Mukim Slim : Tapak pelancongan bersejarah di Perak (Sub-Districts of Slim: A historical based tourism site in Perak)

Abstract

Mukim Slim adalah sebahagian daripada daerah Muallim yang terletak di selatan Perak. Ia merupakan destinasi yang ideal untuk dibangunkan sebagai tapak pelancongan bersejarah. Mukim Slim mempunyai berbagai lokasi bersejarah yang usianya menjangkau ribuan tahun, daripada pra sejarah sehinggalah kepada zaman penjajahan British. Kajian ini dijalankan berasaskan kepada kaedah kualitatif. Sumber primer dan sekunder diteliti daripada koleksi institusi seperti Arkib Negara Malaysia dan Muzium Perak. Selain itu, sumber primer juga diperolehi daripada laman sesawang. Hasil kajian mendapati, mukim Slim merupakan pusat kegiatan ekonomi masyarakat Melayu sebelum abad ke-19. Semasa Perang Dunia Kedua, mukim Slim adalah lokasi pertempuran terpenting di antara pihak British dan Jepun kerana “Perang Slim River” yang menentukan siapakah yang akan memenangi perang tersebut berlaku di sini. Jelasnya, latar belakang sejarah dan peristiwa yang berlaku di mukim Slim menyebabkan ia mempunyai potensi untuk dimajukan sebagai tapak pelancongan bersejarah di Perak. Namun begitu, kajian ini juga mendapati pelancongan bersejarah masih belum diberikan perhatian sepenuhnya di mukim Slim. Sehubungan itu, kerjasama bersepadu di antara semua pihak adalah perlu bagi menyemarakkan sektor pelancongan bersejarah di mukim Slim. Ia penting kerana pemerkasaan aktiviti pelancongan bersejarah akan membantu meningkatkan ekonomi setempat dan mempelbagaikan destinasi pelancongan di Perak sebagaimana yang dihasratkan oleh kerajaan negeri tersebut.

Kata kunci: Laluan Mat Kilau, Mukim Slim, pelancongan bersejarah, perang dunia kedua, Perak, Tasik YDP

Sub-district of Slim is a part of Muallim district and located in the southern part of Perak. It is indeed an ideal destination to be developed as a historical based tourism site. The argument came from the existence of various interesting historical sites spanning thousand years back to the pre historic period up until the British colonialization. This study is conducted based on the qualitative method. Primary and secondary sources were consulted at the National Archives of Malaysia and the Museum of Perak. Primary sources were also obtained from websites. Documents consulted suggest that the sub-district of Slim was the heart of the Malays’ economic activities prior to the nineteenth century. During the Second World War, it was the most important location for the British and Japanese as the Battle of Slim River occurred here was seen as a benchmark to determine the result of warfare in Malaya. Evidently, remarkable historical events unfolded in the sub-district of Slim enhance its potential to be developed as a historical based tourism site in Perak. Nevertheless, this study also found that the historical based tourism has not yet been in the highlights in the sub-district of Slim. Therefore, collective actions required from all parties involved in ensuring historical based tourism materialize in the sub-district of Slim. The increase of tourism activities would serve as a stepping stone to boost local economy and help to realise Perak governments’ aim to diversify tourist destination in the state.

Keywords: Trail of Mat Kilau, sub-districts Slim, historical based tourism, Second World War, Perak, YDP Lake.