Chemor
Encyclopedia
Chemor is a main town in Kinta
district Perak
, Malaysia. Nearby towns include Sungai Siput
, Salak
and Kuala Kangsar
. Lafarge Malayan Cement has a big limestone quarry near Chemor. Chemor is also means "Mud" in Indian Sanskrit Language, while in the Chinese phonetics it means "Jewel". About 12 km to the north of Chemor is a small town named Sungai Siput
. 16 km south of Chemor is Ipoh
city.
Chemor is a multiracial small town which was once famous for tapioca
plantations. Many of these planters are Hakkas. In the 1980s, Chemor boasted of being the biggest tapioca producing town in the world.
In the late 1980s, the tapioca plantations gradually disappeared as heavy industrialization took place. "Silicon Valley" was the nickname given to Ipoh by early 1990s and the main income was from electronic industry. The bulk of the investment were mostly from Taiwanese entrepreneurs taking advantage of the lower cost structures as well as abundance of skilled labors.
Chemor town remains the same as it was from 1974 until around 2007. The main difference is there are many housing areas around here. Most of the youth during the downfall of the silicon industries in 1996 moved to bigger cities since all the silicon factories were closed down due to currency depreciation during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
After the downfall of the electronic industry, the majority of people worked elsewhere. Chemor was notorious for a large number of illegal workers working in New York's and San Francisco's Chinatown, having gone there on the pretext of 'tour' but not making the return trip. The locals affectionately called this practice "jumping the plane".
Rubber plantations were the second primary investment which started in 1970s and suspended in 1991. The reduction in the rubber market made a great impact on the rubber tappers and income was reduced heavily. Most of the rubber trees were chopped down and were used for carpentry works.
Chemor lies on the west coast railway line, but the 1896 station is not in use and is likely to be demolished (2011).
Kinta
Kinta is one of the ten administrative districts of Perak, Malaysia, and it is divided into two major councils:*Ipoh City Council , based in Ipoh, the state capital of Perak...
district Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, Malaysia. Nearby towns include Sungai Siput
Sungai Siput
Sungai Siput is a town and also a parliamentary constituency in Kuala Kangsar district, Perak, Malaysia. Since the recent Malaysian general election of 8 March 2008, this parliamentary constituency is represented by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, from Pakatan Rakyat Party, in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower...
, Salak
Salak
Salak is a species of palm tree native to Indonesia. It is a very short-stemmed palm, with leaves up to long; each leaf has a 2-metre long petiole with spines up to long, and numerous leaflets....
and Kuala Kangsar
Kuala Kangsar
Kuala Kangsar is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia, located at the downstream of Kangsar River, where it flows into the Perak River. It is the main town in the administrative district of Kuala Kangsar.-History:...
. Lafarge Malayan Cement has a big limestone quarry near Chemor. Chemor is also means "Mud" in Indian Sanskrit Language, while in the Chinese phonetics it means "Jewel". About 12 km to the north of Chemor is a small town named Sungai Siput
Sungai Siput
Sungai Siput is a town and also a parliamentary constituency in Kuala Kangsar district, Perak, Malaysia. Since the recent Malaysian general election of 8 March 2008, this parliamentary constituency is represented by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, from Pakatan Rakyat Party, in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower...
. 16 km south of Chemor is Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
city.
Chemor is a multiracial small town which was once famous for tapioca
Tapioca
Tapioca is a starch extracted Manihot esculenta. This species, native to the Amazon, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and most of the West Indies, is now cultivated worldwide and has many names, including cassava, manioc, aipim,...
plantations. Many of these planters are Hakkas. In the 1980s, Chemor boasted of being the biggest tapioca producing town in the world.
In the late 1980s, the tapioca plantations gradually disappeared as heavy industrialization took place. "Silicon Valley" was the nickname given to Ipoh by early 1990s and the main income was from electronic industry. The bulk of the investment were mostly from Taiwanese entrepreneurs taking advantage of the lower cost structures as well as abundance of skilled labors.
Chemor town remains the same as it was from 1974 until around 2007. The main difference is there are many housing areas around here. Most of the youth during the downfall of the silicon industries in 1996 moved to bigger cities since all the silicon factories were closed down due to currency depreciation during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
After the downfall of the electronic industry, the majority of people worked elsewhere. Chemor was notorious for a large number of illegal workers working in New York's and San Francisco's Chinatown, having gone there on the pretext of 'tour' but not making the return trip. The locals affectionately called this practice "jumping the plane".
Rubber plantations were the second primary investment which started in 1970s and suspended in 1991. The reduction in the rubber market made a great impact on the rubber tappers and income was reduced heavily. Most of the rubber trees were chopped down and were used for carpentry works.
Chemor lies on the west coast railway line, but the 1896 station is not in use and is likely to be demolished (2011).