Ipoh

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Ipoh
Official seal of Ipoh
Seal
Nickname: 
'City of Millionaires' or 'Bougainvillea City'
CountryMalaysia
StatePerak
EstablishmentAround 1880
Government
 • MayorMohamad Rafiai Moktar
Area
 • Total643 km2 (248.268 sq mi)
Elevation
21.95 m (72 ft)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total710,798
 • Density1,002.80/km2 (2,597.20/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)Not observed
Websitehttp://www.mbi.gov.my

04°60′N 101°07′E / 5.000°N 101.117°E / 5.000; 101.117 Coordinates: latitude minutes >= 60
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid latitude Ipoh (IPA: 'ɪpɒ)(latitude 4.60°N, longitude 101.07°E) is a city in Malaysia and is the capital of the state of Perak. It is approximately 200 km (125 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Highway.

Today, "Ipoh" usually refers to the territory under administration of Ipoh City Council or Dewan Bandaraya Ipoh, which includes the smaller towns adjacent to the city such as Chemor, Jelapang, Falim, Menglembu and Tanjung Rambutan. Historically, "Ipoh" referred to the Old Town and New Town divided by the Kinta River at its heart, from which the city grew. The current Mayor of Ipoh is Mohamad Rafiai Moktar.

History and background

Name

The name Ipoh originated from a local tree, pohon epu or now more commonly known as pokok ipoh. This particular plant is used for the extraction of poisonous tree sap. The extract is used by the Orang Asli (indigenous people) in their blowdarts.

Ipoh is also known as san seng which means "hill city" in the Cantonese dialect. Ipoh is also known among local Chinese as "Pa-loh" (from historic but now seldom used term 壩羅) -referring to the gigantic mining pump used for early tin ore extraction. Among old nicknames for Ipoh are "City of Millionaires" and "the Town that Tin built"; referring to the vast fortunes made during the boom of the tin mining and rubber industries.

History

Ipoh city came into existence in the 1890s as a village on the banks of the Kinta River. It was less prominent at that time as compared to the early mining town of Gopeng, 20 km south of Ipoh.

However, from the turn of the 20th century when more British tin-mining companies were set up in the city, Ipoh gained prominence. Influential institutions such as The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China Ltd 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 such as Botly and Co., A.H Whittaker & Co., Chartered Accounts, Evatt & Co., and Estate Visiting Agents Milne & Stevens started to set up offices in the booming town.

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 Kinta River to Greentown.

In the 1950s, Ipoh was characterised by the proliferation of large numbers of cinema halls, amusement parks, cabarets and night life which was unrivalled in peninsular [citation needed]. Two of the largest entertainment groups then Cathay Organisation and Shaw Brothers Company had set up chains of cinemas. Ipoh was also one of the four original towns served by Malayan Airways - the other 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 had stagnated and resulted in the migration of many young talents 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 (see below). The city is expanding all the time as there are new developments in the suburbs.

Aerial view of the Ipoh City

Additional notes

Ipoh has one of the cleanest and clearest water supplies in Malaysia, as the source is from the waterfalls in nearby Tanjung Rambutan. The Hospital Bahagia, a well-known mental health hospital in Malaysia, is located in Tanjung Rambutan.

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 Opposition Leader, Lim Kit Siang while the seat for Ipoh Barat is held by fellow DAP leader, M. Kulasegaran.

Chronology of Ipoh

The view of Ipoh City skyline
Ipoh's Chronology [1]
Date Name City Area (km²)
Circa 1880 Ipoh (Establishment)
Mac 1893 Ipoh Sanitary Board
1897 Kinta Sanitary Board
1905 Kinta Sanitary North Board
1916 Kinta District Board
1946 Kinta Town Board
1954 Ipoh & Menglembu Town Council
1957 Ipoh Town Council
31 May 1962 Majlis Perbandaran Ipoh 83
27 May 1988 Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh 138
1997 Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (Greater Ipoh Restructuring) 387
2005 Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (Border Redrawn) 643

City layout

Hills around Ipoh
Jalan Sultan Iskandar Shah (Hugh Low Street), stretches from the New Town into Old Town; traffic on this road only goes one way into the Old Town.

The following towns, suburbs, and neighborhoods comprise the area formally (and collectively) known as the Ipoh City. (Source: Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh [2])

  • Ampang
  • Bercham
  • Buntong
  • Chemor
  • Cyber City
  • Falim
  • Gugusan Manjoi
  • Gunung Rapat
  • Ipoh Garden
  • Jelapang
  • Kelebang
  • Lahat
  • Meru
  • Menglembu
  • Pasir Puteh
  • Pekan Baru
  • Pekan Lama (Old Town)
  • Pengkalan
  • Simpang Pulai
  • Station 18 (
  • Sunway City
  • Tambun
  • Taman Cempaka
  • Tanjung Rambutan
  • Tasek

Population

Scene from Ipoh Old Town

Ipoh still remains one of Malaysia's largest cities, even though its former status as the second largest city in Malaysia had been surpassed by Penang and Johor Bahru. Population statistics are as follows:

  • Population = 710 '798 (2007)
  • Urban area population = 1 '022 '240 (2007) [3]
  • Ranking: Fifth most populous urban centre in Malaysia.
Ethnic groups in Ipoh, 2004 census [4] [5]
Ethnicity Population Percentage
Chinese 451,361 70.0%
Malay 109,616 17.0%
Indian 80,600 12.5%
Others 3225 0.5%

People

The majority of the residents in Ipoh (approx. 70%) are of Chinese descent. The remaining 30% comprise of Malays, Indians and people of other races (refer table above). Although Cantonese is widely spoken, the early settlers were mostly Hakka who came to mine the rich tin deposits. They worked mostly on "Palong" machines (Chinese for unrivalled dragon sprout) while the hardy Hakka women used the back-breaking "dulang" (panning) method for tin mining.

Prominent people from Ipoh

Ipoh has its share of prominent people who are known regionally or internationally, especially in business and entertainment:

Cuisine

Main article: Ipoh cuisine

Ipoh is famous for its cuisine. Natives claim that Ipoh's water, which is relatively hard (high alkali content) owing to Ipoh's location on top of a large karstic formation, makes the food especially tasty.

Ipoh is particularly famous for food items such as "Sar Hor Fun" (Chinese 沙河粉)(a flat white rice noodle, best served in soup with shredded chicken meat and prawns), a variant popular to Ipoh is "Hor Hee", served with fish cakes; "Nga Choi Kai" (chicken fillet and beansprouts, enjoyed by many visitors to Ipoh); "Hakka Mee" (Traditional Chinese 客家麵/Simplified Chinese 客家面) and "Heong Peng" (In Cantonese, Traditional Chinese 香餅/Simplified Chinese 香饼). Most Ipohgites will invite you to their favourite past time of dim sum (In Cantonese, Traditional Chinese 點心/Simplified Chinese 点心) meaning small Chinese dumplings and delicacies; downed with generous servings of Chinese tea.

Ipoh is also famous for Malay cuisine, such as satay (meat on a skewer which resembles kebabs, served with peanut sauce), and also tempoyak (preserved durian extract commonly eaten with chillies).

The town is also famous for "Ipoh white coffee" which is associated with the Old Town. It is a roast of coffee prepared using a unique method that combines elements of modern approaches with traditional Malaysian brewing practices. Ipoh Old Town's cuisine had today become a reference for the Malaysian fast food coffeshop chain "Old Town Kopitiam".

Refer Ipoh cuisine for more information on the various food and drink Ipoh is famous for.

Places of interest

The Old Town and New Town of Ipoh are two different parts of Ipoh separated by the Kinta River. Most olden-day pre-World War II shophouses, heritage buildings, and some Government buildings are located in the Old Town while the New Town comprises the area originally developed by Yau Tet Shin, stretching all the way from Kinta River to Greentown. It has newer shops, buildings, shopping malls and housing estates.

D. R. Seenivasagam Park (Coronation Park), located in the heart of Ipoh (New Town), is known for its scenic beauty and recreational facilities. It boasts several recreational fields, an artificial lake filled with various types of fishes, a nursery for potted plants and a children's traffic playground. There are also beautiful arches, modular framework, shelters, pedestrian paths and the Ipoh tree which gave the city its name. The latest addition is the newly landscaped Japanese Garden featuring a typical Japanese Carp pond. The fresh atmosphere and variety of flora are also part of the main attractions of this park.

Famous attractions around Ipoh include Kellie's Castle (or Callie's Castle), which is the unfinished, abandoned mansion of an eccentric British planter, near Batu Gajah, half an hour's drive from Ipoh city centre. Its main appeal lies in the belief that it is haunted and that secret passages leading to hidden chambers exist.

A 15-minute drive from Ipoh towards Tanjung Rambutan brings you to the foot of a limestone hill where a rejuvenating experience awaits you - an invigorating hot bath from a natural spring, the Tambun hot springs.

Ulu Chepor is one of the intriguing recreational place for family and friends. It is among the finest place to relax and set back for anyone who enjoys picnicking and camping in the most remote yet nature friendly place. Ulu Chepor is a waterfall camping area located 10 km from Ipoh city claimed to be among the best in Ipoh other than Lubuk Timah in Simpang Pulai, and one in FALIM.

Another attraction is the Gunung Lang Recreational Park which is 5 km from Ipoh city center. It has been operated by the MBI with collaboration of Minitry of Tourism Malaysia since 1999.This park is completed with 3 man-made lakes which was originally a tin mine and filled in with tropical fish. It is a RM8.4 million project.

St. Michael's Institution (SMI) along Clayton Road (now known as Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam) is an architectural masterpiece. During the Japanese occupution in World War II, the school building had became the Japanese administration headquarters in Ipoh. St. Michael's Institution is a La Sallian school, opened in 1912 by Father J.B. Coppin. Aside from this school, the Ipoh Train station which has elements of Moorish and Gothic architecture is another famous landmark of this former tin-mining city. SMI and the Railway Station are located in the Old Town of Ipoh. Many olden-day shophouses along Leech Street (in Chinese: 烈治街; now known as Jalan Bandar Timah) in the Old Town still maintain their architectural significance, besides being a popular tourist spot for food and drinks (refer Cuisine).

The New Town houses the Perak Medical University and Ipoh City Council building, among others.

For more information about the New Town and its places of interest refer below.

Limestone caves

The Gua Tempurung Limestone Caves

Ipoh has many limestone caves due to the karstic formation around it. The Sam Po Tong (Cavern of Three Precious; Chinese : 三宝洞) temple, is a Chinese temple built within a limestone cave. A pond outside houses many tortoises. Its sister temple, Perak Tong (Perak Cave; Chinese : 霹雳洞), has a steep, tall staircase in the interior of the cave rising up to the top of its hill where one is greeted by a panoramic view of Ipoh and its surroundings. The statue of Buddha in Perak Tong was the tallest and largest of its kind in Malaysia when it was first commissioned. Both these cavern temples have decent vegetarian food.

Another sight worth seeing is the Kek Lok Tong (Cavern of Utmost Happiness; 极乐洞), which is a cave temple that lies on the other side of the same range of limestone hills as Sam Poh Tong. It is accessible through the Gunung Rapat housing area. It has a cleaner, quieter and more cooling environment and has the best scenic cave view.

Limestone hills extend 20 km north of Ipoh and also 20 km to the south. There are many caves in these hills [6]. Gua Tempurung, near Gopeng south of Ipoh, is a show cave open to the public.

Unfortunately many of the limestone hills are being quarried in the ever increasing demand for crushed stone and cement. Some of the hills under threat contain endemic fauna and flora. One cave, Gua Puncak contains Peninsular Malaysia's second largest cave chamber and is in danger of being quarried. However, the Malaysian Karst Society has been set up to try and save these hills [citation needed].

Infrastructure

Healthcare

Public

The Ipoh Hospital (Hospital Besar Ipoh), which is one of the government-owned hospitals in Perak, is located near the Fair Park and Greentown area. A short distance from there lies the new Ipoh health clinic (also government-owned).

Private

Besides government hospitals, there are also private medical centers located around Ipoh.

Several of them are located in and around the Ipoh New Town:

  • Ipoh Specialist Hospital (怡保专科医院)
    • formerly Ipoh Specialist Centre
  • Kinta Medical Center (近打医药中心)
  • Perak Community Specialist Hospital (霹雳华人接生医院)
    • formerly Perak Chinese Maternity Hospital, situated on Kampar Road

Another two are located near the suburb of Ipoh Garden (South):

  • Hospital Fatimah
  • Pantai Puteri Hospital (班台公主专科医院)

Schools (primary and secondary education)

There are several schools with decades of established history in Ipoh. These include :

  • Anderson School Ipoh
  • Anglo-Chinese School Ipoh
  • Ave Maria Convent (圣母玛利亚国民型中学)
  • Ipoh International School
  • Methodist Girls School Ipoh
  • SMJK Perempuan Perak (Perak Girl School 霹雳女子中学)
  • Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ipoh
  • Sekolah Izzudin Shah
  • Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato' Panglima Kinta
  • Sekolah Kebangsaan Manjoi 1 & 2
  • Sekolah Menengah Agama Rakyat (SMARI)
  • Sekolah Menengah Doktor Megat Khas Ipoh
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Convent, Ipoh (Main Convent)
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunung Rapat
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jalan Pasir Puteh
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jelapang Jaya Ipoh
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan kg. Dato' Ahmad Said Ipoh
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan kg. Pasir Puteh
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Menglembu
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Rapat Setia (6J)
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Raja Chulan (SRC)
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Raja Perempuan Ipoh (RPS)
  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Wira Jaya
  • Sekolah Menengah Poi Lam (SUWA) (培南独立中学)
  • Sekolah Menengah Seri Intan
  • Sekolah Menengah Seri Putera
  • Sekolah Menengah Sri Ampang
  • Sekolah Menengah Teknik Ipoh Persiaran Brash
  • Sekolah Raja Perempuan Taayah
  • [[[Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman]]] Ipoh
  • SM Raja Chulan Ipoh
  • SMJK Sam Tet Secondary School (三德国民型中学)
  • SRJK(C) Sam Tet Primary School (三德国民型小學)
  • SMJK Poi Lam (培南国民型中学)
  • SJK (C) Poi Lam (培南国民型小学)
  • SMJK Yuk Choy (育才国民型中学)
  • SRJK(C) Yuk Choy (育才国民型小学)
  • SRK La Salle Ipoh
  • St Michael's Institution
  • Tarcisian Convent
  • Yuk Choy (SUWA) Independent High School（育才独立中学）
  • SJK(T) St.Philomena Convent

Higher Education Institutions

  • Institut Kompas Accountancy and Business College
  • Kolej WIT
  • Linton College
  • Olympia College
  • Polytechnic Ungku Omar
  • Sunway College Ipoh
  • Kolej Poly-Tech MARA

Sports

There are a few sporting venues in Ipoh. A portion of land located in the area called Kampong Simee has been selected by the City Council for the Sport Center. The main sports stadium for football (soccer) and other track and field events is the Perak Stadium. There is an indoor sports stadium beside it, the Indera Mulia Stadium, playing host to events such as badminton. Ipoh also home for Perak FA .

A nearby swimming pool complex, run by the city council, is also open to the public at relatively fair rates (RM1 on weekdays/RM2 on weekends and public holidays). The complex has an Olympic-size pool, a diving pool, a wave pool, a smaller pool and a children's wading pool.

Ipoh is also home to Malaysia's first velodrome, called Velodrom Rakyat or The People's Velodrome. This first Velodrome in the Country was built by the initiative of Dato' Darshan Singh Gill (now Tan Sri Dato' Seri) who led a public donation drive throughout the country and collected RM3.25 million. In addition, Ipoh also boasts as one of the first few city in the country that has an astroturf stadium for hockey, called Azlan Shah Stadium.

For golf, the available courses in Ipoh are the Royal Perak Golf Club (off Tiger Lane or Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah). Meru Golf Club is situated in Jelapang. Another course is en route to Batu Gajah, which is the Clearwater Sanctuary golf club.

Other sports venues include the Kilat Club in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh Field (Padang Ipoh) in the Old Town, the Polo Grounds, and a polo field at Iskandar Polo Club, in Ampang Baru.

Transportation

  • Trunk roads: The old interstate Route 1 connects Ipoh with neighboring towns and other states (such as the town of Gopeng, and city of Kuala Lumpur down south).
  • Highway: The new North-South Expressway is a faster and more efficient alternative to Route 1. However, certain towns like Kampar can only be accessible via Route 1. Drivers using the North-South highway can exit into Ipoh from any of these 4 exits - Simpang Pulai, South Ipoh (Ipoh(S) ) or North Ipoh (Ipoh(U) ) & Jelapang.
  • Railway: Ipoh's railway station is operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and is situated in the Old Town (however, it does not have intra-city travel like in Kuala Lumpur). The railway only connects Ipoh with neighbouring towns and cities.
  • Bus: The inter-city bus terminal is located at Silveritage Galleria along Gopeng Road nearby Gunung Rapat, south of Ipoh (formerly situated in Medan Kidd, Old Town).
    • Note: The location of this bus terminal is controversial as many people claim it is not in a central location. Furthermore, operators of businesses previously located near the railway station refused to move here. Plans are afoot to move the bus station to Meru, located in the north of Ipoh but sadly, also not at a central location.
  • Air: For air travel, the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport is the only airport in Ipoh. It is situated near Gunung Rapat. However, only domestic flights (and limited international ones) are available at this airport.
    • As of May 2006 (for Malaysia Airlines) and September 2006 (for AirAsia), flights ceased landing in Ipoh. Reasons include being an unprofitable route and too short a runway (in AirAsia's case).
    • Other international flights are only available at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (in the Klang Valley, approx. 200km south), which is accessible via the above mentioned land routes and express bus (cost approximating RM50 per way).
    • There was a plan to turn the Sultan Azlan Shah airport to a northern low-cost carrier hub by the state government and AirAsia (a low-cost carrier) but with the cessation of AirAsia's flights recently, it remains to be seen whether the plan will be implemented. Currently, the Ipoh airport is used solely and exclusively by Indonesian airlines servicing the Medan-Ipoh route.

Ipoh's development

Various development activities has been mooted and revived in the city recently, including the revitalisation of projects halted during the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

Modern entertainment and recreation

The Greentown area near the Ipoh City Council Building is fast becoming an entertainment hotspot. The coming online of Greentown Business Center is giving new life to the city centre. The general activities in the new development consists mostly of restaurants, food outlets, and cafés.

Medan Ipoh (formerly known as Metro Ipoh Baru) is a favourite for many younger people. The residents of the city have dubbed the area as Ipoh's very own 'Bangsar' (akin to the hip Bangsar area in Kuala Lumpur). It is located adjacent to Ipoh Garden East. The place is famous for its cluster of nightspots, cafés, coffee shops (serving local food), entertainment outlets, F&B (food and beverage) joints, and more recently cybercafés.

The recently opened Lost World of Tambun is expected to gain a certain following as Ipoh's own "Sunway City" (mirroring the actual "Sunway City" which is located about 15 km west of Kuala Lumpur). Within the "Lost World of Tambun" is the upgraded and revived natural hot spring, which was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s.

Sadly, the vibrance of the city center has gone as the years goes by. An effort has been made by the city council to re-establish the night market centrally, at Dato' Tahwil Azar Road, known as "Night Lane". It is a typical Malaysian night market, albeit bigger and with longer operating hours.

The Lost World of Tambun Water theme park

Shopping

There are some shopping destinations in Ipoh, such as:

  • Jaya Jusco Kinta City (a popular shopping place for locals)
  • Ipoh Parade Shopping Mall (in Greentown district)
  • Greentown Mall (also in Greentown district)
  • Tesco Hypermarket (adjacent to Kinta City)
  • Tesco Fresh & Distribution Centre, Simpang Pulai
  • Tesco Extra, Taman Tasek Indra
  • Giant Superstore, Sunway City
  • Billion & The Store Supermarkets (around Ipoh district)
  • Ipoh Tower Mall (completion 2008)
  • Glamour Square Shopping Centre, Bercham (under construction)
  • Festival Walk, Perak Tourism Hub (under construction)
  • Tesco Hypermarket Pengkalan @ Station 18 (under planning)
  • Mydin Stores Buntong,Manjoi & Meru Raya (under planning)

Arts, entertainment, and culture

Ipoh was regarded by some filmmakers as a good location for shooting due to its beautiful scenery. Movies filmed in Ipoh include:

Sister cities

Ipoh has a couple of sister cities, which are [citation needed]:

External links

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