Perak

Perak Darul Ridzuan (Jawi: ڨيرق) is one of the 14 states of Malaysia. Perak is the second largest state in Peninsular Malaysia. It is bordered on the north by Kedah and Thailand, on the east by Kelantan and Pahang, on the south by Selangor and to the west by the Strait of Malacca.

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Perak means silver in the Malay language. The name comes most probably from the silvery colour of tin. In the 1890's, Perak, with the richest alluvial deposits of tin in the world was one of the jewels in the crown of the British Empire. However, some say the name comes from the "glimmer of fish in the water" that sparkled like silver.

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Its current hereditary Sultan is Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-Lahu, who was the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and formerly the Lord President of Malaysia's Supreme Court. His chief minister or Menteri Besar is currently Dato' Seri Diraja Tajol Rosli bin Mohd Ghazali of Barisan Nasional, a former teacher.

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The Arab honorific of the State is Darul Ridzuan, the Land of Grace.

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Perak's population is now approximately 2 million. Once Malaysia's most populous state, the decline in the tin mining industry caused an economic slowdown from which it has yet to recover, leading to a massive drain in manpower to higher-growth states such as Penang, Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The ethnic composition of the population was estimated in 1995 to be: Malay (962,200 or 45%), Chinese (732,500 or 41%), Indian (281,700 or 14%), Other (50,000), Other Bumiputra (41,400).

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Pulau Pangkor is a small offshore island that provides some tourist activities such as snorkelling.

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Jawi: Jawi is an adapted Arabic alphabet for writing the Malay language. It is used as one of two official scripts in Brunei, and is employed to a limited extent in Malaysia, Indonesia, Patani in southern Thailand and Singapore as well, particularly in religious contexts....

Malaysia: The Federation of Malaysia (Malay: Persekutuan Malaysia) or simply Malaysia (Simplified Chinese: ????; Pinyin: M?l?ix?y?, Tamil: ???????) is a country in Southeast Asia. It consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea:...

Peninsular Malaysia: Peninsular Malaysia (or Semenanjung Malaysia in the Malay language) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. It is connected via a causeway and bridge to the island of Singapore to the south. Across the Strait of Malacca to the w...