PERAK Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir recently announced that the state would soon get a new district, which would be named Mu’alim (“Tanjung Malim in new district” — NST, Nov 2).
He had said that Mu’alim would be situated in the southern part of Perak, bordering Selangor, and would be its 11th district.
He added that Mu’alim would be carved out of the Batang Padang district, the boundary of which now extends to the Perak-Selangor border. It will extend from Tanjung Malim to Slim River
In the good old days, the very mention of Tanjung Malim brought to mind the Sultan Idris Training College (SITC) and the killer stretch of road between Slim River and Tanjung Malim. Both have historical significance.
SITC (now Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris), established in 1922, was the first teacher-training facility in the county. The tortuous 32.2km Slim River-Tanjung Malim stretch, with hair-pin bends and blind corners, was a nightmare for drivers.
The stretch was upgraded in 1966 and was the first tolled highway in the country. Cars were charged 50 sen, buses and lorries RM1 and motorcycles 20 sen. The toll plaza was removed in 1994 with the completion of the North-South Expressway.
There is a yet more dreadful episode involving Tanjung Malim: the collective punishment of its people. The town was a hot spot during the Malayan Emergency (1948 to 1960). Violence and acts of sabotage were widespread and people lived in fear.
On March 15, 1952, the pipe supplying water to the town was sabotaged for the sixth time by Communist terrorists. A repair team comprising assistant district officer Michael Codner, Public Works Department engineer W.H. Fourniss, 15 fitters and technicians was ambushed by terrorists and all were killed.
Retribution from high commissioner General Templer was immediate and severe.
A 22-hour curfew was imposed, all schools closed and bus services stopped. The curfew and the cordoning of the town with barbed-wires were seen as harsh treatment of the people. This led to charges of oppression in the British press and Parliament.
The secretary of state for the colonies, Oliver Lyttelton, who appointed Templer, pleaded with the British public to let Templer do his work without hindrance. Templer hauled up the heads of all the households, gave them a letter seeking information on Communist supporters in the area through secret ballot.
The exercise was fruitful. The information gathered led to the demolition of Kampung Simpang Ampat, which sat on the water pipeline and whose inhabitants had never been attacked or bothered by the terrorists.
Following this, the situation in the Tanjung Malim area normalised and the curfew was lifted on April 9 and replaced with an 11-hour curfew from 7pm to 6am.
S. Sundareson, Petaling Jaya, Selangor