Lunas, Kedah

Coordinates: 5°26′N 100°32′E / 5.433°N 100.533°E Lunas is a sub-district of Kulim, located 45 minutes from Penang. It lies between Penang and Kulim.[1] Lunas also serves as the state assembly district and also the Parliament Constituency of Padang Serai, Kedah.

Development history

The town with all its old shophouses was pretty much founded and developed in the 1900s' when British army colonized Malaya at that time. During that period many local people including Chinese and Indian migrant work at rubber estates that was formerly owned by British. One of the earliest school was Lunas English School.

Today, there are still many well-preserved gems such as pre-war shophouses, a traditional “wooden bungalow on stilts” post office and also the colonial-style Soon Cheng Sai mansion.[2] Lunas is considered a town more than 100 years old. In the year 2009, Lunas celebrated its 120th anniversary

Demographics

Lunas is a small multi-racial town. Indians are the largest population in Lunas area and many of them work or owned one or two rubber estates, while most of the Chinese people stay at Lunas Street and work as retailers or live in residential area near to the town. Furthermore, many Malay people live in nearby residential area including in the village and work in farming industries or as retailers.

Lunas is connected by only one main street. The main street almost 90% surrounded by shop lots and some have been converted to residences. Lunas also has two wet markets, one is old wet market located at the main street, while another one is located at Sungai Seluang area.

Schools

Primary School : Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (T) wellesley Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Hwa Min

              : Sekolah Lunas Jaya
              : Sekolah Kebangsaan Jalan Paya Besar

Secondary School : Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lunas

                : Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jalan Paya Besar

Food

Kulim (Lunas) Duck Roaster

Lunas also has its own cuisine which is the famous “living heritage” of Lunas roast duck rice. Beside roast duck rice, there are few hawker stalls that prepare a variety of dishes, including:


Buildings

Lunas has been famous for "Wen Mi" (Call the soul of the deceased to ask for something) and "Fortune Teller".

Lunas also famous with Burmese Buddhist Temple which is next to cemetery land near the town. Every Wesak, many Buddhists, including people from Kuala Lumpur,Penang and Singapore, go to the temple to pray.

Another interesting tourist attraction is the horizontal chimney inside rubber smokehouses located near the Lunas town.

One of the oldest businesses started in Lunas is Chinese traditional medicine. The pioneer of this traditional medical therapy is Thong Choon Tong, which has inherited over 3 generations in the family (over 100 years). The shop is situated in front of the old wet market.

Lunas is currently expanding due to the Kulim Hi-Tech Park. Multinational companies located in Kulim Hi-Tech Park include Intel, Celestica, Fuji Electric, Infineon and First Solar.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lunas and the rubber connection The Star Online, 7 August 2006
  2. ↑ A place for history The Star Online, 3 December 2006