Ipoh - City of Malaysia

Ipoh is a city in Malaysia and is the capital of the state of Perak. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway.

Today, "Ipoh" usually refers to the territory under administration of Ipoh City Council or Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, which includes the smaller towns adjacent to the city such as Silibin, Chemor, Jelapang, Falim, Menglembu and Tanjung Rambutan. Historically, "Ipoh" referred to the Old Town and New Town areas divided by the Kinta River at its heart, from which the city grew. From the late 1980s Greentown, located beside the New Town, was transformed from old government quarters to an administrative and commercial centre of Ipoh, often overshadowing both the Old Town and New Town.

The name Ipoh derives from a local tree, pohon epu or now more commonly known as pokok ipoh. The sap of this plant is poisonous and was used by Orang Asli to coat the tips of the darts of their blowpipes.

Ipoh was formerly known as "Paloh" among local Chinese, referring to the gigantic mining pump used for early tin ore extraction. It was also called "the Town built on Tin" and "City of Millionaires", referring to the vast fortunes made during the boom of the tin mining industries.

Other nicknames include "The Bougainvillea City" and "Shan Cheng" which means "The Hill City" in the Cantonese dialect.

Ipoh city came into existence in the 1820s 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. In 1890 Swettenham put forth the founding of Ipoh Sanitary Board which led to systematic planning of Ipoh, which was still seen today.

Ipoh was invaded by the Japanese on 15 December 1941. During the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, Ipoh was made the capital of Perak, in place of Taiping. In March 1942, the Japanese civil administration or Perak Shu Seicho was set up at the St. Michael's Institution. After the liberation of Malaya by British forces, Ipoh remained the capital of Perak, to this day.

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

Ipoh has one of[weasel words] the cleanest and clearest water supplies in Malaysia,[citation needed] 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.