Perlis (pûrˈlĭs) [key], state (1991 pop. 184,070), 310 sq mi (803 sq km), Malaysia, central Malay Peninsula, on the Andaman Sea. The smallest of the states of Malaysia, it is bordered on the N and E by Thailand and on the SE by Kedah, of which it formed a part till 1842. Kangar, its capital, is in the center of one of the richest rice-growing areas of Malaysia. Small quantities of tin are produced. The population is mostly Malay. In 1909 Siam transferred its suzerainty over Perlis to Great Britain. Perlis was one of the Unfederated Malay States before the creation (1948) of the Federation of Malaya. See Malaysia.
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