The History of Balai Gambang in Perak
Do you, our loyal readers of orangperak.com, know about the Balai Gambang? For your information, the Balai Gambang is a type of vehicle, specifically a special boat used on the Perak River for the installation ceremony of the Sultan of Perak.
This specially built boat carries the newly installed Sultan of Perak to visit the royal mausoleums, traveling down the Perak River towards Teluk Intan, starting from the Datuk Sagor circuit area in Kampung Gajah. The royal mausoleums visited by the newly installed Sultan along the Perak River include the tomb of the late Sultan Mahmud Shah, the 16th Sultan of Perak, in Kampung Pasir Pulai; the late Sultan Abdul Malik Mansur Shah, the 19th Sultan of Perak, in Kampung Bandar Baru; the late Sultan Alauddin Mansur Shah Iskandar Muda, the 17th Sultan of Perak, in Kampung Teluk Memali; the late Sultan Shahabuddin Riayat Shah, the 21st Sultan of Perak, in Tanjung Penangguh; and Sultan Iskandar Dzulkarnain, the 15th Sultan of Perak, in Pulau Indera Sakti, Pasir Panjang Ulu.
The Perak sultanate ceremony that utilizes this special boat is akin to a vessel traveling to the heavens. The Balai Gambang used for the installation of Sultan Nazrin was named Cempaka Sari, which has since become a symbol of the Perak sultanate.
Cempaka Sari was specially built for the installation ceremony of the 35th Sultan of Perak by 35 staff members of the Perak Public Works Department (JKR), along with 13 experts and students from the Malaysian Institute of Marine Engineering Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL MIMET) Lumut.
The Balai Gambang for Sultan Nazrin's installation, named Cempaka Sari, measures 12.2 meters in length and 6.1 meters in width. It weighs 4.5 tons and can carry 10 to 15 passengers at a time. This modern Balai Gambang is powered by three outboard engines, each with 150hp. This is some information regarding the Balai Gambang used during the installation of Sultan Nazrin as the 35th Sultan of Perak.
For the information of all our loyal readers at orangperak.com, the origins of the Balai Gambang were actually introduced by Sultan Iskandar Zulkarnain, the 15th Sultan of Perak. This is because he reportedly needed a large boat to relocate his residence from Cempaka Sari to Pulau Indera Sakti, located in Kampung Gajah, in 1754.
Although the Balai Gambang first appeared in Perak history in 1754, it began to be used as a specific piece of equipment for installation ceremonies during the installation of the 16th Sultan of Perak, Sultan Mahmud Shah (Marhum Muda), in 1770. From the day it was first introduced for installation purposes until 1948, during the installation of Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah, the 32nd Sultan of Perak, the Balai Gambang was originally made from yellow bamboo or ivory bamboo.
During the installation of Sultan Idris Shah II in 1963 as the 33rd Sultan of Perak, wood and iron were used to replace the bamboo, making the Balai Gambang a sturdier and more refined structure in line with modernization. The replacement of yellow or ivory bamboo with wood and iron continued until the most recent installation, when Sultan Nazrin ascended the throne as the 35th Sultan of Perak.
