Padang Besar, Malaysia

This article is about Padang Besar in Malaysia. For Padang Besar located in Thailand, see Padang Besar, Thailand.
For the federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat, see Padang Besar (federal constituency).
Padang Besar
Mukim Titi Tinggi, Padang Besar, Perlis (ปาดังเบซาร์)
Nickname(s): Padang, PB, Border Town, Shopping Heaven
Padang Besar

Location in Malaysia

Coordinates: 6°39′38″N 100°19′18″E / 6.66056°N 100.32167°E / 6.66056; 100.32167Coordinates: 6°39′38″N 100°19′18″E / 6.66056°N 100.32167°E / 6.66056; 100.32167
Country Malaysia
State Perlis
Government
 • DUN Khaw Hock Kong
Elevation 27 m (89 ft)
Highest elevation 810.2 m (2,658.1 ft)
Lowest elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Population (2008)
 • Total Around 10,000
Time zone MST (UTC+8)
Postal code 02100
Area code(s) 04

Padang Besar (locals often call it "Padang" and it is often abbreviated as P.B. It can be translated as "big field" in Bahasa Melayu) is a border town located in the northern part of Perlis state in Malaysia. It is situated on the border with Songkhla province, Thailand, 35 kilometers northeast of Kangar and about 57 km southwest of Hat Yai. The town opposite Padang Besar in Thailand is also known as Padang Besar, although locals here usually refer to the town as "Pekan Siam" or Siamese town.

The town is a "shopping heaven" and popular destination for Malaysians because of the duty-free shopping complex in between the border checkpoints of the two countries. The town attracts several thousand visitors from Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand every weekend and during public holidays.

Border Crossing

Padang Besar Inland Dryport Railway Station

Padang Besar is connected to Malaysia Federal Route 7 and railway which lead to the border crossing into Thailand. The road and railway respectively connect directly to Padang Besar – Sadao Highway (Thailand Route 4054) and State Railway of Thailand to form part of the Trans-Asian Railway.

The Malaysian checkpoint is located to the north east of town, about 300m from the actual border where the Thai checkpoint is located. Both the Malaysian and Thai checkpoints have drive-through lanes

The Padang Besar railway station has Malaysia's only integrated customs, immigration and quarantine facility for Malaysia and Thailand and rail passengers are processed for exiting Malaysia and entering Thailand (or vice versa if traveling the other direction) in the station. The Padang Besar station in Thailand only serves as a domestic station.

Border Barrier

In the 1970s, both Malaysia and Thailand constructed walls along their common border, mostly in Perlis/Satun and Perlis/Songkhla as well as Kedah/Songkhla portions of the border to curb smuggling. The walls were of concrete and steel and were topped with barbed wire as well as iron fencing at other stretches. As both countries constructed their own walls a little into their own territory, a strip of "no-man's-land" about 10m wide was created and this strip of land became a convenient refuge for smugglers (not all smuggling was deterred by the wall) and drug runners.

In 2001, the two countries agreed to construct just one wall along the border which would be located just inside Thai territory. The new border wall is 2.5m high and made up of a concrete lower half and steel fencing on the upper half. At the base, barbed wire runs along the length of the wall.

While the stated reason for the construction of the wall has been to curb smuggling and encroachment, security reasons - earlier in the 1970s and 1980s resulting from Malaysian communist groups and groups involved in the South Thailand insurgency in the late 1990s and early 2000s - have also been a major push for the barrier to be constructed.

History

According to various resources from internet, the question regarding whether Padang Besar was established before or after the Malaya-Singapore railway was connected remains unknown. The history of Padang Besar is shown below:

Economy

Tourism, international trading and the logistics sector are the most important profit source to local citizens if compared to agriculture. Padang Besar's industry area is one of the most important industry areas in Perlis.

Tourism

Padang Besar is a popular shopping paradise since 1960, this town is frequently visited by citizens from both Malaysia and Thailand for travel and business purpose. Nowadays, this town still attracts several thousands of visitors from Peninsular Malaysia and Southern Thailand every weekend and during public holidays. Majority of Malaysians frequent Kompleks Aked Niaga Padang Besar, Pasar Padang Besar and Gapura Square. Jalan Besar (town center) is also one of the famous shopping area for Thai and Malaysian visitor.

Except for the above-mentioned shopping destinations, places of interest that can be reached within 20mins from Padang Besar are listed as below

Demographics

Based on the research from Malaysian general election 2008, Population in Padang Besar town is around 10000, the population structure based on races are as below: Malay: 73.52% Chinese: 23.23% Indian: 2.82% Other: 0.59% (majority is Thailand Muslim from Southern Thailand)

Languages

Malay language—the national language, is the principal language of Perlis as well as Padang Besar. Other major languages spoken by local citizen are Hokkien, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Hakka and Tamil. Majority of local citizens are able to speak basic English.

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.