Kuala Kangsar is a well preserved old Royal Town where the serenity and the well-maintained old palaces stand majestically along the river banks of the Perak River remain until today.
The Sultan of Perak officially resides in Kuala Kangsar, and it has been Perak’s royal seat since the 18th century. It is one of four towns that play a role in Perak’s complex succession system. It was the administrative seat of the first British Resident in the Malay Peninsula, James W.W. Birch, from October 1874 until he was murdered on November 2, 1875.
Unlike many rulers who protected their royal places and strongholds by selecting their vantage points carefully where they could detect the enemy approach from afar, the Sultan had his first royal palace built beside the riverbank. He then named it ‘Istana Sri Sayong’. Apart from being exposed to the impending threat of invasion, the other problem was the force of the monsoon seasons, which led to numerous floodings as water gushed down from the jungles above through the many tributaries. The name Kuala Kangsar is believed to be derived from ‘Kuala Karong-Sa’, which means ‘99 small tributaries flowing into the Perak River’
One flooding was so severe; it almost swept the palace away. Finally, after the Big Flood or Air Bah in 1926, it was decided to move the palace further up onto the knoll which is where the current Royal Palace stands and named Istana Iskandariah with its Art-Deco architecture, a rare but significant piece of architectural milestone in Malaysia.
The town is also the site of the first rubber tree planted in Malaysia.
The person responsible was the English botanist Henry Nicholas Ridley. |
Places of interests:
- Ubudiah Mosque
- Istana Iskandariah (The Royal Palace)
- Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah
- Istana Kenangan (Old Palace,
now the Perak Royal Museum)
- Victoria Bridge (since 1900)
- Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge
- River side walk next to the Sayong Bridge
- Sayong, a village across the bank is
now most famous for its ‘labu - air’
earthenware containers
- The first & oldest rubber tree planted in
the country (near the Police Headquarters)
- Handicraft Development Centre, Enggor
- Mariwasa Craft Centre
- The Clock Tower
- Kolam Air Panas (Hot Springs)
Ara Panjang, Manong
- The morning wet market
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He helped Malaya and eventually Malaysia become the largest rubber producer in the world. The tree still stands today.
Kuala Kangsar today is a growing community with its core and the historical parts of town still sit quietly on the high grounds by the bend of the river. A familiar structure of a royal town, the royal palace is usually the centre of the town where subjects would later build their homes around, close to the palace. Many of the subjects that served the courts and the Sultan would have had to be nearby in the event of emergencies.
To know more about Kuala Kangsar,
please contact
MAJLIS PERBANDARAN KUALA KANGSAR
Pejabat Majlis Perbandaran Kuala Kangsar
Jalan Raja Chulan
33000 Kuala Kangsar
Perak Darul Ridzuan
Telefon: 05-776 3199 | 05-776 8199
Fax: 05-7761004
Website: http://www.mpkkpk.gov.my
E-mail: pentadbiran@mpkkpk.gov.my
alternatively, log on to www.peraktourism.com |
