Hulu Perak District | |
---|---|
District of Malaysia | |
Country | Malaysia |
State | Perak Darul Ridzuan |
Seat | Gerik |
Government | |
• District officer | n/a |
Area | |
• Total | 6,563 km2 (2,534 sq mi) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 44,056 |
• Density | 6.7/km2 (17/sq mi) |
The Hulu Perak District is one of twelve administrative districts located in the north-east corner of Perak in Malaysia. To the east of the district is the state of Kelantan, to the west is Kedah, to the south is the district of Kuala Kangsar while to the south-west is the district of Larut, Matang and Selama. Hulu Perak also shares a border with Betong District of Thailand. The main district capital is Gerik.
The geography of Hulu Perak district features the Titiwangsa Mountains, with 1,533 m high Ulu Titi Basah peak located on the Thai/Malaysian border, and Temenggor Lake.
In 1511, after the fall of the Malacca Sultanate to the Portuguese, Sultan Mahmud Shah retreated and established his government in Bentan. In 1526 the Portuguese attacked his domain again and forced him to retreat to Kampar and to establish his rule there.
At that time, Tun Saban had moved to Upper Patani and stayed at Beredung Budi. He then moved to Belum Forest in Hulu Perak, founded a village at a place called Relap Hati, and became the chief of the peoples in Belum Forest.
For sometime until the 19th century, a good part of this district was under the sovereignty of Siam, as part of the old Malay kingdom of Reman. The area then under Thai control included what is today Gerik, Pengkalan Hulu (Kroh), Kerunai, the Belum forest and the Temenggor Lakes. The capital of Reman was near Pengkalan Hulu.
In 1882, the border between the then-British protected state of Perak and the Siamese vassal state of Reman was delimited at Bukit Nasha, some 5 km south of Gerik town.