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Sitiawan
is a town in Perak, Malaysia. It is
a region in the Manjung district and 12 km from the town of
Lumut.
Sitiawan
grew from a small settlement with rubber tapping and latex processing as
its main economic activities. The town was flanked by various Chinese
settlements comprising mostly of the descendants of immigrants from the
Kutien district of Fuzhou, China. The rapid development of urban
settlements saw the plantation and estate areas develop, and eventually
converted into residential and commercial areas. In the 1980s, a large
remainder of the rubber estates underwent mass conversions into oil palm
plantations, due to better yield and profits compared to rubber sheets and
latex. Oil palm is also a much less labour-intensive crop when compared to
rubber, as rubber needs to be tapped regularly.
The
development of the town had been rapid in the 1990s. One of the main
reasons was the establishment of the Royal Malaysian Navy's Naval Base in
Lumut, approximately 12 km from the town centre.
The Naval Base is currently the largest in Malaysia. The base has acted as
a catalyst for the development of commercial activities in the town,
serving both the residents of the base and sailors visiting from other
countries.
Sources:
Wikipedia
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