Kampar, Perak

Kampar (Chinese:金宝) is a town in Kampar District, Perak, Malaysia. Founded in 1887, the town lies within the Kinta Valley, an area rich with tin reserves. It was a tin mining town which boomed during the height of the tin mining industry. There were many tin mines on the outskirts of Kampar during the height of the mining boom. Most of them were established in the late 19th century, flourished in the 1900s, only to stagnate and decline after World War I, with the exception of an exhilarating boom in the 1920s. Most have closed down following the collapse of the industry, especially in the late 20th century.

Kampar is situated in the Kinta Valley, which was well known for its high tin ore reserves. Its vast surroundings as well as abandoned mining-ponds are suitable for fishing, which has become a major attraction for anglers around the country, especially from Kuala Lumpur.

Kampar town can be broadly divided between the 'old town' and 'new town' areas. The old town consists of two main streets, Jalan Gopeng and Jalan Idris, of charming pre-war shop houses. The fronts of these shop houses are still mostly resemble their original appearance. Commerce in the old town area mainly consists of coffee shops, goldsmiths and local retailers. The new town area mainly consists of new residential developments and some commerce servicing the burgeoning education industry in Kampar. On the 21st of May 2009, the Sultan of Perak declared Kampar as the state's 10th district.

However, according to the residents, there is no new or old town. The 'new town' is just a residential estate with a few rows of shop-lots to cater for the growing number of university students. The term 'new town' originates from the Cantonese spoken dialect which refers to Taman Bandar Baru as new town. Whereas 'Taman' in Malaysia refers to a residential estate.

Based on Datuk Hashim Bin Sam Abdul Latiff's article, early settlements in Kampar relate to the historic event of the murder of the British Resident in Perak, JWW Birch, as Ngah Jabor who was one of the early settlers in Kampar was amongst those connected to murder, together with the others who include Maharaja Lela, Datuk Sagor, Si Putum and others. However, Ngah Jabor escaped sentence when Raja Idris (Dris), who later became Sultan of Perak in 1887 presided over the case involving those accused of Birch's murder in 1876.

Raja Idris and Ngah Johor have family ties and share milk mothers since as an infant, Raja Idris was taken care of by Ngah Jabor’s mother, which is common amongst royal families to send their children to other families, particularly amongst the aristocrats, to feed.

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Wikipedia