Shining a light on village’s past

Hard at work: Workers working inside the tin mining dredge at the tin mining area in Rawang during the old days. The British installed a coal-powered generator at the site in the 19th century so that the mine could run for 24-hours a day.

WE MAY be forgiven for assuming a bustling modern town will be the earliest to get electricity back in the day, but in fact a nondescript village – Kampung Rawang Tin – was the first location in Malaysia to be lit up at night.

According to the book Let there be power produced by Tenaga Nasional Berhad in 2000 in conjunction with its 50th anniversary, residents of the little village in Rawang were the privileged group to enjoy electricity in the 19th century thanks to a coal-powered generator that was installed in the area to light up the tin-mining site and its vicinity.