Tin mining heydays in Taiping

By Laura Lee

With the latest news that Perak is keen to revive its tin mining industry with the help of an Australian company after the industry collapsed about 30 years ago, my visit to Matang Museum on 23 November was timely as it took me back to where it all started in Taiping or Larut as it was known then in the 1840s.

It had to do with the pet elephant Si Larut that belonged to Che Long Jaafar, son of a minor chief in Perak.

Thus, when you enter Matang Museum, you are greeted by a diorama of Si Larut with Long Jaafar and his men looking at the tin ores which were accidentally discovered in 1848 when they were found embedded in mud on the legs of this elephant which had gone missing for three days. It is believed that Larut obtained its name from Long Jaafar’s elephant. 

According to the text provided in the museum, Long Jaafar was also credited later for bringing the first group of Chinese miners from Penang to work in the tin mines in Klian Pauh as the Malays “lacked knowledge in tin mining”.

The influx of Chinese miners in the state later saw the emergence of two clans, the Ghee Hin and the Hai San, (which I remember studying in my history lessons during my secondary school days) and the start of the Larut Wars between them. The three Larut Wars, captured like pages from a comic book at the museum, attracted my attention.

When Long Jaafar died, he was succeeded by his son Che Ngah Ibrahim, who was instrumental in settling the first Larut War (1861-62) dispute between the two Chinese clans. The latter was granted the Orang Kaya Menteri title by the Sultan of Perak.

He built his residence and fort, which is now the Matang Museum.The place has an interesting history as it had been used as Larut’s administration centre by our British colonial master and during the Japanese Occupation to store tin and farm produce.

The British had used it as a prison to house Malay nationalists who fought against their administration.

They included Datuk Maharaja Lela and his followers who were involved in the murder of Perak’s first British Resident JWW Birch in Pasir Salak. They were held here before their hearing. The prison is depicted in one section of the museum, whose building had been turned into a teacher’s training institute and Malay school before its current use. 

Upgrading works, which covered within and outside the first floor of the building, was on-going when our group visited it under Jelajah Media @Muzium, which was organised by Jabatan Muzium Malaysia although our invitation had come from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (MOTAC) Corporate Communication Unit.

The upgrading exercise had started on 9 November and should be completed by 29 November, according to a signboard placed at Matang Museum. As a result, our visit was limited to its ground level. Well, that’s a good reason to return here for another visit in the near future.  

Admission to the museum is free. It is open daily from 9am to 5pm except on the first day of Hari Raya Adilfitri and Hari Raya Adiladha.