 Kamunting, Perak
About Kamunting
Kamunting is a town to the north of Taiping, Perak. Today it is often considered a satellite town to Taiping, although both were established around the same time, which is in the 1870's. To learn about the history behind all this, read my description in History of Taiping.
Kamunting was a site where many clan warfares were fought and much animosity generated between the Hai Sans and the Ghee Hins, who were the ones who settled in Kamunting.
Today Kamunting has gained a different type of notoriety, as the site of Kamunting Detention Centre, the jail for people detained under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, a law which allows the detention of persons regarded as a threat to the state, for an indefinite period.
Although the Internal Security Act was hatched to counteract terrorism, it has often been abused to put away opposing politicians as well as those who are vocal against the government. Among those who have spent time at Kamunting Detention Centre include Anwar Ibrahim, a leading opposition politician and former deputy prime minister, Lim Guan Eng, the present Chief Minister of Penang, and Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a vocal critic of the Malaysian government.
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