Kedah

Candi Bukit Batu Pahat of Bujang Valley.

Around 788 BCE, a systematic government of a large settlement of Oghang Utagha of Kedah had already established around the northern bank of Merbok River. The state consisted a large area of Bujang Valley, covering Merbok and Muda River branches about 1000 square miles area. The capital of the settlement was built at the estuary of a branch of Merbok River, now known as Sungai Batu.[7] Archaeological evidence found in Bujang Valley (Malay: Lembah Bujang) reveals that a Hindu–Buddhist kingdom ruled ancient Kedah possibly as early as 110 A.D. The discovery of temples, jetty remains, iron smelting sites, and clay brick monuments dating back to 110 A.D shows that a maritime trading route with south Indian Tamil kingdoms was already established since that time.[8] The discoveries in Bujang Valley also made the ancient Kedah as the oldest civilisation in Malaysia.[9]

Reference to ancient Kedah was first mentioned in a Tamil poem Paṭṭiṉappālai written at the end of the 2nd century A.D. It described goods from Kadaram "heaped together in the broad streets" of Chola capital. Other than Kadaram, Kedah was known with different names at varying times in Indian literature; Kataha-Nagara (in Kaumudi Mahotsava drama), Anda-Kataha (in Agni Purana), Kataha-Dvipa (in Samarāiccakahā), and Kataha (in Kathasaritsagara).[10] In the middle eastern literature, ancient Kedah was referred as Qilah by Ibn Khordadbeh in Kitāb al Masālik w'al Mamālik, Kalah-Bar by Soleiman Siraf & Abu Zaid al Hassan in Silsilat-al-Tawarikh (travels in Asia), and Kalah by Abu-Dulaf Misa'r Ibn Muhalhil in Al-Risalah al-thaniyah.[11] The famous Tang dynasty Buddhist monk, Yi Jing who visited Malay archipelago between 688–695, also mentioned about a kingdom known as Ka-Cha in the northern part of Malay peninsular, which according to him was 30 days sail from Bogha (Palembang), the capital of Sribogha (Srivijaya).[12]

In the 7th and 8th centuries, Kedah was under the loose control of Srivijaya.[13] Indian and Arab sources consider Kedah to be one of the two important sites during the Srivijaya period, often calling the king of the straits "the ruler of Srivijaya and Kataha".[14] In 1025, Rajendra Chola, the Chola king from Coromandel Coast in South India, captured Kedah in his Chola invasion of Srivijaya and occupied it for some time.[15] A second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola of the Chola dynasty who conquered Kedah in the late 11th century.[16] During the reign of Kulothunga Chola I Chola overlordship was established over the Srivijayan province of Kedah in the late 11th century.[17]

According to Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa or the Kedah Annals, Kedah was founded by a Hindu king named Merong Mahawangsa. According to the text further, the Sultanate of Kedah started in year 1136 when King Phra 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 conversion to Islam by the ruler of Kedah. This later date accords with an account in the Malay 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.[18]

It was later under Siam, until it was conquered by the Malay sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. In the 17th century, Kedah was attacked by the Portuguese after their conquest of Malacca, and by Aceh. In the hope that Great Britain would protect what remained of Kedah from Siam, the sultan handed over Penang and then Province Wellesley to the British at the end of the 18th century. The Siamese nevertheless invaded Kedah in 1821,[19] and it remained under Siamese control under the name of Syburi. In 1896, Kedah along with Perlis and Setul was combined into the Siamese province of Monthon Syburi which lasted until transferred to the British by the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909.

In World War II, Kedah (along with Kelantan) was the first part of Malaya to be invaded by Japan. The Japanese returned Kedah to their Thai allies who had it renamed Syburi, but it returned to British rule after the end of the war. Kedah became one of the states of the Federation of Malaya in 1948, which then achieved independence in 1957. Malaya was then enlarged to become Malaysia in 1963.

Since 2017, the hereditary Sultan of Kedah has been Sultan Sallehuddin. The Kedah Sultanate began when the 9th Kedah Maharaja Derbar Raja or Phra Ong Mahawangsa, converted to Islam and changed his name to Sultan Mudzafar Shah I. Since then there have been 27 Sultans who ruled Kedah.[20]

Like most parts of Malaysia, Kedah is home to various languages and dialects. The majority language of Kedah is Kedah Malay, known natively by locals as Pelat Utagha (Northern dialect), it is a distinct variety of Malay which also serves as the state's main lingua 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 its boundaries such as Penang, Perlis, northern Perak and even as far as Satun in Thailand and Tanintharyi in Myanmar. Besides Kedah Malay, another distinct variety of Malay known as Baling Malay (Cakak Baling) is mainly spoken in Baling district as well as some parts of Sik and Yan districts. Baling, along with Grik Malay is part of Reman Malay, an offshoot of Kelantan-Pattani Malay of which it was descended from the people of the Kingdom 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 as Jahai, Kensiu and Kintaq are spoken by the small Orang Asli populations mostly in the inland region. The Chinese in Kedah also speaks various varieties of Chinese such as Mandarin, Hokkien (majority), Teochew, Cantonese and so on. There are also a small but well established Indian community mostly of ethnic Tamil and also smaller number of Telugus, Malayalees and Punjabis who speak Telugu, Malayalam and Punjabi. Kedah is also home to a large community of ethnic Siamese of which it has its own distinct dialect of the Thai language which is different from ones spoken in Kelantan (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.[2]

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 or Chinese religion followers, 0.1% followers of other religions, and 0.1% non-religious.[24]

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-Malay bumiputera community are predominantly Christians (39.7%), with significant minorities identifying as Muslims (26.9%) and Buddhists (26.3%). All Malays are Muslims.[25]

Affiliation		Coalition/Party Leader	Status	Seats
				2018 election	Current
	Perikatan Nasional	Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor	Government	15	23
	Pakatan Harapan	Phahrolrazi Zawawi	Opposition	18	13
Government majority				0	1

The state also has a State assembly, called the Kedah State Legislative Assembly. It is similar to the Parliament 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 to elect its members.

Modern Kedah is divided into 12 administrative districts. These 12 districts, are further divided into administrative Municipal councils (Majlis Bandaraya/Perbandaran and Daerah):

1. Baling

• Majlis Daerah Baling (MDB)

1. Bandar Baharu contains Serdang

• Majlis Daerah Bandar Baharu (MDBB)

1. Kota Setar, contains Alor Setar

• Majlis Bandaraya Alor Setar (MBAS)

1. Kuala Muda contains Sungai Petani

• Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani (MPSPK)

1. Kubang Pasu

• Majlis Perbandaran Kubang Pasu (MPKP)

1. Kulim

• • Majlis Perbandaran Kulim (MPK)
  • Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan Perindustrian Hi-Tech Kulim (HI-TECH Kulim)

1. Pulau Langkawi contains Kuah

• Majlis Perbandaran Langkawi Bandaraya Pelancongan (MPLBP)

1. Padang Terap

• Majlis Daerah Padang Terap (MDPT)

1. Pendang

• Majlis Daerah Pendang (MDP)

1. Pokok Sena

• Majlis Bandaraya Alor Setar

1. Sik

• Majlis Daerah Sik (MDS)

1. Yan

• Majlis Daerah Yan (MDY)

The state has a campus of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), which is located in Bandar Baru Sintok. 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 in UUM include College of Business (COB), College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS) and College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).

Kedah also has several public universities and colleges such as Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Merbok, the Malaysian Spanish Institute of Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL MSI) and the Polytechnic Institute of Sultanah Bahiyah (PSB) in Kulim, the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST University) in Bedong, Kolej Universiti Insaniah (KUIN) a.k.a. UNISHAMS (Kuala Ketil, Baling Kedah) in Mergong and the Polytechnic Institute of Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (POLIMAS) in Jitra.

There are 2 teacher training institution in Kedah, Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Sultan Abdul Halim (IPGKSAH) in Sungai 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 the Open 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.

MRSM Merbok in Kedah

This state also has several boarding schools such as Sekolah Berasrama Penuh and MARA Junior Science College or MRSM.

This state also has several secondary islamic schools (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama) such as Tahfiz Model Ulul Albab or TMUA.

• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Baling (SMKAB)
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Sik (SMKAS)
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Kedah (TMUA School) (SMKAK)
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Yan (SMKAY)

Chio Min Secondary School, Kulim, Kedah.

Consists of several private and public primary school or secondary school. Public secondary school such as SMK Taman Jelutong, Keat Hwa Secondary School, Convent Secondary School (Formerly known as St. Nicholas Convent Secondary School), Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Badlishah, Sin Min Secondary School, Chio Min Secondary School, SMK Sultanah Asma, SMK Convent Father Barre, SMK Khir Johari, SMK Kota Kuala Muda, SMK Tunku Ismail, SMK Aman Jaya, SMK Bedong, SMK Bakar Arang, SMK Darulaman, SMK Ibrahim, K Jit, SMK Mahsuri, SMK Tunku Panglima Besar, Keat Hwa Secondary School, SMK Guar Chempedak, SMK Yan etc. Private secondary school such as Keat Hwa High School, Sin Min High School and SM Sin Min.

Bukit Kayu Hitam

• Alor Setar Tower – One of the tallest telecommunications tower in the world, standing tall at 165.5-metre in height[30]
• Balai Nobat
• Bukit Kayu Hitam
• 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 in the 3rd – 12th century[31]
• Junjong Waterfall
• Kota Kuala Kedah
• Lata Mengkuang Waterfall
• Lembah Bujang Archaeological Park
• Pantai Merdeka
• Kuala Muda - The Kota Kuala Muda Tsunami Memorial and the next door Tsunami Gallery are poignant reminders of the devastating tsunami which took place on 26 December 2004 following a powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra.
• Pantai Murni Waterfront
• Pekan Rabu (Wednesday Market) – A multi-storey arcade selling a wide range of traditional delicacies, handicraft products and apparel[32]
• Rumah Merdeka
• Seri Perigi Waterfall
• Sungai Merbok Recreation Park
• Sungai Sedim Tree Top Walk – The longest canopy walk in the world stretching 950m-long, visitors can enjoy the fabulous sight of rushing streams and truly fascinating flora and fauna all from 50m up[33]
• Ulu Muda Eco Park
• Ulu Paip Recreational Forest
• Hutan Paya Laut
• Ulu Legong Hot Springs – The only 24-hours hot spring, located 22 km from Baling[34]
• Wat Nikrodharam – revered as being the primary Buddhist house of worship in Kedah's state capital, Alor Setar[35]
• Titi Hayun Waterfall
• Kulim
• Gunung Jerai
• Zahir Mosque (Masjid Zahir) – One of Kedah's most distinctive architectural landmarks, it is one of the oldest mosques in the country[36]

The Langkawi International Airport is located at Padang Matsirat and it is also considered a tourist attraction as the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition takes place every 2 years near the airport. The airport handled almost 1.2 million passengers and over 41,000 aircraft movements in 2008. It serves as the primary gateway into Langkawi.

In 2007, Langkawi Island was given a World Geopark status by UNESCO.[37]

Places of interest[38]

• Mount Mat Cincang (Gunung Mat Cincang)
• Field of Burnt Rice
• Hot Springs
• Telaga Tujuh (The Seven Wells)
• Beach of Black Sand
• Tasik Dayang Bunting (Lake of the Pregnant Maiden)
• Gua Cerita (Cave of Stories)
• Gua Langsir (Curtain Cave)