One of my major projects is in Tapah; or rather, on the road towards Tapah Road. During my last visit to the site, I decided to check out the Tapah Road town.... and here are some pictures. =)
Tapah Road (pop. ~7,000) is a small town which is located near Tapah, in the state of Perak, in Malaysia. The population consists of 40% Muslim Malays, 30% Chinese, 20% Indians and a few indigenous.
The town was of greater importance in the last century because it has a railway station which is one of the oldest in Malaysia. The station was constructed with a 30-km (19 mile) railway to Teluk Intan in the 1880s. As the station is also linked to the major railway line from Penang to Singapore, Tapah Road is considered as a major stop. This is because it is the gateway to Cameron Highlands, the cold highland resort which was popular to the colonists. The relative importance of both towns in terms of economic activities in the region became less as road vehicles gained popularity in the last three decades of the last century. Even the train service between Tapah Road and Teluk Intan has been terminated in 1991 and the railtrack is no longer in place. A new double-track railway line is now under construction from Singapore to Penang and thus the railway station has been renovated to suit the new tracks.
The town is on the road leading to Tapah and thus led to its name. This name has drawn some criticism from local Malay linguists because it has a colonial 'stain' on it. A number of towns in Perak also have this 'stain' such as Slim River, Port Weld (now Kuala Sepetang) and Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan). Tapah Road maintained its name because the equivalent version in Malay ('Jalan Tapah') is also not suitable because it is not to be named after a road, but a town.
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