Ipoh
| Ipoh | |||
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| Nickname(s): 'City of Millionaires' or 'Bougainvillea City' | |||
  Ipoh
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Malaysia | ||
| State | Perak | ||
| Establishment | Around 1880 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Datuk Haji Roshidi Hashim | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 643 km2 (248.268 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 21.95 m (72 ft) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 710,798 (6th) | ||
| - Density | 1,002.80/km2 (2,597.20/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | MST (UTC+8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Not observed (UTC) | ||
| Website | http://www.mbi.gov.my | ||
Ipoh (pronounced /ˈiːpoʊ/) is a city in Malaysia and is the capital of the state of Perak. It is approximately 200 km (125 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway.
Ipoh developed into one of Malaysia's main cities due to the booming tin mining industry around the turn of the 19th century. During the British colonial era, Ipoh was Malaysia's second city for administration purposes. There are several notable buildings from the British Colonial era such as the railway station and the town hall. 70% of Ipoh's population is of Chinese origin.
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History
Etymology
The name Ipoh is derived from a local tree, pohon epu or now more commonly known as pokok ipoh. The sap of this plant is poisonous and was used by Orang Asli (indigenous people) to coat the tips of the darts of their blowpipes.
The Cantonese name for Ipoh derives the word Yee Poh meaning found treasure. This is because the Hoi San which are Cantonese were the first to move to the area for mining. They then build a small town for trading of food and hardware for the miner. They were happy with the new found tin mining town and name it "yee poh" (found treasure).
Ipoh is sometimes called "Paloh" (Chinese: 壩羅) among local Chinese, referring to the gigantic mining pump used for early tin ore extraction. This is because the extension of the old town to the new town which was first refer as Paloh Chuin or Poloh Village. It was also called "the Town built on Tin" (Chinese: 锡城) and "City of Millionaires", referring to the vast fortunes made during the boom of the tin mining industries.
Other nicknames include "The Bougainvillea City" and "Shan Cheng" (Chinese: 山城) which means "The Hill City" in the Cantonese dialect.
Early history
Ipoh city came into existence in the 1820s as a village on the banks of the Kinta River. It was less prominent at that time compared to the early mining town of Gopeng, 20 km south of Ipoh. In 1890 Frank Swettenham put forth the founding of Ipoh Sanitary Board which led to systematic planning of Ipoh, which can still be seen today.
However, from the turn of the 20th century when more British tin-mining companies were set up in the city, Ipoh gained greater prominence. Influential institutions such as The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China Limited opened a significant office in Ipoh in 1902. It provided credit to the Straits Trading Company and later the Eastern Smelting Company. More Colonial-era firms started to set up offices in the booming town such as the stockbroker Botly and Co., A.H Whittaker & Co., Chartered Accounts, Evatt & Co., and Estate Visiting Agents Milne & Stevens.
Its geographic location in the rich tin-bearing valley of the Kinta River made it a natural centre of growth. It grew rapidly as a mining town, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. A local Hakka miner, millionaire Yau Tet-Shin started developing a large tract of the city in the early 1930s, today known as the New Town section of the city—the area which roughly delineated from the eastern bank of the Kinta River to Greentown.
War and post-war periods
Ipoh was invaded by the Japanese on 15 December 1941. During the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, Ipoh was made the capital of Perak, in place of Taiping. In March 1942, the Japanese civil administration or Perak Shu Seicho was set up at the St. Michael's Institution. After the liberation of Malaya by British forces, Ipoh remained the capital of Perak, to this day.[1]
In the 1950s, Ipoh was characterised by the proliferation of large numbers of cinema halls, amusement parks, cabarets and night life which was unrivalled on the peninsula . Two of the largest entertainment groups then, the Cathay Organisation and Shaw Brothers Company had set up chains of cinemas here. Ipoh was also one of the four original towns served by Malayan Airways (now Malaysia Airlines), the other three being Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Contemporary Ipoh
With the collapse of tin prices and the closure of the tin mines in the late 1970s, Ipoh's growth stagnated and resulted in migration to other parts of Malaysia (particularly metropolitan areas such as Kuala Lumpur) and Singapore.
Ipoh has since been known colloquially as a "dead" city and earned a reputation as a good location for retirement. Various efforts have been made to redevelop Ipoh into a modern town (refer below for more information). The city is expanding all the time as there are new developments in the suburbs.
Ipoh has one of the cleanest and clearest water supplies in Malaysia, as the source is from the waterfalls in nearby Tanjung Rambutan.
On 27 May 1988, Ipoh was conferred city status by the Sultan of Perak, His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah.
Geography
Topography
Ipoh is located within the state of Perak, which is in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The city is located in the middle of the Kinta Valley. Geologically, it is located on the bank of the Kinta River and the confluence of smaller rivers, namely Sungai Pinji and Sungai Pari. The city is surrounded by limestone hills, which can be found around suburban areas to the northeast, east and southeast of the city.[2]
The Kledang mountain range stretches from the north to the west of the city. This range runs parallel to the Bintang mountain range with the Perak River flowing on its left bank and the Kinta River to its right. This range is interrupted to the north of Ipoh by a tributary of the Perak River called the Pelus River, which is sourced from the Titiwangsa mountain range, which runs to the east of Ipoh.[3]
Climate
Ipoh features a tropical rainforest climate. Similar to many other cities with this climate, temperatures show little variation throughout the course of the year. The city's average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius. Ipoh sees plentiful precipitation throughout the year, averaging 2340 mm of rain per year. It's wettest month is November where on average 320 mm of rain is seen per year. Ipoh's driest month is February which sees 70 mm of rain fall on average.
| Climate data for Ipoh | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35 (95) |
36 (97) |
36 (97) |
36 (97) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
36 (97) |
36 (97) |
35 (95) |
35 (95) |
33 (91) |
35 (95) |
37 (99) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 32 (90) |
33 (91) |
33 (91) |
33 (91) |
33 (91) |
33 (91) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 17 (63) |
17 (63) |
17 (63) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
18 (64) |
17 (63) |
| Precipitation cm (inches) | 20 (7.9) |
7 (2.8) |
19 (7.5) |
21 (8.3) |
15 (5.9) |
9 (3.5) |
18 (7.1) |
17 (6.7) |
22 (8.7) |
27 (10.6) |
32 (12.6) |
22 (8.7) |
234 (92.1) |
| Source: Weatherbase[4] | |||||||||||||
Governance
The Ipoh City Council governs the city of Ipoh. Roshidi Hashim, appointed in 2008, is the current Mayor of Ipoh [5].
Ipoh is divided into two parliamentary constituencies, Ipoh Barat (Ipoh West) and Ipoh Timur (Ipoh East). The parliamentary seat for Ipoh Timur is held by DAP Representative, Lim Kit Siang while the seat for Ipoh Barat is held by fellow DAP leader, M. Kulasegaran.[6]
City layout
Today, "Ipoh" usually refers to the territory under administration of Ipoh City Council or Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, which includes the smaller towns adjacent to the city such as Silibin, Chemor, Jelapang, Falim, Menglembu and Tanjung Rambutan. Historically, "Ipoh" referred to the Old Town and New Town areas divided by the Kinta River at its heart, from which the city grew. From the late 1980s Greentown, located beside the New Town, was transformed from old government quarters to an administrative and commercial centre of Ipoh, often overshadowing both the Old Town and New Town.
Economy
Demographics
Ipoh still remains one of Malaysia's largest cities. Today, Ipoh is the fourth largest city in Malaysia.
- Population: 702,464 (2009)
- Urban area population: 1,143,778 (2009)[7]
- Ranking: sixth most populous urban centre in Malaysia. (2007)[8]
Census statistics
The following is based on Ipoh City Hall statistics, 2004.[9][10]
| Ethnic groups in Ipoh, 2004 census | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Population | Percentage |
| Chinese | 451,361 | 70.0% |
| Malay | 109,616 | 17.0% |
| Indian | 80,600 | 12.5% |
| Others | 3,225 | 0.5% |
Prominent people from Ipoh
- Film and television: Angie Cheung, Iqram Dinzly, Mamat Khalid, Peter Pek, Afdlin Shauki, Patrick Teoh, Dato' Michelle Yeoh
- Music: (Michael Wong)
- Culture: Tham Fook Cheong (feng shui master)
- Sports: (badminton): Koo Kien Keat, Choong Tan Fook, Lee Wan Wah, Cheah Soon Kit, Wong Pei Tty, Wong Mew Choo
- Sports: (Football): Azizul Abu Hanifah, Chan Kok Heng, Muhamad Khalid Jamlus
- Sports: (other): Tony Underwood (rugby), Yap Suo Kuen (netball)
- Politics: Yeoh Ghim Seng, Yeoh Kian Teik, Dr Yeoh Eng Kiong, S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah
- Historical: Leong Sin Nam
- Ghost research: Arwin John
- Other personalities: Chan Sek Keong, Chief Justice of Singapore; Lat, cartoonist.
Places of interest
The Old Town and New Town of Ipoh are two different parts of Ipoh separated by the Kinta River. Most olden-day pre-World War II shophouses, heritage buildings, and some Government buildings are located in the Old Town while the New Town comprises the area originally developed by Yau Tet Shin , stretching all the way from Kinta River to Greentown. It has newer shops, buildings, shopping malls and housing estates. There are also some theme water parks like The Lost World Of Tambun. There are also a lot of great and beautiful temples in Ipoh.
The Old Town
St. Michael's Institution which is one of the most famous schools in Perak, is located along Clayton Road (now Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam) is a building of architectural merit, standing beautifully near the Ipoh City Field, Ipoh City Library and the Ipoh CIty Hall. The all boys school is one of the most prestigious English schools in Malaysia. A La Sallian school opened in 1912 by Father J.B. Coppin. During the Japanese occupation in World War II, the school building had become the Japanese administration headquarters in Ipoh.
The Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh, officially named SMK Methodist (ACS), located along Lahat Road is one of schools in the state of Perak, Malaysia.
Many 'shop-houses' along Leech Street (Chinese: 烈治街; now Jalan Bandar Timah) in the Old Town still maintain their architectural significance, besides being a popular spot for food and drinks (refer Cuisine).
Architecture
Ipoh Old Town is characterised by its colonial architecture. Features of note include:
- Padang Ipoh or Ipoh Field is located on Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam. The field is a well kept and surrounded by many historic buildings that feature classic colonial architecture, including the mock-Tudor style Ipoh Club, FMS Bar, HSBC Building and the magnificent St Michael's Institution secondary school.
- The Ipoh Railway Station. It bears similar architecture to that of the Old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and is nicknamed the "Taj Mahal of Ipoh"
- Ipoh Town Hall located across the road from the Railway Station also features some interesting gothic architecture.
- Muzium Darul Ridzuan is an interesting historical museum of Perak, located in a pretty former tin-mining tycoon's mansion on Jalan Kuala Kangsar
The New Town
D. R. Seenivasagam Park (Coronation Park), located in the heart of Ipoh (New Town), is known for its scenic beauty and recreational facilities. It comprises several recreational fields, an artificial lake filled with various types of fishes, a nursery for potted plants and a children's traffic playground. The latest addition is the newly landscaped Japanese garden featuring a typical Japanese carp pond.The New Town houses the Perak Medical University and Ipoh City Hall building, among others. There are various New shops, huge shopping malls, five stars and four stars hotels in New Town.
Limestone caves, beautiful mountains and lakes.
Ipoh has many limestone caves due to the surrounding karst formations especially the Tempurung Cave which is the largest and deepest in Peninsula Malaysia. The Sam Po Tong (Chinese 三宝洞; Cavern of Three Precious) temple, is a Chinese temple built within a limestone cave. A pond outside houses many tortoises. Its sister temple, Perak Tong (Chinese 霹雳洞; Perak Cave), has a steep, tall staircase in the interior of the cave rising up to the top of its hill where one is greeted by a panoramic view of Ipoh and its surroundings. The statue of Buddha in Perak Tong was the tallest and largest of its kind in Malaysia when first commissioned. Both these cavern temples have decent vegetarian food.
Another sight worth seeing is the Kek Lok Tong (Chinese 极乐洞; Cavern of Utmost Happiness), which is a cave temple that lies on the other side of the same range of limestone hills as Sam Poh Tong. It is accessible through the Gunung Rapat housing area. It has a cleaner, quieter and more cooling environment and has the best scenic cave view.
Limestone hills extend 20 km north of Ipoh and also 20 km to the south. There are many caves in these hills; cave temples are built in some of these caves [11]. Gua Tempurung, near Gopeng south of Ipoh, is a show cave open to the public.
There are also a lot of beautiful lakes in Ipoh, mainly the Taiping Lake Gardens and the Lang Mountain Lakes.
Gua Tempurung is a cave in Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia. It is popular among spelunkers, or caving enthusiasts. More than 3 km long, it is one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia. Part of it has been developed as a show cave with electric lighting and walkways and there are a range of tours of different lengths and difficulty. A fine river cave, the river passage runs about 1.6 km through the hill. There are five very large chambers and some spectacular stalactites and stalagmites.
Healthcare
The government-owned and operated Ipoh Hospital is located near the Fair Park and Greentown area. It is just a stone throw's away from SMK Anderson, a school which is famous for its achievement in sport and education.
Sports
There are a few sporting venues in Ipoh. A portion of land located in the Kampong Simee area has been selected by the City Council for the Sport Center. The main sports stadium for football (soccer) and other track and field events is the Perak Stadium. There is an indoor sports stadium beside it, the Indera Mulia Stadium, playing host to events such as badminton. Ipoh is also home for the Perak Football Association.
Ipoh is also home to Malaysia's first velodrome, Velodrom Rakyat (The People's Velodrome), costing RM 3.25 million; funds were raised in a country-wide donation drive (led by Tan Sri Darshan Singh Gill). In addition, Ipoh also boasts as one of the first cities in the country that has an Astroturf stadium for hockey, the Azlan Shah Stadium.
For golf, the available courses in Ipoh are the Royal Perak Golf Club off Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (Tiger Lane), the Meru Golf Club in Jelapang, and Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Club en route to Batu Gajah.
Other sports venues include the Kilat Club in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh Field (Padang Ipoh) in the Old Town, the Polo Grounds, and the Iskandar Polo Club, in Ampang Baru.
Transportation
- Trunk roads: The old interstate Route 1 connects Ipoh with neighboring towns and other states (such as the town of Gopeng, and city of Kuala Lumpur down south).
- Highway: The new North-South Expressway is a faster and more efficient alternative to Route 1. However, certain towns like Kampar can only be accessible via Route 1. Drivers using the North-South highway can exit into Ipoh from any of these four exits – Simpang Pulai, South Ipoh (Ipoh(S)) or North Ipoh (Ipoh(U)) & Jelapang.
- Train: Ipoh's railway station is operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and is situated in the Old Town (however, it does not have intra-city travel like in Kuala Lumpur). The railway only connects Ipoh with neighbouring towns and cities. The railway station is quite beautiful, and referred to by locals as the Taj Mahal of Ipoh. KTM Intercity began the Shuttle Train Service between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh from December 1, 2008 while the modern Electric Train System (ETS) shuttle began from 12 August 2010 with average 145kmh speed, plying Ipoh-Seremban route, cut the travelling distance between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur into 120 minutes. There are 10 dedicated shuttle train services between these two cities daily which begins at 5am from both the stations. Travel time between the cities expected to be reduced from three hours to two hours and fifteen minutes when the new set of EMU trains arrive in mid 2009.[12].
- Bus: The inter-city bus terminal is located at Silveritage Galleria along Gopeng Road nearby Gunung Rapat, south of Ipoh (formerly situated in Medan Kidd, Old Town) to Ipoh Terminal Bus Station.
- Air: the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport is the only airport in Ipoh. It is situated near Gunung Rapat. However, only domestic flights (and limited international ones) are available at this airport.
- Firefly provides daily flights out of Ipoh to Singapore Changi Airport while Silverfly provides flights to Medan, Indonesia.[13].
Film and television
Ipoh was regarded by some filmmakers as a good location for shooting due to its beautiful scenery. Movies filmed in Ipoh include:
- 1992: Indochine
- 1999: Anna and the King
- 2002: Embun
- 2003: Paloh
- 2003: Kadhal Kisu Kisu'
- 2004: Tun Tan Cheng Lock
- 2005: Sepet
- 2005: Gubra
- 2006: After This Our Exile (Chinese 父子)
- 2006: Goodbye Boys
- 2006: Lust, Caution (Chinese 色，戒)
- 2007: Mualaf
- 2008: Talentime
Cuisine
Ipoh is famous for dishes such as "Sar Hor Fun" (Chinese: 沙河粉). It is a flat white rice noodle served in soup with shredded chicken and prawns.
Other famous dishes from Ipoh include:
- "Hor Hee" - flat white rice noodles served with fish cakes and/or fish balls,
- "Nga Choi Kai" (Chinese: 芽菜鸡) - chicken fillet with soy sauce, and beansprouts with pepper spread on top
- "Hakka Mee" (Chinese: 客家面) - yellow rice noodles served with mince meat (pork) sauce
- "Heong Peng" (Chinese: 香饼) - a type of biscuit.
Ipoh is well known in Malaysia for its "Ipoh white coffee". The special method of roasting and brewing the beans is traditional to Ipoh.
- Note: food items in Chinese are pronounced in the Cantonese language, a common dialect in Ipoh.
Around Ipoh and its environs
Famous attractions around Ipoh include Kellie's Castle. A 15-minute drive from Ipoh towards Tanjung Rambutan brings you to the foot of a limestone hill where visitors can rejuvenate at hot baths from the Tambun hot spring, a natural spring.
Ulu Chepor is a famous recreational place to relax for picnics and camping in a remote yet nature-friendly place. Ulu Chepor is another waterfall camping area located 10 km from Ipoh city; other such waterfalls include Lubuk Timah in Simpang Pulai and one in Falim.
Another attraction is the Gunung Lang Recreational Park which is 5 km from the Ipoh city center. It has been operated by the City Hall (DBI) with the collaboration of Ministry of Tourism Malaysia since 1999. This park, costing RM 8.4 million, has 3 man-made lakes which was reclaimed from old tin mines and filled in with tropical fish. The "Lost World of Tambun" is a new RM60 million water theme park located outside Ipoh and provides a family leisure attraction for anyone in the area. The theme park is landscaped with vines, creepers and lush tropical plants to give the illusion of a Lost World. The park is the sister theme park of Sunway Lagoon in Petaling Jaya. The theme park is two hours drive north from Kuala Lumpur and one-hour and a half drive from Penang. It opens from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends, school and public holidays, the park opens at 10:00 a.m. It closes on Tuesdays except if the day falls on Malaysian school and public holidays. The entry fees are RM38 per adult and RM32 per child.
Sister cities
Sister cities of Ipoh include:
San Jose, California, United States- Dallas, Texas, United States
Fukuoka (福岡), Japan[14]
Nanning (Chinese 南宁), China[15]- Guangzhou (Chinese 广州), China
Yogyakarta, Indonesia- Bali, Indonesia
Gallery
 Ipoh skyline from Casuarina Hotel. |
Street view of "Greentown Walk" in New Town, overlooking Syuen Hotel near Greentown. |
Anglo Chinese School in Ipoh. |
Ipoh Railway Station. |
 View overlooking Convent School from Ipoh Parade shopping mall in New Town. |
The Lang Mountains in Ipoh. |
 Ipoh Shops. |
 Kellie's Castle. |
See also
- List of roads in Ipoh
- List of Ipoh areas
References
- ↑ Khoo Salma Nasution & Abdur-Razzaq Lubis, Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia's Modern Development, Ipoh: Perak Academy, 2005. pp. 273–292
- ↑ http://www.malaysiahotelreview.com/perak/destination/limestone-hill.shtml
- ↑ Jacq-Hergoualc'h, Michel; Victoria Hobson (September 2002). The Malay Peninsula: Crossroads of the Maritime Silk Road (100 BC - 1300 AD). BRILL. ISBN 90 04 11973 6.
- ↑ http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=52684|accessdate=25 June 2010
- ↑ http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/7/5/north/21746905&sec=North
- ↑ http://temanpetunjuk.blogspot.com/2009/02/analisa-dewan-undangan-negeri-dun-perak.html
- ↑ World Gazetteer statistics
- ↑ Helders, Stefan. "Malaysia: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=gamelan&dat=32&geo=-152&srt=pnan&col=ohdq&pt=c&va=x. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
- ↑ Ipoh City Hall portal. http://portal.mbi.gov.my/gis_baru/penduduk.html
- ↑ Ipoh City Hall FAQ. http://www.mbi.gov.my/portal2/government/faq/faq.htm
- ↑ Caves and Limestone Hills of Malaysia. http://www.cavesofmalaysia.com
- ↑ http://www.cockatoo.com/malaysia/e-06pera/em-per27.htm
- ↑ http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/35112-firefly-suspends-singapore-malacca-route-
- ↑ Sister City Exchange
- ↑ Sister Cities
External links
- Ipoh travel guide from Wikitravel
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