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Ipoh Padang (Ipoh)

Malaysia / Perak / Ipoh
In commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the Chinese community subscribed over 43,000 pound to create the Ipoh Padang in 1898. Padang is the Malay word for 'field', and this is exactly what it is. In the colonial days, British men were seen wearing whites on the field, hitting a wicket or two (in the game of cricket, for the uninitiated). Some were then seen heading back to the exclusive Ipoh Royal Club adjacent to the field, where the rules of "white men only" still applied. The Perak Cricket Association was once based here.

During the Japanese Occupation, every morning at 8 o'clock all the staff of the government offices in Ipoh gathered here to participated in a bowing and allegiance ceremony. When Subhas Chandra Bose, an Indian revolutionary leader, visited Ipoh on October 1, 1943, he spoke to a large gathering here and recruited hundreds of volunteers for his Army of Free India. On May 31, 1962, the Sultan of Perak declared the formation of the Municipality of Ipoh at this Padang, and the town of 200,000 spent nearly RM1 million to celebrate the occasion with a mammoth parade of 120 floats and other festivities.

Today, it is more of an exquisite playground for the rich and poor, brown or white. The Japanese and the British have long gone, taking away the rules with them. Ipoh Padang is a testimony of a common playing field that has withstood the test of time and prejudice, almost as old as the massive casuarina trees (pokok rhu) that dot parts of its periphery. It is today that the old town area surrounding the field seems to be revitalised with a new lease of life.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   4°35'55"N   101°4'35"E

Comments

  • fild (guest)
    ipoh padang, 1895
  • ReaperSpectre
    1898
This article was last modified 6 years ago