Tin Mining Festival Conference

Prof Chuah (fifth from right) presenting a token of appreciation to Mohamed Nasser (fourth from left) while others look on

UTAR hosted “The 2017 Tin Mining Festival Conference on the Retrospect and Prospect of Tin Mining Industry in Malaysia (2017年锡矿节研讨会：马来西亚锡矿业之回顾与展望)” at Kampar Campus on 28 October 2017.

A joint collaboration between UTAR Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS), the conference was also supported by the Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum and the Perak Chinese Mining Association.

A prelude to the upcoming Tin Mining Festival 2017 on 11 and 12 November, the conference’s primary aim was to heighten the awareness of the importance of tin mining industry to the country’s economic development in the past and provided a strategic platform for the participants to revisit the heyday of the bygone industry.

Invited to officiate the event was Deputy Director of the Perak State Economic Planning Unit Mohamed Nasser bin Abdul Razak representing Perak State Executive Council Member Dato’ Dr Mah Hang Soon. Among the VIPs were UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, Perak Chinese Mining Association Advisors Tan Sri Hew See Tong and Choong Tien Chuan, Perak Chinese Mining Association President Dato’ Chin Lean Choong,  Director of the Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum-cum-UTAR Council Member Hew Fen Yee, Dean of ICS Assoc Prof Dr Chong Siou Wei, Deputy Director of the Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum Jacky Chew and Chairperson of CCS-cum-Organising Chairperson of the Tin Mining Festival Conference Assoc Prof Dr Wong Wun Bin.

Dr Wong delivering his welcome remark

The conference began with Dr Wong delivering his welcome remarks. He also said, “Tin mining industry played a pivotal role to the country’s modernisation and was a glittering industry in Malaysia especially in Perak before the tin market crushed on 24 October 1985. Therefore, the immense contribution made by the tin mining industry and its forerunners shall forever be remembered. We organise events that are suitable for all ages such as Tin Ming Festival Carnival and academic conference to provide a platform for our people to have a deeper understanding of the past and future of tin mining industry.”  

He also expressed his gratitude to the Kampar Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum, Perak Chinese Mining Association, Prof Chuah, UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong and fellow colleagues from UTAR for their support and cooperation to ICS which helped to make the event successful.

Prof Chuah revealing the importance of history 

In his opening remarks, Prof Chuah said, “UTAR as a university by the people and for the people, has always been in a symbiotic relationship with its surrounding communities through the various community-engagement initiatives since its inception. This is a platform where we are able to engage academics, history enthusiasts, authors, budding researchers and so on to delve deeper into the history and significance of the country’s tin mining industry with well-researched facts and figures.”

He also mentioned, “Tin mining industry played a decisive role in the history of Malaysia because it has contributed greatly to Malaysia’s economy which generated 41.3% of the country’s tax revenue from 1874 to 1985; demography which brought in massive immigration of the Chinese as tin miners and infrastructure which generated the building of roads, railways, power supply and others before the inevitable collapse in 1985. Although Malaysia has become a net importer of tin since 2004, our country remains the world’s largest tin producer today. He then quoted a quote from Roman politician and lawyer Cicero to emphasise the importance of history, “‘To know nothing of what happened before we were born is to forever remain a child’, we must put in effort to ensure that the history of the tin mining industry as well as the sacrifices by the pioneers will be recorded in order for generations to come to know.”

Mohamed Nasser sharing the new prospect of Perak State

Representing Dato’ Mah to present a keynote address titled “The State without Tin Mining Industry: New Prospect of Perak State”, Nasser discussed the new prospect of Perak’s government for the state’s future development of the tin mining industry.  He revealed, “Tin mining industry is still relevant today. It is not a sunset industry because eventually after the sunset, the sun will rise again. The state government is remoulding the tin mining industry and trying to bring Perak back to the map as one of the best in the world through the ‘Perak Mining Blueprint’.”

He shared on the relevant parts of “Perak Mining Blueprint”, “Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) Development Blueprint 2016-2025 (Blueprint 2.0)”, and the statistic of tin mining industry from 2011 until 2016 as the major contributor to Perak’s gross domestic product (GDP), which showed the rise of the tin mining industry. In his conclusion, he encouraged the collaboration between all parties and the state government to bring the industry up to another level, so as to ensure the longevity of the tin mining industry.

Besides that, the conference also saw a line-up of speakers who shared their rich breadth of expertise. They include Choong on "International Tin Agreement: What Is It All About", Dr Wong on "The Historical Role of Perak Chinese Mining Association", Dr Chong on "The Contributions of Tin Miners to Malaysia" and Chew on "Tin Story: The Heritage of Malaysia" to provide the audience with a deeper understanding of the retrospect and prospect of tin mining industry in Perak and Malaysia.

Choong (left) and Dr Wong during the Q&A session

Dr Chong (left) and Chew delivering their talk

The Tin Mining Festival Conference is a prelude to the upcoming 2017 Tin Mining Festival which will be held from 11 to 12 November 2017 at the Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum. This will be the third time the festival is being held since its inaugural launch in 2015 to raise awareness of the importance of learning about the country’s tin mining history.