"The 17th Biggest Town In Malaysia" Teluk Intan by Chuckaziz

Teluk Intan is on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia in the state of Perak. The place was originally named after a beautiful widow named Mak Intan. This merchant from Mendaling Sumatra was the founder of Teluk Intan in the 19th Century. The Sultan of Perak ruled the state from here from 1528 until 1877 when Kuala Kangsar became the royal town.

It was renamed as Teluk Anson in 1882 during the British colonial rule, after Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson, the Lieutenant-Governor of Penang who was responsible to plan the township in 1882.

The town was finally renamed as Teluk Intan by the Sultan of Perak a hundred years later to commemorate it's diamond jubilee. Intan is diamond in Malay language.

Teluk Intan is also associated with a unique structure, a leaning clock tower. This tilting structure is said to be Malaysia's answer to the leaning tower of Pisa. The leaning tower that is located at the town square is a tourist attraction.

Inside the leaning tower

This 25.5m high tower built in 1885 was originally used to hold a water storage tank as part of the town's water reticulation system. Today it is a clock tower. The structure subsequently tilt about 1.8 meter several years after completion.

Intricate designs - inside the tower

Although not as famous, the leaning tower is the pride of the people of Teluk Intan and helped to make the town a tourist attraction.