Tanjung Tualang is a
mukim in
Kinta District,
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 ...
.
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 tin mining company its namesake
Toh Allang Chinese Tin Ltd. In 1939 Tanjung Tualang became a major host for 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 from ...
(CPM). A well known CPM Malay leader,
Rashid Maidin
Rashid Maidin (10 October 1917 – 1 September 2006), sometimes given as Rashid Mahideen, was a senior leader of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).
Personal life
He was born in Kampung Gunung Mesah, Gopeng, Perak; coincidentally on the same ...
, was recruited here by Tu Lung Shan.
Government
The mukim is under the administration of Batu Gajah District Council.
Economy
A number of multinational amalgamated and tin mining companies operated and controlled the mining area in Tanjung Tualang in the mid 1900s such as
– Lower Perak Tin Dredging
– Southern Kinta Consolidated
– Southern Malayan Tin Dredging
– Austral Amalgamated Tin
– Osborne & Chapple
– Pernas Chartered Management
– Malaysian Mining Corporation.
In 1970 there were around 5 (type 1) very large tin dredging machines (kapal korek in Malay). The type 1s are among the biggest tin
dredger
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
s in the world. There were also many smaller type of dredgers scattered in Tanjung Tualang. The dredgers were usually owned by European companies whilst local mining companies would opt to use a "Palong" type of mining technology.
Today these old mining areas have either been converted to freshwater ponds (lombong in Malay) breeding freshwater prawn/fish or turned into
palm oil estates. Tanjung Tualang also has a large number of rubber estates (owned individually or by local and multinational corporations).
It is believed that Tanjung Tualang has an "Underground Armament Testing Complex" for the
Malaysian government
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Mala ...
under the purview of the
Ministry of Defense
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
. The actual site for this facility is undisclosed but available clues suggest a nearby area known as Changkat Tin. Access to this area is restricted.
Tanjung Tualang is also known for its freshwater
prawns hence giving Tanjung Tualang its nickname (Freshwater Prawn Town). Together with nearby Sungai Durian the famous freshwater prawns (in Malay - udang galah) of Tanjung Tualang are much sought after by prawn lovers.
References
See also
*
Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge No. 5
Kinta District
Mukims of Perak
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