Friends Of STAR

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.

These days Ipoh is perhaps best known for its excellent restaurants, wonderful caves, beautiful temples and famous local dishes.

The name Ipoh derives 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.

Ipoh was formerly known as "Paloh" among local Chinese, referring to the gigantic mining pump used for early tin ore extraction. It was also called "the Town built on Tin" 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" which means "The Hill City" in the Cantonese dialect.

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.

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.

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[citation needed]. 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.

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,[citation needed] as the source is from the waterfalls in nearby Tanjung Rambutan.

On 27th May 1988, Ipoh was conferred city status by the Sultan of Perak, His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah.

Politically, Ipoh has traditionally been a stronghold of the opposition party. From the early days when Ipoh was the bastion of PPP (an opposition party then), the predominantly Chinese voters voted for the famous D. R. Seenivasagam and S. P. Seenivasagam brothers. Today the city is the stronghold of DAP (Democratic Action Party, Malay: Parti Tindakan Demokratik). 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.

Ipoh Old Town is characterised by its colonial architecture. Features of note include:

1. 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 magnificant St Michael's Institution secondary school.
2. 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"
3. Ipoh Town Hall located across the road from the Railway Station also features some interesting gothic architecture.
4. Muzium Darul Ridzuan is an interesting historical museum of Perak, located in a pretty former tin-mining tycoon's mansion on Jalan Kuala Kangsar

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.

Ipoh still remains one of Malaysia's largest cities. Today, Ipoh is the fourth largest city in Malaysia.

1. Population: 702,464 (2009)
2. Urban area population: 1,143,778 (2009)
3. Ranking: sixth most populous urban centre in Malaysia. (2007)

sensagent.com