The presence of the English East India Company (EIC) in the nearby Straits Settlements of Penang provided additional protection for the state, with further Siamese attempts to conquer Perak thwarted by British expeditionary forces.

The influence of Indian culture and beliefs on society and values in the Malay Peninsula from early times is believed to have culminated in the semi-legendary Gangga Negara kingdom.

Inscriptions found on early tombstones of the period show clear Islamic influence, believed to have originated from the Sultanate of Malacca, the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, and the rural areas of the Perak River.

[34][35][36] He ascended to the throne as Muzaffar Shah I, first Sultan of Perak, after surviving the capture of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511 and living quietly for a period in Siak on the island of Sumatra.

[51] The early 18th century started with 40 years of civil war where rival princes were bolstered by local chiefs, the Bugis and Minang, fighting for a share of the tin revenue.

[44][54][62][63] Siam's subjugation of Pattani served as a warning to the other Malay tributary states, particularly Kedah, they too having been forced to provide thousands of men, and food supplies, throughout the Siamese resistance campaign against the Burmese.

The Sultanate of Kedah knew the intention behind the order was to weaken ties between fellow Malay states,[64][68][69] but complied, unable to resist Siam's further territorial expansion into inland Hulu Perak.

Siam's tributary Malay state, the Kingdom of Reman, then illegally operated tin mines in Klian Intan, angering the Sultan of Perak and provoking a dispute that escalated into civil war.

[61][64][71] The exiled Sultan of Kedah turned to the British to help him regain his throne, despite Britain's policy of non-engagement in expensive minor wars in the Malay Peninsula at the time, which the EIC upheld through the Governor-General of India.

In 1873, the ruler of one of Perak's two local Malay factions, Raja Abdullah Muhammad Shah II, wrote to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Andrew Clarke, requesting British assistance.

[90] In return, the treaty provided for direct British intervention through the appointment of a Resident who would advise the sultan on all matters except religion and customs, and oversee revenue collection and general administration, including maintenance of peace and order.

His inability to understand and communicate well with the locals, ignorance of Malay customs, and disparagement of the efforts of the sultan and his dignitaries to implement British tax control and collection systems caused resentment.

[97][98]British Resident in Perak Hugh Low proved an effective administrator, preferring to adopt a generous approach that avoided confrontation with local leaders.

[101] Under the Anglo-Siamese Treaty, signed in Bangkok in 1909, Siam ceded its northern Malay tributary states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu and nearby islands to Great Britain.

[103] With the approval of Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, the British mounted a defensive stand near the river mouth and in Kampar, leaving the towns of Ipoh, Kuala Kangsar and Taiping unguarded.

[112] Sybil Kathigasu, a Eurasian nurse and member of the Perak resistance, was tortured after the Japanese Kempeitai military police discovered a clandestine shortwave radio set in her home.

[115] On 16 December 1944, a second intelligence network, comprising five Malay SOE agents and two British liaison officers, Major Peter G. Dobree and Captain Clifford, was parachuted into Padang Cermin, near Temenggor Lake Dam in Hulu Perak under the codename Operation Hebrides.

[122] Other radical left nationalist movements started in Perak like those under Ahmad Boestamam and Burhanuddin al-Helmy; but were eventually overwhelmed by the United Malays National Organisation's local mobilisation in the same decade.

[160] Little effect of the southwest monsoon is felt in the Kinta Valley, although coastal areas of southern Perak occasionally experience thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong, gusting winds in the predawn and early morning.

[175] Widespread conversion and reclamation of mangroves and mudflats for economic and residential purposes has caused the rapid decline of shore birds, 86% of the reduction on the Malay Peninsula having occurred on Perak's coasts.

[178] A number of business activities permitted by the state government have caused environmental damage, including to many of Perak's rivers, which require extensive water treatment because of severe pollution.

As Islam does not allow enslavement of fellow Muslims, the ordinary slaves came mainly from non-Muslim groups, especially the Orang Asli, Batak, and Africans purchased by Malays on pilgrimage in Mecca.

[194][195] A statement from the office of the Sultan of Perak urged the PR Menteri Besar to resign, but also refused to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly, which would have triggered new elections.

[227][228] Early in 2006, the state government established the Perak Investment Management Centre (InvestPerak) to serve as the contact point for investors in the manufacturing and services sectors.

[244] To further improve agricultural productivity and meet increasing demand, the state plans to expand the permanent cultivation of vegetables, flowers, coconut, palm oil, durian, and mango, in different areas throughout Perak.

[256] The state also contains a number of natural attractions, including bird sanctuaries, caves, forest reserves, islands, limestone cliffs, mountains, and white sandy beaches.

[324] The indigenous people originally inhabited most of Perak's coastal areas but were pushed deeper into the interior with the arrival of increasing numbers of Javanese, Banjar, Mandailing, Rawa, Batak, Kampar, Bugis and Minangkabau immigrants in the early 19th century.

[345][346][347] The history of China, and particularly Hong Kong, is recreated in Qing Xin Ling Leisure and Cultural Village (nicknamed Little Guilin) in Ipoh, with painted wooden structures around a lake set among limestone hills and caves.

The area was formerly a tin mining centre, which also become one of the relocation points for Malayan ethnic Chinese during the British era under the government's Briggs Plan to protect and distance them from communist influence.

[350][351] Perak's Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities, representing its three main ethnic groups, each have their own traditional arts and dance associations to maintain and preserve their respective cultural heritage.