Kedah (Malay pronunciation:[kəˈdah]),[7] also known by its honorificDarulAman (دار الأمان;Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically asQueda,[8] is astate ofMalaysia, located in the northwestern part ofPeninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 square kilometres (3,500 sq mi), and consists of a mainland portion and theLangkawi islands. The mainland has relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice, while Langkawi is composed mostly of uninhabited islands.
Kedah was previously known as Kadaram (Tamil:கடாரம்;Kaṭāram) by the ancient and medievalTamils, Kataha or Kalahbar (Arabic:قتح;qataḥa orArabic:قلحبر;qalaḥbar) by theArabs, andSyburi (Thai:ไทรบุรี;RTGS: Sai Buri) by theSiamese when it was under their influence.[9][10]
Kedah borders the state ofPerlis to the north and shares an international boundary with theSongkhla andYala provinces ofThailand. It borders the states ofPerak to the south andPenang to the southwest.
The state's capital isAlor Setar and the royal seat is in the capital's suburbAnak Bukit. Other major towns includeSungai Petani (its largest urban area by population), andKulim on the mainland, andKuah onLangkawi.
Around 788 BC, a large settlement may have been already established around the northern bank ofMerbok River. The settlement consisted of a large area ofBujang Valley, covering branches of the Merbok andMuda River that was about 1,000 square miles in area. It was built at the estuary of a branch of Merbok River, now known asSungai Batu.[11] Archaeological evidence found in theBujang Valley (Malay:Lembah Bujang) reveals that ananimist settlement resided in ancient Kedah possibly as early as 110 AD. The discovery of a temple, jetty remains, iron smelting sites, and clay brick monuments probably dating back to 110 AD shows that a maritime trading route with south Indian Tamil kingdoms was already established since that time.[12] The discoveries in the Bujang Valley also made ancient Kedah perhaps the most ancient settlement in Southeast Asia.[13]
Ancient Kedah was first mentioned in theTamil poemPaṭṭiṉappālai written at the end of the second century AD. It described goods fromKadaram "heaped together in the broad streets" of theChola capital. Apart fromKadaram, Kedah was known by various names at different times in Indian literature:Kataha-Nagara (inKaumudi Mahotsava drama),Anda-Kataha (inAgni Purana),Kataha-Dvipa (in Samarāiccakahā), andKataha (inKathasaritsagara).[14] In Middle Eastern literature, ancient Kedah was referred to asQilah byIbn Khordadbeh in theBook of Roads and Kingdoms,Kalah-Bar by Soleiman Siraf & Abu Zaid al Hassan inSilsilat-al-Tawarikh (travels in Asia), andKalah by Abu-Dulaf Misa'r Ibn Muhalhil inAl-Risalah al-thaniyah.[15] TheTang dynastyBuddhist monk,Yijing who visited theMalay Archipelago between 688 and 695, also mentioned a kingdom known asKa-Cha in the northern part of theMalay Peninsula, which according to him was thirty days sail from Bogha (Palembang), the capital of Sribogha (Srivijaya).[16]
According toHikayat Merong Mahawangsa or theKedah Annals, Kedah was founded by aHindu king namedMerong Mahawangsa. According to the text further, theSultanate of Kedah started in 1136 when KingPhra Ong Mahawangsa converted to Islam and adopted the name Sultan Mudzafar Shah. However, an Acehnese account gave a date of 1474 for the year of the ruler of Kedah's conversion to Islam. This later date accords with an account in theMalay Annals where a raja of Kedah visited Malacca during the reign of its last sultan seeking the honour of the royal band that marks the sovereignty of a Muslim ruler.[22] However, in Thai chronicles it is told that Kedah was a Thai city likeNakhon Si Thammarat and was a part of Siamese kingdom but later was changed into a Malay state after invasion of Muslim kingdoms.[23]
It was later underSiam, until it was conquered by the Malay sultanate ofMalacca in the 15th century. In the 17th century, Kedah was attacked by the Portuguese after their conquest of Malacca, and byAceh. In the hope that Great Britain would protect what remained of Kedah from Siam, the sultan handed overPenang and thenProvince Wellesley to the British at the end of the 18th century. The Siamese neverthelessinvaded Kedah in 1821,[24] and it remained under Siamese control under the name of Syburi. In 1896, Kedah along withPerlis andSetul were combined into the Siamese province of Monthon Syburi which lasted until it was transferred to the British by theAnglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909.
InWorld War II, Kedah (along withKelantan) was the first part of Malaya to beinvaded by Japan. The Japanese returned Kedah to their Thai allies who had it renamedSyburi, but it returned to British rule after the end of the war. Kedah became one of the states of theFederation of Malaya in 1948, which then achieved independence in 1957. Malaya was then enlarged to become Malaysia in 1963, joined bySabah,Sarawak andSingapore (independent in 1965).[25]
Kedah is the8th largest state by land area and8th most populated state in Malaysia, with a total land area of 9,500 km2 (3,700 sq mi).[26][27] The terrain is mostly flat in general, as theKedah–Perlis Plain covers much of the state's land area, from the district ofKuala Muda in the south towards the state ofPerlis in the north. Owing to itsalluvial properties, most of the plains have been developed forrice farming for centuries. Meanwhile, the northeastern towards the southeastern part of the state is particularly mountainous, especially in the districts ofPadang Terap,Sik,Baling,Kulim andBandar Baharu. TheKedah–Songkhla andBintang Ranges formed the state's boundary between the Thai provinces ofSongkhla andYala in the northeast, and the state ofPenang in the southwest andPerak in the southeast. The Bintang Range is home toMount Bintang, the state's highest point, located on the border with Perak. Some parts of Kedah are alsokarstic, with areas punctuated bylimestone hills calledmogotes.
The major rivers within Kedah include theKedah,Merbok,Muda andKerian rivers. The Muda River serves as the southwestern border with Penang, while theKerian River forms part of the southeastern boundary with Penang and Perak.
Kedah's constitution was promulgated by SultanBadlishah in July 1950.[citation needed] The various provisions laid down in the constitution include the role and powers of the monarch, theKedah State Legislative Assembly and the state's civil service.
Previous Sultan of Kedah
TheSultan of Kedah is the constitutional ruler of the state. His position is hereditary and he holds his office for life. The sultan is the head ofIslam in the state and theexecutive power of the state government is vested in him. The current sultan isSallehuddin, who has reigned since 12 September 2017 after his elder brotherSultan Abdul Halim died on 11 September 2017.
TheState Executive Council, which along with the Sultan is Kedah's executive branch of government. It is composed of theMenteri Besar, who is its chairman and Kedah's head of government, and ten other members. The Menteri Besar and other members of the council are appointed by the Sultan of Kedah from members of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly (Malay:Dewan Undangan Negeri Kedah).
TheKedah State Legislative Assembly is similar to theParliament but is limited to making laws relating to the state. Its members are elected in elections which are usually held simultaneously with federal elections. The term of each state assembly member is limited to five years. The state assembly must be dissolved before or once it expires its term for a fresh election.
Kedah is a heterogeneous state with nativeKedahan Malays being the majority, along with significantChinese,Indian,Siamese andSemang minorities. There was also a lesser known ethnic group known as theSam Sam people, they are culturally Malay Muslim but speakSiamese. Most of these communities have now assimilated into the Kedahan Malay community but few still retain their Siamese language, those communities can be found in Changlun, Kodiang, Jitra, Wang Tepus, Guar Napai, Malau, Ason and Napoh. The Orang Asli in Kedah consists of Kensiu and Kintaq people and are mainly to be found in the Baling district, as their community crosses there into the neighbouring state ofPerak.[63]
Like most parts of Malaysia, Kedah is home to various languages and dialects. The majority language of Kedah isKedah Malay, known by locals asPelat Utagha (Northern dialect), it is a distinct variety of Malay which also serves as the state's mainlingua franca and is used by almost all Kedahans regardless of race. Kedah Malay has many sub-dialects which differs from district to district and is also spoken outside of Kedah in places such as Penang, Perlis, northern Perak and even as far asSatun in Thailand andTanintharyi inMyanmar. Besides Kedah Malay, another distinct variety of Malay known asBaling Malay (Cakak Baling) is mainly spoken inBaling District as well as some parts of theSik andYan districts. Baling, along with Grik Malay is part of Reman Malay, an offshoot ofKelantan-Pattani Malay of which it was descended from the people of theKingdom of Reman of which once ruled the Baling and Grik regions before it was dissolved and became part of three distinct political entities namely Kedah, Perak and Yala (Thailand).
Besides Malay, there are also various minority languages spoken throughout Kedah,Aslian languages such asJahai,Kensiu andKintaq are spoken by the smallOrang Asli populations mostly in the inland region. TheChinese in Kedah also speaks variousvarieties of Chinese such asMandarin,Hokkien and so on. There are also a small but well establishedIndian community mostly of ethnicTamil and also smaller number ofTelugus,Malayalees andPunjabis who speakTelugu,Malayalam andPunjabi. Kedah is also home to a large community of ethnicSiamese of which it has its own distinct dialect of theThai language which is different from ones spoken inKelantan (which also has a large Siamese population) and Standard Thai.
The population of Kedah in 2015 was 2,071,900. It was made up of 76% Bumiputra (Malays and others), 12.7% Chinese, 6.9% Indian, 0.9% others and 3.4% non-Malaysian. The following is based on 2015 figures from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.[6]
As of 2010 the population of Kedah is 77.2%Muslim, 14.2%Buddhist, 6.7%Hindu, 0.8%Christian, 0.6% unknown / none, 0.3%Taoist orChinese religion followers, 0.1% followers of other religions, and 0.1% non-religious.[64]
Statistics from the 2010 Census indicate that 94.3% of the Chinese population are identified as Buddhists, with significant minorities of adherents identifying as Christians (2.4%),Chinese folk religions (2.4%) and Muslims (0.4%). The majority of the Indian population are Hindus (91.7%), with a significant minorities of numbers identifying as Christians (3.7%), Muslims (2.4%) and Buddhists (1.3%). The non-Malaybumiputera community are predominantly Christians (39.7%), with significant minorities identifying as Muslims (26.9%) and Buddhists (26.3%).[65] All Malays are necessarily Muslims asdefined in the Malaysian constitution.[66]
Kedah is considered the "rice bowl"[67][68] (Malay:Jelapang Padi) of Malaysia, accounting for about half of Malaysia's total production of rice. In 2008, the state government banned the conversion ofpaddy fields to housing and industrial lots to protect the rice industry.[69]
Tourism in the state is mainly focused on the island of Langkawi, although there are a few attractions on the mainland as well.
In the 1990s, Kedah began moving its economy towards the automotive and aerospace industries with national motorcycle manufacturerModenas (established in 1995) andBoeing subsidiary Asian Composites (established in 2001) setting up bases there.[70][71] One of the main advantages is the low labour costs and the infrastructure in place with theNorth–South Expressway and thePenang International Airport close by. In 1996, theKulim Hi-Tech Park was officially opened as the first high technologyindustrial park in Malaysia. The Park comprises a total land area of approximately 14.5 square kilometres (5.6 mi2).[72]
The state has a campus ofUniversiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), which is located in Bandar BaruSintok. It was formally incorporated on 16 February 1984. The university was established with the specific mission of providing a leadership role for management education in the country. The academic establishments at UUM include the College of Business (COB), College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS) and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).
Kedah also has several public universities and colleges such asUniversiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) inMerbok, the Malaysian Spanish Institute of theUniversity of Kuala Lumpur (UniKL MSI) and the Polytechnic Institute of Sultanah Bahiyah (PSB) inKulim, the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST University) inBedong, Kolej Universiti Insaniah (KUIN) or UNISHAMS (Kuala Ketil, Baling Kedah) in Mergong and the Polytechnic Institute of Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (POLIMAS) inJitra.
There are two teacher training institutions in Kedah, Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Sultan Abdul Halim (IPGKSAH) inSungai Petani and Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Darul Aman (IPGKDA) in Bandar Darulaman that are set up by the government to provide teaching courses for trainee teachers.
Private universities and colleges that are located in Kedah include theOpen University of Malaysia (OUM) Regional Learning Center for the state of Kedah and Perlis at Sungai Petani, the Albukhary International University in Alor Setar, Pusat Bahasa Titian Jaya the PTPL College and the Cosmopoint College.
Kedah houses three technical institutes that are affiliated with MARA, that is Institut Kemahiran MARA Sungai Petani, Institut Kemahiran MARA Alor Setar and Institut Kemahiran MARA Sik.
Alor Setar Tower – The third tallest tower in Malaysia, standing tall at 165.5-metre in height.[75]
Balai Nobat
Balai Seni Negeri
Batu Hampar Waterfall
Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum – The only museum in Malaysia to display archaeological artefacts proving the existence of international trade and development of the Hindu Buddha religion in South-East Asia from the 3rd to 12th century[76]
In 2006, Kedah hosted the11th Sukma Games. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at theDarul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar. Football andSepak raga are the most popular sports in Kedah.Kedah Darul Aman F.C. is a professional football team that competes in theMalaysia Super League and represents the state of Kedah under the supervision of the Kedah Football Association. They are the only team in the history of Malaysian football to achieved double treble titles in2006–07 and2007–08 seasons.
^I-Tsing (2005).A Record of the Buddhist Religion As Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago (A.D. 671–695). Asian Educational Services. pp. xl–xli.ISBN978-81-206-1622-6.
^Singapore in Global History by Derek Thiam Soon Heng, Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied p.40
^Winstedt, Richard (December 1936). "Notes on the History of Kedah".Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.14 (3 (126)):155–189.JSTOR41559857.
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