Kangar | |
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Town and state capital | |
Town of Kangar Bandar Kangar | |
Other transcription(s) | |
• Jawi | كڠار |
• Chinese | 加央 Jiā Yāng (Hanyu Pinyin) |
• Tamil | கங்கார் Kaṅkār (Transliteration) |
Coordinates: 6°26′N 100°12′E / 6.433°N 100.200°E | |
Country | Malaysia |
State | Perlis |
Foundation of Kota Sena | 1653 |
Establishment of the town council | 1956 |
Municipality status | 1 January 1980 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipal council |
• Body | Kangar Municipal Council |
• President | Norazlan Bin Yahaya |
Area | |
• Total | 29.84 km2 (11.52 sq mi) |
Population (2005) | |
• Total | 48,898 |
Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
• Summer (DST) | Not observed |
Website | mpkangar |
Kangar Municipal Council Majlis Perbandaran Kangar مجليس ڤربندرن كڠار | |
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Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1 January 1980 |
Leadership | |
President | Norazlan Bin Yahaya |
Municipal Secretary | Raziff Yaacob |
Meeting place | |
192, Persiaran Jubli Emas, 01000 Kangar, Perlis. | |
Website | |
mpkangar |
Kangar (Northern Malay: Kangaq; Jawi: كڠار) is the state capital and the largest town in Perlis, Malaysia.[1] It has a population of 48,898 and an area of 2,619.4 ha. It is located next to the Thailand border, in the northernmost point of Peninsular Malaysia. It is situated by the Perlis River.[2]
The town is also a gathering centre for the paddy rice production of the surrounding district. Its municipal government is unified with that of the neighbouring communities of Arau and Kaki Bukit. The centre of Kangar is Sena Province. The town is the smallest state capital in Malaysia and its inhabitants are mostly farmers and civil servants. Its industries include cement, saw milling, rubber, paper, and processing of sugar and prawns.[3]
Kangar existed from about 350 years ago, that is since 1653 when Kota Sena was built as the administrative centre for the 14th Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Muhyiddin Mansor Shah. Kangar was then a land port or pengkalan where boats and tongkangs anchor at the confluence of Perlis River, which runs through Kangar town to Kuala Perlis.[1]
The name Kangar was derived from a type of tree. It was here at the port that trading was done, under a big tree that gave shade and respite to the traders. This tree that became a "witness" to many business deals was called Pohon Kangar. Every trader and merchant who came and went to this place began calling it the Pohon Kangar Port, in honour of the tree.[1]
The majority of Kangar's population speaks Perlis Malay which is a sub-dialect of Kedah Malay but also has its own unique features compared to those of neighbouring Kedah.
The Han Chinese, the second largest community in Kangar are primarily Hokkien speaking, with the language serving as the lingua franca of the city's Chinese population. In addition, significant knowledge of Mandarin and English is also present amongst them.
Other languages spoken in Kangar includes Tamil, Telugu, Malayali as well as Punjabi and Hindi among the Kangar Indian population and Southern Thai by the Kedah-Siamese community.
Downtown Kangar is a mixture of old and new shophouses, and has an elegant colonial State Secretariat Building and clocktower from the 1930s. Other major landmarks are: