From Wikipedia & Malaysiana1.
Perak Darul Ridzuan (Graceful Land) is the second largest state in Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor to the south and the Straits of Melaka to the west.
Perak means Silver in Bahasa Malaysia. However, there is no silver in the state.
The state got its name from legendary Prime Minister (Bendahara) Tun Perak of Melaka whose great-grand-daughter Tun Trang was the first queen of the state and the matriarch of its royal house.
Perak was founded in 1528 by a son of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Mahmud Shah 1. This founder monarch was Sultan Muzaffar Shah 1 who married Tun Trang.
Tun Trang and her ancestor Tun Perak were members of the Melaka royal house which is synonymous with the Johor royal house.
Prior to Perak’s founding, the state was the site of the kingdom of Gangga Negara which was founded in the earliest of times by a son of the Sultan of Johor.
The Gangga Negara dynasty died out shortly before Sultan Muzaffar Shah 1 arrived in Perak.
In 1874, Perak became a British protectorate. It became independent as a Malaysian state on August 31, 1957.
Historically the country’s major producer of tin and rubber, Perak’s economy nose-dived in the 1980s when tin prices slumped worldwide. However, Perak’s economy is slowly recovering, as its state government is promoting small and medium scale industries.
Perak is divided into 9 districts namely Kinta (Ipoh), Batang Padang (Tapah), Lower Perak (Teluk Intan), Manjung (Sitiawan), Larut Matang Selama (Taiping), Krian (Bagan Serai), Upper Perak (Grik), Kuala Kangsar (Kuala Kangsar) and Central Perak (Parit).
Perak’s capital Ipoh is Malaysia’s second largest city after Kuala Lumpur and the third town to be made a city after George Town (1957) and Kuala Lumpur (1972).
The state’s population comprises 44 per cent indigenous Malays (especially Johoreans or Selangorians), 42 per cent Chinese and 14 per cent Indians.
Perak is famous for its Lemang, a traditional indigenous Johorean meal comprising glutinous rice cooked in bamboo.
It is also famous for Tempoyak or fermented durian paste.
Here are some of Perak’s firsts:
The country’s first railway was constructed in Taiping, Perak, in 1885.
Malaysia’s first man and woman in Hollywood were from Perak namely Ibrahim Pendek (the late) and Datuk Michelle Yeoh.
Malaysia’s National Anthem Negaraku is derived from the Perak State Anthem.
Perak is home to Malaysia’s leaning tower namely the leaning clock tower of Teluk Intan.
Ipoh, the state capital, is also the home of the famous Malaysian Chinese raw fish salad Yee Sang, a Chinese New Year specialty in Malaysia and Singapore.
The first rubber trees to be planted in Malaysia were planted in Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
Ipoh is Malaysia’s foremost home of pomelo orchards.
Tapah in south-eastern Perak is the most famous guava orchard centre in the country.
Tapah is also the original gateway to the hill resort Cameron Highlands, located in Pahang.
