Kuala Kedah is amukim and parliamentary constituency inKota Setar District,Kedah,Malaysia. It is a fishing port, located at the mouth of theKedah River, and serves as a terminus for ferries to the tourist island ofLangkawi. It is home to a fort, Kota Kuala Kedah.[1] Kuala Kedah is accessible by bus or taxi fromAlor Setar.
The fort was built in 1782 to replace an old fort, a stockade, which was existence in 1611 (then known as Kota Kuala Bahang). Later in that year the Portuguese Admiral Furtado "destroyed the town and fort of Kedah with fire and sword".[2]
The fort was rebuilt, but destroyed a second time whenSultan Iskandar Muda of Aceh sacked Kedah in 1619, destroying its pepper plantations so that they could not rival his own. After the Acehnese withdrew, another fort was built with thin walls of brick. In its shadow, between 1654 and 1657 the Dutch possessed a factory for trade with Kedah.[2]
In 1710, the Dutch captured the fort after a massacre of Dutch crew by men from Kedah. However they later evacuated it before a succession dispute arose, andMuhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II of Kedah, with the help of theBugis, established himself as Sultan after the death of his brother. In 1770-1771 another civil war broke out and Bugis mercenaries attacked the fort. The Bugis warrior,Raja Haji Fisabilillah, descended upon Kedah and demanded payment for help rendered by his forefathers in 1724.[2] The Sultan rejected his demand, so Haji captured the fort and proceeded upstream and sackedAlor Setar.[citation needed]
The parliamentary constituency of Kuala Kedah, which includes the town and surrounding areas, is represented byAhmad Kassim of the oppositionPeople's Justice Party (PKR). The threestate assembly seats for the district are held by PKR's coalition partners, thePan-Malaysian Islamic Party.[3]
William Light, son ofFrancis Light, founder ofPenang, who asSurveyor-General of South Australia planned the city ofAdelaide, was born in Kuala Kedah in 1786.[4]
kuala kedah fort.
This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (MUP), 1967
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