Metro

Thursday June 4, 2009

Bright future for Kampar

By FOONG THIM LENG, Photos by LEW YONG KAN and SAIFUL BAHRI


New status: Sultan Azlan Shah declaring the Kampar-Gopeng subdistrict a new district as Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir looks on.

KAMPAR in the Kinta Valley in Perak has been proclaimed a full-fledged district, paving the way for greater development.

The proclamation was made by the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah on May 21 following a Perak State Gazette on April 23 to upgrade the Gopeng-Kampar subdistrict into a district.

Kampar MP Datuk Lee Chee Leong

Kampar MP Datuk Lee Chee Leong sees a faster pace in the growth of the town with the new status.

“We can apply for more federal and state government funds to upgrade infrastructure to attract investments and to improve the quality of life for residents.

”There are about 9,000 students in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman in Bandar Baru Kampar,” he said.

Lee, who is also deputy Foreign Minister, said housing development in the new township had been rapid with over 5,000 houses and shops built in the past ten years and more would be coming up soon.

He said better administration was expected as the state government would be gazetting a 50ha site in Batu Putih near the town centre to be the district’s new administrative hub.

Lee said there were plans to built a new hospital near Batu Putih.

He also sees great potential in tourism development in the district.

”We have tropical fish breeders in Lawan Kuad and Sungai Itek.

”The fish farms there are expected to produce 75 million of fish worth about RM30mil by next year. About 85% of the fish are exported to Singapore and Europe,” he said.

He said the famous Gua Tempurong caves in Gopeng, Sungai Gopeng Recreational Area and the Batu Berangkai waterfalls about 2.5km from Kampar town could be further developed to attract tourists.

Lee said better sales for Kampar’s favourite food items like chicken biscuits, curry chicken bread, claypot chicken rice, choy yuen (a cross between sawi and kailan), prawn noodles, and loh shee fun (rice noodles) could be expected.

Lee said the district would be working towards attaining municipal status.

“We have a population of 93,000 residents and the yearly revenue of Kampar was about RM12 mil last year.

“We need to have a population of 100,000 and a revenue of RM20mil to attain municipal status,” he said.

The new district has an area of 920sq km. Villages under its jurisdiction include Malim Nawar, Mambang Diawan, Jeram, Kopisan, Lawan Kuda and Kota Bharu.

During the proclamation ceremony, former Inspector-General of Police Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar who is a grandchild of Kampar founder Ngah Jabor @Iman Prang Jabor was given the honour to hand over the proclamation deed to Sultan Azlan Shah.

Tribute to town's history: A dance during the proclamation of Kampar as a district commemorates the women dulang washers who used to pan for tin ore in the rivers of Kinta Valley.

According to local historian Chye Kooi Loong, French mining engineers Brot de Saint Paul-Lias and Errington de la Croix visited Perak in 1880 and found that the area could be the richest tin ore field in the world.

Chinese miners from Lahat, Pusing, Gopeng and Batu Gajah then poured in and set up camp along the banks of Sungai Kranji, a tributary of Sungai Kampar.

At the same time, Ngah Jabor, an enterprising Sumatran penghulu, established himself in the area with his followers.

The Chinese miners and the Malay group eventually came together to form a settlement known as Mambang Diawan (Fairies among the Clouds) in 1886.

According to a Malay legend, the fairies among the clouds came down from the mountain and pointed out where tin was located to the early Malay prospectors.

(This Mambang Diawan, named after the mountain that overlooks the village, is located at Jalan Tokong and is not to be mistaken for the Mambang Diawan new village near Kampar which was set up during the Emergency.)

Later, district officer J.B.M. Leech felt that Mambang Diawan was too long a name for the fast growing town and renamed it Kampar after Sungai Kampar.

However, the Chinese tin miners called it ‘Kam Poh’ which means ‘precious as gold’.

Ngah Jabor’s former house can still be seen in Kampung Abdullah, a village named after his eldest son. The house though is in a state of disrepair.

Kampar upgrade: Changes are in store for the Kinta valley town of Kampar now that it has been accorded district status.

The legacy of the early pioneers includes over 20 Chinese clansmen guilds and associations found along Jalan Gopeng, and various temples around town.

Chye remembered that the European and local miners would gather at the three liquor shops in town in the 1950s to celebrate every time the sluices at the mines were cleaned for the tin ore to be collected and sold.

”Kampar was a busy town, especially during the Chinese New Year and festivals.

“A day after the Mooncake Festival, you could see piles of mooncakes being sold at the restaurants in town at a special discount of a dollar each,” he said.

He said the people of Kampar had gone through tough times during the Great Depression in the 1930s and then the Japanese occupation during World War II.

The famous battle of Kampar was fought between the 11th Indian Division and the Japanese 5th Division from December 30, 1941, to January 2, 1942, at the Green Ridge outside Kampar town.

The Emergency and collapse of the tin industry in 1984 were other dark periods.

It took Kampar about 20 years to regain its shine as the hub of education with the setting up of Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman followed by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

A Gopeng resident S. K. Phang, 70, expects more funds for development of the town.

”Gopeng has been attracting tourists to its newly established eco-tourism resorts in Ulu Geroh.

”Lawan Kuda nearby has also become popular as a eating paradise. You can find more than 10 restaurants along the short main road in the village,” he said.

Phang said more visitors could be expected if the town had better roads and more public amenities.

Phang said the latest project which could help revive Gopeng as a busy town was the new township now being developed.

With such rapid development, Phang said, Gopeng and Kampar would soon shed their image as a sleepy hollow in the once tin-rich Kinta Valley.

Sleepy hollow: A row of old shophouses in Kampar.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Star Metro on Facebook Star Metro on Twitter