ROYAL AND PRESTIGIOUS TOWN

Sunday March 16, 2008, Royal and prestigious town, Text by FARIDAH BEGUM

Kuala Kangsar, the pride and joy of Perak, beckons with its graceful charm.

Malay College

One of the premier schools in Malaysia, it is known as Eton of the East and was founded by four Sultans from the Federated Malay States to spearhead a future for the Malays on Jan 2, 1905. The founders were Sultan Idris Murshidul ‘Adzam Shah I of Perak, Sultan Alaiddin Sulaiman Shah of Selangor, Sultan Ahmad Mu’adzam Shah of Pahang and the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhammad Shah.

Ubudiah Mosque

This beautiful mosque was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback, a government architect who was also notably credited for his design of the Ipoh Railway Station and the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. Construction began in 1910 but the mosque was only completed in 1919 as it was abandoned during World War I and also delayed when the crown prince’s elephant walked over and cracked the imported Italian marble floor.

Istana Iskandariah

Completed in 1933, this palace is the official residence of the Sultan of Perak. It is named after Sultan Iskandar Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Idris Rahmatullah Shah (1918-1938), who initiated its construction. It is based on West Asia architecture, famous for its pointed arches and onion-shaped domes. Rectangular in shape, the palace faces the sunrise and the river.

Perak Hydro Building

The Perak River Hydro-Electric Power Company was formed in London in 1926 to supply power to the mines and dredges in the Kinta Valley as well as for domestic use. Four years later, they undertook the construction of the hydroelectric dam in Chenderoh on the Perak River near here. By 1956, the company supplied power to about 60 towns in Perak and was already for years the largest power supplier in then Malaya. This building, which is now occupied by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, was the company’s headquarters since the 1930s.

Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge

This bridge spans over the serene and beautiful Perak River and connects the town of Kuala Kangsar to Sayong, where the Perak craftsmen are mainly found. It is also said to have cut the travel time to Kuala Kangsar as ferries were mainly the mode of transport to Kuala Kangsar at one time.

Perak River

This is the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia after the Pahang River in Pahang. The source of Sungei Perak is in the mountainous Perak-Kelantan-Thailand border of the Belum Forest Reserve. Take a ferry ride across the Perak River or try the river cruises that are organised here for a trek in nature.

Labu Sayong

This is a traditional symbol of Perak. Labu Sayong are water gourds made from semi-porous blackened burnt clay. It is a traditional earthenware pitcher used to store drinking water cool and there are claims that water stored in these containers cure certain ailments. Put it on your shopping list when you come to Kuala Kangsar.

Majlis Perbandaran Kuala Kangsar

This building is of significance because the first rubber tree that was planted in the then Malaya is within the grounds of this local council area. The tree was planted by English botanist Henry Nicholas Ridley, or better known in our history books as H.N. Ridley.

Perak Royal Museum

Also known as Istana Kenangan, this historical building was made sans nails. It was planned and built in 1926 after the great floods that year, and completed in 1931. The walls are made of woven sliced bamboo and in diamond motif called kelarai. It was the temporary official palace of the Perak Sultan until 1938 when the Istana Iskandariah was completed.

Food

The must-haves in Kuala Kangsar are the Cendol Kuala Kangsar, known in the local dialect as “cendoi” and of course the Laksa Kuala Kangsar, which uses fresh rice vermicelli and not those that have been dried and packed. The star of the town is the Ikan Patin Masak Tempoyak, a dish of freshwater fish cooked in coconut cream with fermented durian.