Welcome to Kedah

Welcome to Kedah, one of Malaysia's most iconic travel destinations and home to an amazing array of sights, activities and events. Even first time visitors to Kedah will quickly be enthralled by how fun and fascinating Kedah really can be. For those looking for a glimpse of the real Malaysia, or just a fun night out, Kedah mixes old world charm with a modern and vibrant night life.

History

Kedah also known by its honorific, Darul Aman, or "Abode of Peace" is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice. Langkawi is an archipelago of islands, most of which are uninhabited. Kedah was called Kadaram by Tamil people and Syburi by the Siamese when it was under their influence.

Kedah’s early history can be traced from the prehistoric period to the archeological site of Bujang Valley, the early Maritime trade of India, Persia, Arabs to the written works of the early Chinese pilgrims and early Chinese records, the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa or known as the Kedah Annals to the Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah. Kedah was also known as Kedaram, Kidaram, Kalagam and Kataha by the Tamils. It was known as Kalah or Kalaha by the Persians.

Kedah possess numerous islands, legends, historical relics, hill stations and scenic waterfalls. The legendary and famous island Langkawi is just off Kedah’s western shore. It has Bujang Valley, where evidence of the existence of an early civilisation dating back to the 6th century was found with other archeological discoveries. Not to mention its vast paddy fields spans across the backdrop of rolling hills which provides serenity and breathtaking views.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the region was dominated by Sri Vijaya. It followed by the Siamese until the 15th century, when the Malay sultanate of Melaka came to power. During this period, the Melakan influences were introduced while the dominant aspects of Kedah’s ancient civilisation began to wane.

In the 17th century, Kedah was attacked by the Portuguese when it conquered various parts of Malaysia. In 1821, Kedah fell into the hands of the Siamese and remained under their control until British took over when the Anglo-Siamese Treaty was signed in 1909. Kedah established independence along with the rest of Malaysia in 1957.

As Kedah is quite close to Thailand, some of its cultural traditions, songs and dances have Thai influences in them. Apart from that, even Kedah’s people often bear signs of Thai or Archinese ancestry looks.

Governance

Kedah's Constitution was promulgated by its Ruler in July 1950. The various provisions laid down in the Constitution include the role and powers of the Monarch, the State Parliament and the State's Civil Service.
The Sultan of Kedah is the constitutional ruler of the State. His position is hereditary and he holds office for life. The Ruler is the head of the religion of Islam in the State and the executive power of the state government is vested in him. The current Sultan is Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah, who has reigned since 1958.
The State Executive Council, which along with the Sultan is Kedah's executive branch of government. It is composed of the Menteri 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 Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Assembly). The current Menteri Besar is Dato' Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (also referred to as Parti Islam Se-Malaysia or PAS).

List of Chief Ministers
Mohamad Sheriff bin Osman 1948–1954 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Tunku Ismail bin Tunku Yahaya 1954–1959 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Syed Omar bin Syed Abdullah Shahabuddin 1959–1967 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Tun Dato' Seri Utama Syed Ahmad bin Syed Mahmud Shahabuddin 1967–1978 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Syed Nahad bin Tun Syed Sheh Shahabuddin 1978–1985 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Haji Osman bin Haji Aroff 1985–1996 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Sanusi bin Junid 1996–1999 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Syed Razak bin Syed Zain Barakhbah 1999–2005 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Dato' Haji Mahdzir bin Khalid 2005–2008 UMNO of Barisan Nasional
Dato' Seri Azizan bin Abdul Razak 2008- 5 May 2013 PAS of Pakatan Rakyat
Datuk Paduka Mukhriz Tun Mahathir 6 May 2013 – present UMNO of Barisan Nasional

Economy

Kedah is considered the "rice bowl" of Malaysia, accounting for one about a half of Malaysia's total
production of rice. In 2008, the state government banned the conversion of padi fields to housing and industrial lots to protect the rice industry. Tourism, particularly on the island of Langkawi is of growing importance. More recently, Kedah has forged its economy towards the automotive and aerospace industries with Modenas and Asian Composites setting up bases here. One of the main advantages is the low labour costs and the infrastructure in place with the North-South Expressway and the Penang International Airport close by. In 1996, the Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) was officially opened as the first high technology industrial park in Malaysia.[citation needed] The Park comprises a total land area of approximately 14.5 square kilometres (5.6 mi²).
According to the Ninth Malaysia Plan, this economic area is part of the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER). The Northern Corridor Economic Region is one of three development regions formed in Peninsular Malaysia; other development regions being the Iskandar Malaysia (or South Johor Economic Region) and the East Coast Development Region.

Religion / Races

As of 2010 the population of Kedah is 

• 77.2% Muslim, 
  
• 14.2% Buddhist, 
  
• 6.7% Hindu, 
  
• 0.8% Christian, 
  
• 0.3% Taoist or Chinese religion follower,
•  0.7% follower of other religions, and 
• 0.1% non-religious.

Educations

Public universities and colleges

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) 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

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.

Technical institutes

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.

Boarding schools

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

Private and Public Schools

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 Aman Jaya, SMK Bedong, SMK Bakar Arang, SMK Darulaman, SMK Ibrahim, SMK Jitra, SMK Mahsuri, SMK Tunku Panglima Besar, Keat Hwa Secondary School and etc. Private secondary school such as Keat Hwa High School, Sin Min High School and SM Sin Min.

Sports

In 2006, Kedah hosted the 11th Sukma Games. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar.

Sukma Games is a sporting event in Malaysia held once every year. Sukma is an acronym for Sukan
Malaysia; literally Malaysian Games, in other words this event is often viewed as a high end national level competition and is usually referred to as the "Malaysian Olympics". The first Games was held in 1986 in Kuala Lumpur. The game will be held annually from 2011. Participants of the event are picked from an extremely competitive pool of possible strong elite athletes for each respective state and are usually extremely proficient and skiled in their own respective disciplines.