Perlis (
Jawi ﭬﺮليس) , is the smallest state in
Malaysia. It lies at the northern part of the west coast of
Peninsular Malaysia and has
Satun and
Songkhla Provinces of
Thailand on its northern border. Perlis was called
Palit () by the Siamese when it was under their influence.
Perlis Indera Kayangan has a population of 210,000. The ethnic composition for the year 2000 in Perlis was:
Malay (174,805 or 79.74%),
Chinese (21,058 or 9.6%),
Indian (2,658 or 1.21%) and others (20,690 or 9.45%).
The capital of Perlis is
Kangar and the Royal capital is
Arau. Another important town is
Padang Besar, at the Malaysian-Thailand border. The main port and ferry terminal is at the small village of
Kuala Perlis, linking mostly to
Langkawi Island. Perlis has a famous snake farm and research centre at Sungai Batu Pahat and Gua Kelam and
Perlis State Park are tourist attractions. Compared to other states of Malaysia, Perlis has bucolic charm, peace and simplicity.
History
thumb|250px|left|Kangar, capital of PerlisPerlis was originally part of
Kedah, although it occasionally came under rule by
Siam or
Aceh. After the
Siamese conquered Kedah in 1821, the
British felt their interests in
Perak to be threatened. This resulted in the 1826 Burney and Low Treaties formalising relations between the two
Malay states and Siam, their nominal overlord. In the
Burney Treaty, the exiled Kedah sultan
Ahmad Tajuddin was not restored to his throne. Sultan Ahmad and his armed supporters then fought unsuccessfully for his restoration over twelve years (1830-1842).
In 1842, the Sultan finally agreed to accept Siamese terms, and was restored to his throne of Kedah. However, Siam separated Perlis into a separate principality directly vassal to
Bangkok.
Syed Hussain Jamalulail, the paternal grandson of a
Hadhrami Arab immigrant and maternal grandson of the Sultan of Kedah, became the first
Raja of Perlis. His descendants still rule Perlis, but as rajas, instead of as sultans.
As with Kedah, the
Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 forced Siam to relinquish its southern Malay vassal states to
Great Britain. The British installed a
Resident in the Perlis Royal capital of
Arau. Perlis was returned to Siam by the
Japanese in
World War II as a reward for Siam's alliance with
Japan, but this brief annexation ended with the Japanese surrender. After World War II, Perlis returned to British rule until it became part of the
Malayan Union, then
Federation of Malaya in 1957 and lastly
Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
The economy of Perlis was booming at the time when
Shahidan Bin Kassim was the Menteri Besar. Despite numerous allegations and rumours of him involving in shoddy dealings, he managed to hold on to power from 1996 to 2008. Although he single-handedly managed to prevent oppositions from capturing the state, the royal family refused to let him to continue as MB.
Since 2000, the
Raja or hereditary monarch has been
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin. He was the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong of
Malaysia from 2001 to 2006.
Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra was the Regent of Perlis during the five-year period when Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin was Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Chief Executive or
Menteri Besar is
Datuk Seri Dr Md Isa Sabu of
Barisan Nasional.
Economy
The state economy is dominated by agriculture, with rice, sugar, herbs and fruits predominating. Forestry especially from
Jati timberwoods and fishery is also important, and the state is making great efforts to attract small and medium scale manufacturing industries and services.
During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, the Raja of Perlis was Syed Hamzah Jamalullail but the Siamese Government also appointed their own Governor in Perlis by the name of Udom Boonyaprasop.
The Japanese lost the War and the British returned as colonialists again and decided to replace Raja Syed Hamzah with Syed Putra Jamalullail who reigned over the smallest State in Malaya and later Malaysia both in terms of size, revenue and population.
See also
