Kamunting

Kamunting is the biggest satellite town in Taiping's Larut, Matang dan Selama district, Perak, Malaysia. It is also the biggest industrial town in Taiping and is famous mainly for being home to the Kamunting Detention Center a prison camp for detainees under the Internal Security Act, many of whom are held without trial for an indefinite period.So is Tanjung Rambutan Hospital,the so call Mental asylum located 45 minutes from here except that the "detainee" are called "patients with mental disease".Many of the "patients" who died in Tanjung Rambutan are said to be died of natural causes or commit suicide(murdered are cover up by the authorities)(never beeen proven because wasting time and resources for the government to investigate "mental case")Some ISA detainees are transfered to Tanjung Rambutan. Kamunting prison has been nicknamed "Malaysia's Gitmo" (referring to the Guantanamo or Gitmo prison for similar detainees in Cuba run by the United States), and holds about a hundred detainees as of 2006. [http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-n/2006/09/us-war-on-terrorism-weakens-malaysia.htm U.S. 'war on terrorism' weakens Malaysia rights campaign] Malaysia Today]

During the Malayan Emergency between 1948 and 1960, Kamunting was the site of a major British/Commonwealth military base, there being a large garrison for the 28th Commonwealth Independent Infantry Brigade and also one of the three British Military Hospitals (BMHs) in Malaya. Between Taipling and Kamunting is one of the main Military Cemeteries in Malaya. Over the many years of the conflict against the Communist terrorists, thousands of British, Australian, New Zealand, Fijian and Gurkha troops lived - and died - in and around Kamunting and Taiping.

Kamunting houses the main bus station for Taiping town. It has a weekly night market every Saturday night near the bus station that sells all sorts of local fresh produce and food stuffs. There are also fruit sellers along the road leading to the Kamunting bus stops which sell seasonal fruits like durian and mangosteens. It also connects Taiping to the North-South Expressway via the northern exit.

Major tourist spot is Bukit Jana, which has a waterfall and streams off the range of Bukit Larut. The Bukit Jana Golf & Country Club is also situated nearby. Plans for Taiping sports centre, which includes a 15000 seater stadium, indoor venues and extreme sports site, are still under consideration.

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