Kampar, Perak
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Kampar is a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia. The town lies within the Kinta Valley, an area rich with tin reserves. It is situated due south of Simpang Pulai. It was a tin mining town which boomed during the heights of the tin mining industry. There were many tin mines on the outskirts of Kampar during the heights, but most have closed down following the collapse of the industry. Kampar was established in 1887.
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[edit] Overview
The booms and busts of Kampar followed the vicissitudes of the mining industry. Most of them were established in the late 19th century, flourished in the 1900s, only to stagnate and decline after World War I, with the exception of an exhilarating boom in the 1920s.
Kampar town can be broadly divided between the 'old town' and 'new town' areas. The old town consists of two main streets of charming pre war shophouses, the fronts of which are still mostly in its original unrenovated appearance. Commerce in the old town area mainly consists of coffee shops, goldsmiths and local retailers. The new town area mainly consists of new residential developments and some commerce servicing the burgeoning education industry in Kampar.
Kampar had its share of bloodbath during the Japanese Occupation in 1941 to 1945. Between December 30 1941 to 2 January 1942, a battle between 3000 British personnel and over 6000 Japanese soldiers erupted. This battle is vividly documented and highlighted by famous Kampar historian, Chye Kooi Loong. (See link below)
[edit] Origin of Name
The name Kampar was derived from the Cantonese words kam pou, which means 'precious gold'. This refers to the town's previously large tin reserves.
Another more plausible theory is that Kampar is named after the Kampar river (north of the current township). The river itself got its name from immigrants from the Kampar regency in Riau Province, s in Sumatra, who used the river to navigate upstream. This predates the large-scale mining of tin in Kampar, so it is likely that the Cantonese words "kam pou" were derived from the word Kampar, rather than the other way around. Curiously, Kampar in Sumatra was where the 1st Sultan of Perak (Sultan Mudzaffar Shah) was based before becoming Sultan in Perak (his highness was a son of the last Sultan of Malacca)
[edit] Geography
Kampar is situated in the Kinta Valley, which was well-known for its high tin ore reserves. Many KLites spend their weekends here. Its vast surroundings as well as abandoned mining-ponds are suitable for fishing makes it an ideal place for a well-deserved break.
- It is about 30 minutes drive south from the state capital, Ipoh.
- It is about 40 minutes drive from Kampar to Teluk Intan (Westward from Kampar)
- It is about 15 minutes drive from Kampar to Gopeng (Plus highway exit)
- It is about 15 mins drive from Kampar to Tapah (Plus highway exit) southwards from Kampar.
- It is about 30 minutes drive from Kampar to Bidor (Plus highway exit) southwards from Kampar.
- It is about 12 minutes drive from Kampar town to Gua Tempurung northwards from Kampar.
[edit] Transportation
Kampar express buses which have direct buses to Butterworth, Singapore and KL are located in the town area. The Kampar local town bus stop which serves Ipoh, Teluk Intan, Tapah, Malim Nawar and other areas in the vicinity is located within walking distance of less than 100 meters from the express bus stop. UTAR and TAR college buses are also available for free pickup service for their students around the vicinity.
Taxis are available around the local town bus stop.
Express buses from Kampar to KLIA is also available in Kampar. However, it is not located at the bus stop. It is located next to the Magnum 3D premises in Kampar(Besides SRK Methodist ACS Kampar).
How to get here : From KL, you will have to specify Kampar as your destination or else the express bus will just bypass Kampar through the NS-Highway to Ipoh. Bus company from puduraya with direct bus from Kl to Kampar are Edaran, Super Ria, Konsortium and Parit Express. Bus tickets are around RM11.50. The ride takes about 2 1/2 hours.
It would be pleasant, but not advisable to travel by train for it is not very frequent and it takes more than 4 hours. The ticket costs about the same as buses.
- From Ipoh, you can take the Kinta bus. Frequency is every half an hour. It takes about 50 minutes to get here. There are hourly express services by the same company.
- From Teluk Intan, there are Hup Soon buses doing the honours.
- From Tapah, Kamta buses charge RM1.10 and it's frequency is 20 minutes.
金宝大酒店位于亚洲马来西亚霹雳州一个小镇金宝，它位于拉曼大学总院和拉曼学院 霹雳分院
[edit] Accommodation
- Grand Kampar Hotel (Bandar Baru Kampar, serving UTAR/KTAR areas)
Grand kampar hotel front view - Kam Tai Hotel (located at the entrance of Golden Dragon Garden)
- Metro Hotel (Town centre)
- Oriental Hotel (Town centre)
 grand kampar hotel lobby |
 grand kpr hotel |
 Grand kampar hotel |
[edit] Demographics
Kampar have a population of 67753 people and space 39,109 hectares [2]. The majority of the town's population is of Chinese descent. Other races such as Malays and Indians make up the rest of Kampar's population. The town also has a sizable Punjabi community. Perhaps Kampar is now well known for its wide range of delicacies all within 10 minutes walk!
[edit] Culture
Festivals are celebrated in style here too. Although the town is crowded with people on almost every occasion, Chinese New Year is the event to look forward to here. Lots of activities take place during this time such as lion-dances, fire-crackers and cultural performances. However, one should think twice about visiting Kampar on a festive holiday due to the enormous number of people returning to their hometown visiting their love ones here. The traffic jams cause by the number of vehicles here could easily irritate one with little patience. Sometimes, it takes almost an hour just to travel 1 km on a car!
[edit] Economy
In the 19th and most of 20th century, the economy of Kampar revolved around tin-mining. However, many tin-mining companies were forced out of business during the economic recession in the 1980s. Nevertheless, the town's economy recovered slowly by the end of 1980s.
Since the completion of the North-South Highway, Kampar's status as a bustling town has declined rapidly. Travellers stopped frequenting the town as they chose the more convenient highway. The nearest exit from highway is in Tapah, which is pretty inconvenient for travellers. The town is not so much abandoned as conveniently forgotten.
At present, the commercial and industrial sectors are main driving forces of Kampar's economy. More recently, its economy is further driven by the construction of the new Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) campus. Besides that, a Tesco Hypermarket is being built (opens in Sept 2008) nearby UTAR area.
Currently available supermarkets in Kampar are Minat supermarket and Target supermarket. Located witin 300 meter of each other. It is near the bus stop.Besides these supermarkets daily consumables can be obtain conveniently from the many Chinese retail shops located all over Kampar. Some are as good as small scale supermarket with modern shop design.
- Major Banks are available such as Maybank, CIMB, Pulic bank, Am bank, Bank Pertanian, Hong leong bank, BSN.
- Insurance Agent such as Kurnia Insurance
- Investment Company such as OSK
- Many jewelry shops
- Private clinics are noticeable in Kampar
- Perhaps the most striking phenomena is there are lots of coffee shops/eateries in Kampar with at least 2 shops in one row of 10 pre-war shop lot and it is full of customer morning and even afternoon.
- KFC and Pizza Hut are available.
- Many modern cafes are open in Kampar lately
[edit] Education
Kampar is currently a centre of tertiary education with a campus of Tunku Abdul Rahman College and a new campus of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. Kampar is also served by various primary and secondary schools. With an estimated combined capacity of more than 20,000 students, these two institutions are touted to be the two instruments that will restore the town to its former glory. Other private institution of higher learning are Kolej Menara Jaya and Kolej Sri Ayu
Among the more famous government schools around are
- Pei Yuan High School,
- SMJK(C)Pei Yuan,
- SRJK(C)Pei Yuan,
- SMK Methodist ACS Kampar, Anglo-Chinese School, Kampar
- SRK Methodist ACS Kampar,
- SRJK(C)Kampar Girls
- SRJK(C)Chung Hwa
- SRJK(T)Kampar,
- SMK Sri Kampar,
- SRK De La Salle
- SMK Sentosa
- special education school
 SMK Methodist ACS Kampar |
_pei_yuen.jpg/83px-Kampar_SMJK(C)_pei_yuen.jpg) SMJK(C)Pei Yuan |
 Kampar_utar1.jpg |
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[edit] Entertainment
Following the opening of the two new institutions of higher learning, the area surrounding the two campuses have become bustling districts, with various food outlets, restaurants, cafes and cyber cafes sprouting up. Students and locals can be seen patronizing the mamak stalls in the wee hours of the night.
[edit] Famous residents
- Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood - late wife of current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
- Eric Moo - a Taiwan-based singer, composer and producer, was born here near a "suburban" here, Mambang Diawan. He has currently shifted his attention towards China.
- Olivia Lum - founder of water treatment company Hyflux in Singapore.
- Chang Mun Kee, aka Mark Chang - founder of JOBSTREET
- Yeap Wai Kiang, Professor,phD - One of the earliest person researching Artificial Intelligence(AI) Technology.
- Tham Choy Yoong, Dr - attached to the astrophysics research group at Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge.Cavendish has led the world in many ground-breaking research that have won Nobel prizes. It was here that James Watson and Francis Crick won the Nobel prize for their discovery of the double helix of DNA. Dr. Tham is currently the campus dean of UTAR's Faculty of Engineering and Science in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.
- Wong Hon Mun, Dr - executive director of Jurong BirdPark Singapore, the largest bird park in the Asia-Pacific region. A Veterinan train in University Putra of Malaysia.
- C.L. Hor and Ben Hor - Director for the 1st Malaysia martial arts movie flick Kinta 1881 (filmed in 2007).
- Ir. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin - 10th Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the state of Perak
[edit] Politics
(P70)Kampar is a Parliament seat under the Election Commission of Malaysia. Under this parliament seat, there are 3 state seats namely (N40) Malim Nawar, (N41) Keranji and (N42) Tualang Sekah.
The parliament seat is a traditional fight between the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Barisan Nasional (represented by Malaysia Chinese Association, MCA). Current member of parliament is Y.B. Lee Chee Leong from BN. In the last election he won by the statistics of,
- Parliament seat (P70)
- 1. LEE CHEE LEONG (BN) : 20,126
- 2. KEONG MENG SING (DAP): 17,429
- Total Voter : 59,784
- Spoilt vote : 1,048
- Total ballot paper issue : 38,953
- Unreturned ballot paper : 350
- Percentage vote : 65.16%
- Majority : 2,697
- State seat (N40)
- 1. KESHVINDER SINGH A/L KASHMIR SINGH (DAP): 7,801
- 2. CHAI SONG POH (BN) : 6,439
- Total Voter : 23,276
- Spoilt vote : 364
- Total ballot paper issue : 14,647
- Unreturned ballot paper : 43
- Percentage vote : 62.93%
- Majority : 1,362
- State seat (N41)
- 1. CHEN FOOK CHYE (DAP): 8,459
- 2. CHONG MUN WAH (BN) : 4,024
- Total Voter : 19,857
- Spoilt vote : 212
- Total ballot paper issue : 12,738
- Unreturned ballot paper : 43
- Percentage vote : 64.15%
- Majority : 4,435
- State seat (N42)
- 1. NOLEE ASHILIN BINTI MOHAMMED RADZI (BN) : 6,366
- 2. NADARAJAH A/L MANIKAM (PKR) : 4,797
- Total Voter : 16,651
- Spoilt vote : 361
- Total ballot paper issue : 11,578
- Unreturned ballot paper : 54
- Percentage vote : 69.53%
- Majority : 1,569
[edit] Famous Food
Kampar is famous for its food. For example, Fish ball noodles, Chicken Biscuit, Claypot rice, Prawn Mee, Rice Noodles (Cantonese = "Lai Fun"), char kuay teow, wan tan mee, lor mai fan (glutinous rice), ham kok chai, ice kacang, and many more. Two types of food that made their way out of Kampar town itself and is synonymous with Kampar are : Kampar Chicken Biscuit and Kampar Fishball Noodle.
The Kampar Chicken Biscuit is so famous that it has spawn a whole series of 'chicken biscuit' producers. The Patriach of the family was Leong Kow, whose grandfather came from China. He has 7 sons, and 7 daughters.
The original recipe for the biscuit actually came from Leong Kow's family line, and that family line came from Nam Hoi, China. It is said that the recipe came from that little village in China, along with Leong Kow's grandfather. And that line of family comes as a baker's family line.
Not long after Leong Kow died, his eldest son, Leong Pak Lum, decided to return from KL (where he operated a coffeeshop called Oi Kuan in Cecil Street) to Kampar, and started to pick recipe from the family recipe book. While Pak Lum's family worked to produce the biscuits (among which was Chicken Biscuit), his 3rd brother, Leong Moon Lum, was the coffeeshop owner of 123, Jalan Idris - Wing Lok Yuen. (Which means "Forever Happy Restaurant"). It is through this restaurant front, that Leong Moon Lum helped to sell those biscuits for his brother, Leong Pak Lum.
For some reason, both brothers had a disagreement, and each went their own way. Leong Pak Lum had then established a line of Chicken Biscuit called CB chicken biscuit. And Leong Moon Lum, together with his wife, Ong Siew May, started a company called May Moon, and improvised on the family recipe, and started another line of Chicken Biscuit, called May Moon (the name means "Thoroughly complete/fulfilling").
Thus, from one single family recipe, two companies, with two different recipe for Chicken Biscuit was introduced in the market. The famous biscuit draw a few other (mainly from Telok Anson), who tried to replicate the biscuit to get a market share.
As for Kampar Fishball Noodle, its relationship with the town Kampar goes back a long way as well, with another family. More importantly, the locals call the stall "Lor Shee Fun" stall. The phrase "Lor Shee Fun" literally means "Mice Noodles", simply because the stall was famous for its funny looking noodles, that looked like Mice tails. And besides, the soup that comes with the noodles is tasty, not replicated by any others. Plus, the stall has a famous fish ball, called "chau yuen", or "deep-fried fishball", which I believe, is primarily why the stall is famous. The Kampar-style of preparing fishballs is different from other parts of the country. These chau-yuen (deep-fried fishball) made of finely blended fish and corn flour. One bite and you’ll notice the difference because it is crunchy on the outside and gummy inside. A hand-made fishball costs about 60 sen. Next, there’s yuk-yuen, a special blend of smoked bacon and pork. This speciality has a totally different flavour compared to other meatballs of its class.
Other local cuisine of Kampar includes the chee cheong fun, where curry is often the preferred condiment. Chee Cheong Fun is a noodle made from rice flour which is steamed into sheets and chopped up into noodle like slivers. In Kampar it is frequently served with 2 types of tofu - tofu pok (fried tofu) and tofu chuen (brick tofu), along with assorted fish balls or chue pei (pig skin in curry). It is a delicious meal when finished off with the local chili sauce and green pickled chillis. Chee cheong fun is commonly eaten for breakfast or supper where a couple of stores are set up at the local market.
Kampar is also credited for the invention of `chicken in a bread'. `Min pau kai', literally `chicken bread' in Cantonese, is so sought after at one time that tourist buses are known to make a bee line to Kampar just to savour the delicacy.
For the uninitiated, the best place to sample Kampar food will be at the main Pasar in the morning. It's not that hard to find. Coming from Ipoh, take the first right past Maybank (to confirm, look for Jalan Ampang) and go straight till the end, passing 2 cross junctions. From KL, turn left one block after CIMB Bank and go straight. It's the same path as those coming from Ipoh.
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[edit] Galleries
West Lake
 Kampar_west_lake_1.jpg |
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 Kampar_west_lake_8.jpg |
kampar Towns
 Kampar_new_town_architecture.jpg |
 Kampar_new_town_view.jpg |
 Kampar_nite_market_around_bus_station_vicinity.jpg |
 Kampar_nite_market_at_kampar_new_town.jpg |
 Kampar_old_town.jpg |
 Kampar_pre_world_war_decade_old_house_on_main_jalan_gopeng_federal_road.jpg |
 Kampar_temple_view.jpg |
Tourist Attractions
 Kampar_batu_berangkai__waterfall_view.jpg |
 Kampar_lata_kinjang_waterfall.jpg |
 Kampar_bird_sanctuary.jpg |
 Kampar_bird_sanctuary_view.jpg |
 Kampar_japanese_garden.jpg |
[edit] External links
1.Kampar.net 2.[1]
