Parit Buntar is a main town
in Kerian district, on the northwestern tip
of Perak
, Malaysia
.
The name Parit Buntar originated from a well-known leader, Tok
Buntar, who was famous at the time when he and his followers built
the drainage system, which used water from the Kerian River to
irrigate the surrounding paddy fields. The main drain was named
"Parit Tok Buntar" meaning the drain of Tok Buntar. Later on, the
town where the main drain is located was named Parit Buntar.
Parit
Buntar town is situated in the north of the Kerian district and is
bordered by the towns, Bandar Baharu
in the state of Kedah
and Nibong Tebal
in the state of Penang
. Its
old town is situated near the Engineering Campus of
Universiti Sains Malaysia
(USM).
There are a few secondary schools and primary schools situated in
this town; these are SMJK Krian, SMK Pekan Baru, SMK Seri Perak,
SMK Panglima Bukit Gantang, SMK Methodist, SK Methodist
[310780],
SJK(C) Sin Hwa, SK Baru Parit Buntar, SK Kampung Kedah, SMJK Sin
Hwa, SK Wawasan, SK St. Mary and SK Sri Kerian.
The landmark of Parit Buntar is the Clock Tower, which is situated
in the old town of Parit Buntar. The tower was built in early 1961
and was officiated by the First Prime Minister of Malaysia, the
Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman
Al-Haj on
24 August 1961.
Parit Buntar is also famous for its "
pasar
malam" (night market), which is said to be the biggest in the
northern region of the Perak State. The night market operates
weekly on Friday evenings from 4pm to 10pm.
Parit Buntar is an important commercial centre in the northern
region. There are many branches of various major financial
institutions in the town centre. There are also many medical
clinics, automobile centres, etc. It also has accomodations here
such as Damai Hotel and Parit Buntar Inn.
There is also an industrial area with a land space of 88.42
hectares. It houses 28 factories mostly involved in rattan and
furniture industry. Other factories in this area include textile,
packaging and electronics factories. Some of these factories are
Eastern Global (M) Sdn. Bhd., Super Electronics Sdn. Bhd., ITC
Corporation Sdn. Bhd., Harta Packaging Industries Sdn. Bhd. and
Push Power Enterprise Sdn. Bhd.
Parit Buntar is also an administration district. Some of the
government offices that are situated in this town are the Land and
District Office
[310781], the Public Welfare District Office,
the District Information Office, the District Veterinary Office,
the Public Works Department District Office, the District Health
Office, the District Education Office
[310782] and the
District Agriculture Office.