Ipoh


Ipoh is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Perak. Located by the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town in neighbouring Penang., Ipoh had a population of 657,892, making it the third largest city in Malaysia by population.
Originally a village, Ipoh began to grow rapidly in the 1880s after huge deposits of tin were discovered within its vicinity. By 1895, it was the second largest town within the Federated Malay States, which also consisted of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang. Ipoh was declared a city in 1988. However, following the depletion of its tin deposits and the collapse of tin prices in the 1970s, the city suffered decades of decline and neglect.
In recent years, Ipoh's popularity as a tourist destination has been significantly boosted by efforts to conserve its British colonial-era architecture. The city is also well known for its cuisine and natural attractions, such as its limestone hills and caves within which Buddhist temples were built. In addition, Ipoh has managed to maintain its reputation as one of the cleanest cities in Malaysia.
Ipoh's location between Kuala Lumpur and George Town has made it a major land transportation hub within West Malaysia, with both the Malayan Railway's West Coast Line and the North-South Expressway cutting through the city. Aside from the land transportation links, Ipoh is also served by the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport.
Ipoh is known as the Hipster Capital of Malaysia by various tourism rating and official agencies.

Etymology

The name Ipoh is derived from a local tree, Pohon Epu, now more commonly known as Pokok Ipoh. The sap of this plant is poisonous and was used by Orang Asli to coat the tips of the darts of their blowpipes for hunting.

History

Ipoh grew out from the Malay village of Paloh along the banks of the Kinta River in the 1880s. Its geographic location in the rich tin-bearing valley of the Kinta River made it a natural centre of growth.
The Great Fire of Ipoh in 1892 destroyed over half the town, but also presented an opportunity to rebuild the town in a more orderly grid pattern. Ipoh was subsequently rebuilt in time for the second tin rush and grew rapidly as a result of the booming tin mining industry, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s.
A local Hakka miner, millionaire Yau Tet Shin, started developing a large tract of the town in the early 1930s, today known as the "New Town", from the eastern bank of the Kinta River to Greentown. In 1937, Ipoh was made the capital of Perak, replacing Taiping.
Ipoh was invaded by the Japanese on 15 December 1941. 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 as it does to this day.
The decline of the tin mining industry during the latter half of the 20th century caused the growth of Ipoh to stagnate. With the closure of the tin mines, its urban population was forced to seek employment in other cities within Malaysia. In spite of this, Ipoh remains one of the largest cities in Malaysia in terms of population, with tourism now a main driver of the city's economy.
Ipoh gained Municipal status in 1962, and in 1988 it was declared a city by the then Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.

Geography

Topography

Ipoh is in the state of Perak, which is in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The city is in the middle of the Kinta Valley, on the bank of the Kinta River and the confluence of the smaller rivers Sungai Pinji and Sungai Pari. The city is surrounded by limestone hills, which can be found around suburban areas to the northeast, east and southeast.
The Kledang mountain range stretches from the north to the west of the city. This range runs parallel to the Bintang mountain range with the Perak River running on its left bank and the Kinta River to its right. This range is interrupted to the north of Ipoh by a tributary of the Perak River called the Pelus River, which is sourced from the Titiwangsa mountain range, which runs to the east of Ipoh.

Climate

Ipoh has a tropical rainforest climate. Ipoh is more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone than the trade winds and very rarely has cyclones, therefore it can be described as having an equatorial climate. The city's temperature shows little variation throughout the year, the average temperature being. Ipoh sees high precipitation throughout the year with an average of of rain each month and averaging of rain per year. The wettest month is October when on average of rain falls. Ipoh's driest month is January which has of rainfall on average.

Limestone caves

Limestone outcrops rise on the outskirts of Ipoh. There are many caves in these outcrops, some of which have cave temples built in them. The Sam Poh Tong Temple is a notable example, along with Kek Lok Tong, which lies on the other side of the same outcrop. It is accessible through the Gunung Rapat housing area. Other cave temples in Ipoh include Ling Sen Tong, Nan Tian Tong, Kwan Yin Tong and Perak Tong.
Gua Tempurung, near Gopeng, south of Ipoh, is a show cave open to the public and popular among spelunkers. More than long, it is one of the longest caves in Peninsular Malaysia. Part of it has been developed with electric lighting and walkways, and there are tours of varying lengths and difficulty. A river passage runs about through the hill. There are five large chambers, and stalactites and stalagmites.

Economy

In its early history, Ipoh as a settlement was built around its mining industry, although inferior to that of Gopeng, some to the south. Ipoh was once one of the richest cities in Malaysia and South East Asia in the days when tin was its major product. During the 1980s, when tin prices collapsed, the economy of Ipoh was affected significantly. However, recently the city has experienced economic growth. The city of Ipoh also hosts some large multinational corporations. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad, a palm oil company among the top 15 biggest companies in Malaysia by revenue, has its headquarters in Ipoh. Batu Kawan Berhad, an investment company which is the biggest shareholder in Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad, also has its headquarters in Malaysia. Ipoh houses the headquarters of Hovid Berhad, a pharmaceutical company which claims to be the first Malaysian company to introduce Malaysian generic drugs overseas. Old Town Berhad, which is a food and beverage public listed company specializing in white coffee, has its headquarters in Ipoh. There are other public listed companies in Ipoh such as Perak Transit Berhad, Tasek Cement Berhad, DKLS Industries Berhad, Wellcall Holding Berhad, Rubberex Berhad, and Perak Corp. Ipoh also hosts the Malaysian headquarters for some foreign multinational companies, including Finisar, Voith, ITL Asia Pacific and Sagami Manufacturers.

Governance

The Ipoh City Council governs the city. Datuk Rumaizi Baharin, appointed in April 2020, is the current mayor of Ipoh.
Ipoh is divided into two parliamentary constituencies: Ipoh Barat and Ipoh Timur. The parliamentary seat for Ipoh Timur is held by Democratic Action Party Representative Su Keong Siong. It was formerly held by Lim Kit Siang. The seat for Ipoh Barat is held by fellow DAP leader M. Kulasegaran.

Demographics

Ipoh remains one of Malaysia's largest cities. It is the third largest city in Malaysia. As of 2010, the municipal area of Ipoh has a population of 657,892. It ranks as the seventh most populous urban centre in Malaysia.
The following is based on Department of Statistics Malaysia 2010 census.

Cityscape

The Old Town

The Old Town lies to the west of the Kinta River. It has a commercial district with many historical "shop-houses" centred around Leech Street. Other notable features include:
The so-called New Town, to the east of the Kinta River, was developed by Yau Tet Shin around 1908. The New Town houses the Perak Medical University and Ipoh City Hall building. There are numerous shops, shopping malls, and hotels.
D. R. Seenivasagam Park, located in the heart of Ipoh's New Town, is known for its scenery and recreational facilities. It comprises recreational fields, an artificial lake filled with fish, a nursery for potted plants and a children's traffic playground. The latest addition is the newly landscaped Japanese garden featuring a Japanese carp pond.

Culture

Cuisine

Ipoh has a significant food scene with many hawker centres and restaurants. It has dishes derived from Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine. Ipoh is well known Sar Hor Fun, a complete one-dish rice noodle meal with prawn, meat, fish, vegetables and a savoury sauce. Other well-known dishes from Ipoh include Hor Hee, flat white rice noodles served with fish cakes and/or fish balls; Nga Choi Kai, chicken with soy sauce and beansprouts topped with pepper; Kai Shi Hor Fun, rice noodles with chicken; Hakka Mee, yellow rice noodles served with mincemeat sauce; Tau Fu Fa, soybean pudding; and Ipoh's well-known pastry Heong Peng, literally translated to "fragrant biscuit". The city is known in Malaysia for its Ipoh white coffee, in which the coffee beans are roasted with palm-oil margarine and the resulting coffee is served with condensed milk. Ipoh is also known for its fresh fruits such as pomelo, durian and seedless guava. Ipoh is the home of Ipoh nasi kandar or Nasi Vanggey.
In recent years, Ipoh has seen an increase in international restaurants, bars and gastropubs which have become popular with locals and tourists.

Film and television

Movies filmed in Ipoh include:
There are several theme parks in Ipoh, including the Sunway Lost World of Tambun and Movies Animated Park Studios temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transport

This is a list of schools in Ipoh, Perak.
Ipoh has a sports complex known as Kompleks Sukan MBI or MBI Sports Complex. Among the facilities located within the complex is the Perak Stadium, the home of Perak Football Association who play in the Malaysia Super League.
Golf courses in Ipoh include the Royal Perak Golf Club off Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, the Meru Golf Club in Jelapang, and Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Club en route to Batu Gajah.
Other sports venues include the Kilat Club in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh Field in the Old Town, the Polo Grounds, and the Iskandar Polo Club in Ampang Baru.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual international men's field hockey tournament held in Ipoh.

Notable people

Film and television
Music
Sports
Sports
Sports
Business
Politics
Other

Nationwide daily newspapers

Malay
Chinese
Tamil
Ipoh free-to-air stations include:
Television stationChannel NetworkBroadcast areaBroadcast hour
TV1 HD101RTMNational24/7
TV2 HD102RTMNational24/7
TV3 HD103Media PrimaNational24/7
CJ WOW Shop Malay104Media PrimaNational24/7
CJ WOW Shop Chinese106Media PrimaNational24/7
NTV7107Media PrimaNational06:00-02:00 MST
8TV108Media PrimaNational06:00-02:00 MST
TV9109Media PrimaNational24/7
TV Okey HD110RTMNational24/7
RTM HD Sports111RTMNational24/7
TV Alhijrah114Alhijrah MediaNational24/7
Astro GO Shop Malay HD120AstroNational24/7
Bernama News Channel121BernamaNational24/7
RTM BES HD123RTMNational24/7

Astro Ipoh

Malaysian satellite television provider Astro provides the following channels in Ipoh:
The available FM radio stations in Ipoh, both public and commercial, are as listed below.
FrequencyStationOperatorLanguage
87.6 FMOne FMMedia PrimaChinese
87.9 FMFly FMMedia PrimaEnglish, Malay
88.3 FMRadio Klasik FMRTMMalay
88.5 FMNasional FMRTMMalay
90.1 FMTraXX FMRTMEnglish
90.9 FMNasional FMRTMMalay
92.1 FMAi FMRTMChinese
92.7 FMHitzAstro RadioEnglish
94.3 FMMixAstro RadioEnglish
95.6 FMPerak FMRTMMalay
96.0 FMSuria FMStar RfmMalay
96.9 FMSinarAstro RadioMalay
97.9 FMRaagaAstro RadioTamil
98.5 FMMelodyAstro RadioChinese
98.8 FM988 FMStar RfmChinese
98.9 FMMinnal FMRTMTamil
100.6 FMMyAstro RadioChinese
101.5 FMLiteAstro RadioEnglish
103.7 FMEraAstro RadioMalay
104.5 FMHot FMMedia PrimaMalay
106.4 FMZayanAstro RadioMalay

Sister cities

Ipoh currently has two sister cities: