The Significant Early History of Bukit Gantang
Once upon a time, Bukit Gantang was well-known and prominent throughout Tanah Melayu, serving as the administrative center for the Larut Territory under Long Jaafar, following his appointment as the Chief of the Larut district by his father, Syed Alang Alauddin ibni Sultan Mudzaffar Syah III, the Maharaja of the Islamic Continent of Siam Kedah in 1856. For your information, Syed Alang Alauddin was also known as the Panglima Bukit Gantang.
Long Jaafar is said to have built a fortress in Pekan Bukit Gantang to deter and repel attacks from Thailand and Kedah during the medieval period. This fort also bore witness to the bloody wars between Thailand and Kedah against the Perak State Government. It also witnessed the fall of northern Perak's defenses to Thailand and Kedah, forcing the Perak military to retreat to Kuala Kangsar before a peace treaty was reached between Thailand and Perak.
This war occurred due to the Perak Government's refusal to send the Bunga Emas tribute to Siam. The tribute was intended to signify that the Perak government was under Siamese suzerainty, a status never recognized by the Perak government itself. The Sultan of Kedah at the time was ordered by the Siamese Government to attack the Perak Government because Kedah was then under Siamese rule.
In 1767, the Ayutthaya Siamese Kingdom was conquered by the Buddhist Sukhothai from Lannathai, following the fall of the Islamic Patani Kingdom to the Siamese. During the era of Long Jaafar's rule, Bukit Gantang was developed with various public facilities such as shophouses, administrative offices for the territory's dignitaries, the Bukit Gantang railway station, and roads connecting Bukit Gantang to Sungai Limau, which served as the main port for the Larut Territory at the time.
At that time, the main source of income for the Larut Territory, as you may know, was tin mining in Taiping, largely operated by Muslim Manchu Chinese immigrants from the Hai San group and Buddhist Ghee Hin members from Penang through agreements and concessions granted to them by Long Jaafar. The first railway station built in Tanah Melayu was between Taiping and Port Weld in 1885.
When Syed Alang Alauddin passed away in 1862, Long Jaafar was appointed as the Maharaja of the Islamic Continent of Siam Nagara Kedah and titled Sultan Jaafar Mudazam Syah. He subsequently appointed
Ngah Ibrahim
to replace him as the Raja of Larut.
Ngah Ibrahim
relocated the Larut Territory Administrative Center from Bukit Gantang to Matang, as he felt that Bukit Gantang was located too far from Taiping.
While the Larut Territory Administrative Center was in Matang,
Ngah Ibrahim
made
Kuala Sepetang Port
the new seaport to replace Sungai Limau Port. However, unrest and British colonial interference began during the reign of
Ngah Ibrahim
, which saw him exiled for his involvement in the assassination plot of the
first British Resident in Perak, Sir James Birch
.
