Perak
(2002 est. pop. 2.1 million). Perak, which in the Malay language means "silver," covers an area of 21,005 square kilometers on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula and has a population of more than 2 million—48 percent Malay, 36 percent Chinese, 14 percent Indian, and 2 percent others. Ipoh, its capital, has become one of the largest cities in Malaysia. Its rich deposit of tin was its major trade until the tin slump of 1983. Perak managed to re-structure its economy to focus on industry, business, and investment.
The origin of the present sultanate can be traced to the Melaka sultanate. The last sultan of Melaka was Sultan Mahmud (d. 1528), who reigned from 1488 to 1511. In 1511, Melaka was captured by the Portuguese. Sultan Mahmud fled to Johor. He was succeeded by his younger son, Alauddin, who became the sultan of Johor. Mahmud's eldest son, Muzaffar Shah, set out for Perak and established his court there. He became the first sultan of Perak in about 1529.
Perak, with its rich tin deposits, had attracted constant threats to its sovereignty, starting with the Acehnese in the sixteenth century. After 1641, the Dutch attempted to establish a monopoly over the tin trade but without great success. In the eighteenth century, threats came from the Bugis in the south and the Siamese in the north.
The growing importance of tin ore on the world market led to an influx of Chinese miners into the tin fields of Larut. In the 1860s and 1870s, factional feuds among the Chinese miners and disputes over succession to the throne led to British intervention under the Pangkor Treaty in 1874. Before the 1870s, the British had a policy of noninvolvement in the affairs of the Malay States, although Britain had extensive trading business there. British intervention settled the dispute among the Chinese miners, and the Pangkor Treaty recognized Abdullah as the sultan of Perak (reigned 1874–1875). A British resident, James Wheeler Woodford Birch, was also appointed to Perak. The role of the resident was to advise the sultan on how to improve the administration of his state. Although the resident was to have no executive powers, his advice was to be sought and followed on all questions other than those touching on Malay religion and custom. It was a system used to exercise British influence over the Malay States. The three general aims were the establishment of law and order, the centralized collection of revenue, and the development of the resources of the states.
However, opposition from the Perak chiefs resulted in the assassination of Birch in 1875. Under Sir Hugh Low from 1877 to 1889, Perak became a model for the development of the British resident system. In 1896, Perak, together with Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Pahang, formed the Federated Malay States. In 1948, the Federated Malay States became part of the Federation of Malaya. The federation gained independence from British colonial rule in 1957. Together with Sabah and Sarawak, the federation formed Malaysia in 1963.
Further Reading
Andaya, Barbara Watson, and Leonard Y. Andaya. (1982) A History of Malaysia. London: Macmillan Press.
Eliot, Joshua, and Jane Bickersteth, eds. (1995) Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore Handbook. Bath, U.K.: Trade and Travel Publications.
Ryan, N. J. (1969) The Making of Modern Malaysia and Singapore: A History from Earliest Times to 1966. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
Winstedt, Richard O. (1982) A History of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Marican & Sons.
——. (1966) Malaya and Its History. London: Hutchinson & Co.
Winstedt, Richard O., and R. J. Wilkinson. (1974) A History of Perak. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
This is the complete article, containing 597 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
