State Spot

Historical Brief
Perak’s history began with the installation of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, who was a descendant of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Melaka, in the year 1528. In 1816, Siam forced Kedah to invade Perak and made Perak acknowledge Siamese suzerainty. However, the British, through 1826 Anglo-Thai Agreement, secured the independence for Perak.

With the discovery of tin in Larut in 1848, Perak’s economy boomed and became a multicultural society with the coming of Chinese migrants. Since then, tin mining became British’s greatest investment.

The succession wars among the Malay chiefs and the Larut wars resulted from the fighting among Chinese secret societies had created political and societal instability. It eventually led to a political opportunity for the British. It was Raja Abdullah who agreed to a British Resident. He signed the Pangkor Treaty in January 1874 to accept British administration and was installed as Sultan of Perak. The treaty set the first Residential System
and effectively gave the British a foothold in the Malaya while ensuring the power of the sultans over cultural and religious matters. The treaty was also said to be the historical genesis of the problematic dual-legal system in Malaysia.

The state is governed by the Barisan Nasional with the Opposition DAP holding 3 parliamentary seats and 7 state assembly seats. Dato’ Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali from UMNO is currently on his second term as the Menteri Besar. He has vowed to wipe out poverty.

Islamization & Religious Freedom
An overzealous Mufti

A Mufti is held in high regards and has substantial influence in the Muslim community. Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria, the Perak Mufti, is known for his controversial and overzealous religious statements. He once warned the Muslims that they could be considered apostates if they celebrated Valentine’s Day (The Star, 13 Feb 04), and that Hindi movies on TV led to “indecent behavior among family members”. He had also decreed TV3’s Sure Heboh concerts as haram (malaysiakini.com, 30 July 04) on grounds that they were detrimental to Malays’ faith, causing them to neglect religious responsibilities. Last year, the Mufti criticized the joint celebrations such as Kongsiraya and DeepaRaya, saying that it was against Islamic tenets (malaysiakini.com, 6 Oct 06). The Mufti was also one of those who actively spoke against the Article 11 forums, believing that seeking continuation of Islamization process was the right of Muslims (malaysiakini.com, 24 July 06). Many Muslims, as well as non-Muslims, were perturbed by his remark.

Moral policing
In 2003, the enforcement officials of Ipoh City council were severely criticized and ridiculed for playing “moral custodians” by giving summons to those whom they deemed behaving indecently (including holding hands in the park). A couple filed a civil suit against the council. The issue caused such an uproar that the federal government had to stepped in. The Housing and Local Government Ministry was given the task to draft guidelines and define “indecent act” (NST, 19 Apr 06). The city council was urged to keep the city clean and prioritize its duties.

Raja Nazrin, the Regent of Perak, has recently called Muslim scholars to be open-minded, not focusing on legalism,
proscriptions and prescriptions (The Star, 9 Feb 07).

Apostasy
In 1988, the state government enacted the Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religions Bill. Section 13 of the 1992 Crimes (Syariah) Enactment says that “word/action importing apostasy is an offence” (fine not more than RM3,000 or imprisonment not more than 2 years or both). Section 12 of the same enactment states that “declaring oneself to be a non-Muslim to avoid action taken is an offence” (a penalty of not more than RM5,000 or imprisonment not more than 3 years or both). A Muslim law professor felt that such laws against apostasy severely challenged
one’s freedom of conscience.

According to NST (14 Feb 06), the Mufti had announced that there were close to 100,000 Muslim apostates in the country (Harakah reported 250,000). His allegation sparked an alarm and aroused the sentiment of the Muslim public. The federal government
had to step in to investigate and explain.

Most recent controversy would be the mobile text message (SMS) that claimed Malays were going to be baptized at a church in Ipoh. Believing
the rumor, hundreds of Muslims converged at the church attempting to stop the alleged mass conversion, only to learn that it was a “first holy communion” ceremony for 110 Indian children. Few people, including the Perak Mufti, were called in by the police to give statements. The SMS, almost causing a “racial/religious incident,” was deemed by many as malicious. The Sultan of Perak intervened to ask for tolerance and moderation over the false and malicious news.

Corruption
The outrageous request of RM51.5 million under 9th Malaysian Plan by Kuala Kangsar Municipal Council for a landscaping project was heavily chided, even by the Deputy Tourism Minister himself who said that money should be put in better use, e.g. poverty
eradication and rural infrastructure projects.

The AG report 2005 disclosed that 159 states projects were delayed and money was wasted. The report said that the State’s treasury was struggling with its poor financial management (NST, 6 Sept 06). According to the Menteri Besar in tabling the state’s deficit budget, the state will face another
year of deficit (approx. RM34.78 million) in 2007 (NST, 21 Nov 06)

The newly-appointed Perak Anti-Corruption Agency director, Samsiah Abu Bakar, has vowed to take firm action against corrupt staff or those who fail to act (NST, 4 Feb 07).

Social Ills
Youth problem/Crime
It was reported in 2006 that 3 out of every 200 criminal cases in Perak involved students. There were 1,042 cases of truancy in the state’s 845 primary schools and 450 in 212 secondary schools. 5026 disciplinary cases among primary school students and 8,186 case among secondary school students (NST, 19 Dec 06).

Perak has also recorded the 3rd highest number of drug addicts in the country (The Star, 24 May 06).

Poverty
Perak was said to be one of the three states with high number of hardcore poor households. 6,130 families (out of which 4,026 were OA families) in the state were under the hardcore poverty line. To address the issue and achieve zero poverty by 2010, the state government has begun to develop its oil palm plantations (Bernama, 21 Jan 06).

While the urban poverty in Ipoh may not be seen as a serious problem, it is prevalent.

The Church
During the colonial period, the Christian community was largely an expatriate community. The ancestors of the Chinese Christians in Sitiawan were the Methodist Foochow migrants. The Pangkor Treaty in 1874 effectively discouraged Christian evangelization among the Malays. Such trend continues
on until today.

To date, the NECF databank records the existence of 254 churches in Perak. Corporate prayer initiatives appear to be active among the churches in the capital, Ipoh. At the recent Central Regional Prayer Consultation in March, Perak Christian leaders who were present concurred that the issue of future leadership (i.e. passing on the mantle) posed the greatest challenge, besides the need for spiritual breakthrough. There was also the concern for the Church’s general lack of influence in the community.