Athletic sports were regularly and formally contested on
in 1906. In that year, the Perak Athletics Association (PAA)
was established in Taiping, Perak, by British officers
who is on duty in Malaya.

The first athletics tournament in
Malaysia was held in the same year at Padang Ipoh.
For fifty years, national championships was held
on grass field and Padang Ipoh was considered
the best field in Malaya.