Gopeng: The Unknown Town

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Gopeng is a small town about 20 km south of Ipoh, which is the state capital of Perak in Malaysia. The town, along with a stretch of North-South Expressway, between Tapah and Gopeng is one of the most picturesque areas on the west side of Peninsular Malaysia. Gopeng is also well-known for a limestone cave, Gua Tempurung. The cave is located 5 km from the town centre. Gua Tempurung has become a popular weekend getaway for many local and overseas visitors.

Contents [hide] • • • •

1 Town layout 2 Demographics 3 Education 4 Famous residents

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5 External links

[edit] Town layout In the central area of Gopeng, there is an old bus station, for the Kinta buses and local buses for everyday commuting. There are mosques, Buddhist temples, Hindu temples and a Sikh temple located near each other. The Gopeng Police Station is located very near the Gopeng Post Office and a field. This area is considered as the central area of Gopeng since the field is essential for the locals for various occasions especially for the local soccer fans and some other special events. Central Gopeng is filled with old pre-war shophouses which are extremely valuable for conservation and perhaps tourist attractions.

[edit] Demographics More than half of Gopeng's population is Chinese (i.e., about 60%). The once booming tin mining industry attracted many Chinese immigrants to live and work in Gopeng. There are also significant numbers of people of Indian descent (mainly Tamil), Malay and Orang Asli (Peninsular Malaysia's indigenous people) living in Gopeng.

It is estimated that about 100,000 people live in Gopeng. Among the main settlements in Gopeng are: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Kopisan Baru Lawan Kuda Baru Taman Kinta Taman Gopeng Baru Kampung Tersusun Kampung Pulai Kampung Tersusun Gopeng Kampung Lawan Kuda Kampung Jahang Kampung Jelintoh Kampung Sungai Itek Kampung Pintu Padang Kampung Gunung Mesah Hulu Kampung Gunung Mesah Hilir Kota Baru Estate (a small railway station town) Kampung Gunung Panjang

Most of these settlements are located along the prominent, straight and long Jalan Gopeng connecting Ipoh to the north and Kampar to the south. Some of the villages are located away from the main road but are still accessible by various types of vehicles.

[edit] Education Gopeng has several schools such as: • • • • • • • • •

SRK Gopeng Jalan Ilmu (Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Gopeng Jalan Ilmu) SRK Gopeng (Sekolah Kebangsaan Gopeng) SRK Sungai Itek (Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Sungai Itek) SRJK(C) Man Ming Gopeng (Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Man Ming Gopeng) SRJK(C) New Kopisan Gopeng (Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina New Kopisan Gopeng) SRJK(T) Gopeng (Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Gopeng) SMK Idris Shah Gopeng (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Idris Shah Gopeng) SMK Sri Teja Gopeng (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Teja Gopeng) SBPI Gopeng (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Intergrasi Gopeng)

There is a matriculation college, Kolej Matrikulasi Perak (KMP), located near the small town of Kota Baru Station, in the outskirt of central Gopeng. Located on a small hill in an oil palm estate, KMP is well known for its breathtaking scenery overlooking the Titiwangsa Mountains and numerous limestone hills especially on a clear day.

[edit] Famous residents • •

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Dr Sun Yat Sen, the leader of the historic Chinese revolutionary leader, stayed in Gopeng briefly during the period 1909-1911. Mr. Eu Kong Pui (1853-1892), founder of the Eu family business under the title of "Yan Sang" was first adopted in the 1870s as the brand name for his various investments in Penang. In the Cantonese dialect, "Yan" means benevolent, kind or humane while "Sang" represents birth, life or livelihood. "Yan Sang" literally means, "caring for mankind". Kong Pui, of Foshan, in Guangdong province, China origin, arrived in Penang in 1876. The industrious young man settled down in the small mining town of Gopeng, where he noticed that the local tin miners depended on opium because of the pains caused by the hard work and their poor living conditions. He then introduced traditional Chinese herbal remedies for them to improve their health and alleviate the physical sufferings. With his new wealth, he started to amass his fortune by acquiring from the British the interconnected monopoly of tin mining and tax farming in Gopeng in the 1880s. The brand "Eu Yan Sang" today is known throughout the Asia Pacific region. Mohammad Nor Khalid or known as Lat, the famous cartoonist in Malaysia was born in a small village of Kota Baru, (not the state capital of Kelantan) on 5 March 1951. Most of his cartoons portray the daily life of Malaysians in various perspectives and published in mainstream newspapers such as the New Straits Times. One of his famous Kampung Boy books was published by the French. Kampung Boy is also adopted into animated series on television both local and international. Rashid Maidin was born on October 10, 1917 in Kampung Gunung Mesah, Gopeng. He was one of the senior leaders on the Malayan Communist Party during the Second World War. Finally he died at the age of 89 on September 1, 2006 in Sisakoin, Narathiwat, Thailand.