malaysian
scout troop was established in Kuala Kangsar. Consequently, its squad number is 001.
Education
*
SMJK Tsung Wah
* Raja Perempuan Kelsom Secondary School (SMK RPK)
* Madrasah Idrisiah Kuala Kangsar (MADID)
*
Malay College Kuala Kangsar
The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (abbreviated MCKK; ; ) is a premier residential school in Malaysia. It is an elite all-boys and all- Malay school in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak. It is sometimes dubbed "the Eton College of the East".
...
(MCKK)
* Clifford Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Clifford)
*
Sultan Azlan Shah University (USAS)
* Kolej Vokasional Kuala Kangsar (KVKK)
* Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Sultan Azlan Shah (MRSM SAS)
* Kolej RISDA PERAK Kuala Kangsar
* Kolej Komuniti Chenderoh
* Kolej Komuniti Kuala Kangsar
* Kem PLKN Desa Rimba
* Kem PLKN Kota Lama
Tourist and historical attractions
*
Ubudiah Mosque and the
Royal Mausoleum
* Ihsaniah Iskandariah Mosque
*
Istana Kenangan (Old Palace, now the Perak Royal Museum)
* Pavilion Tower
*
Istana Iskandariah (The Royal Palace)
* Kuala Kangsar Clock Tower
*
Malaya's first
rubber tree
''Hevea brasiliensis'', the Pará rubber tree, ''sharinga'' tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family Euphorbiaceae originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now ...
*
Sultan Azlan Shah Gallery
*
Victoria Bridge (built 1900)
*
Iskandariah Bridge
*
Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Bridge
Transportation
Two bridges now connect Kuala Kangsar to
Sayong.
Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Bridge is made out of concrete and located near the town while Sultan Iskandar Bridge is farther upstream and is made out of steel. Kuala Kangsar is easily accessible via the
North–South Expressway and by train.
Public Transport
Bus
*Perak Transit (shuttle K. Kangsar-Ipoh & K. Kangsar-Lenggong)
*Sri Maju Express
*Transnasional Express
*Starmart Express
*Ekspres Perdana
*Konsortium Ekspres Mutiara
*Konsortium Bas Express
*Kumpulan Bas Perak
*Maju Express
*Grassland
*Five Star
*ALISAN
*Red Omnibus (shuttle to K. Kangsar-Taiping)
*Wai Thong Omnibus (Shuttle to K. Kangsar-Manong)
Trains
*
Inter-city rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
:
Kuala Kangsar railway station
Notable people
*
Rafidah Aziz, Malaysian politician
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Kuala Kangsar District
Towns in Perak