Sungai Petani
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| Sungai Petani سوغاي فتني |
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| Nickname(s): SP | |||
.png)  Sungai Petani
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| Coordinates: 5°39′N 100°30′E / 5.65°N 100.5°E | |||
| Country |  Malaysia |
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| State | Kedah | ||
| Establishment | |||
| Government | |||
| - Yang DiPertua | Haji Adzmi Bin Din | ||
| Population (2005)[2] | |||
| - Total | 313 654 | ||
| Time zone | MST (UTC+8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Not observed (UTC) | ||
| Website | http://www.mpspk.gov.my/ | ||
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Sungai Petani (Jawi: سوغاي فتني ) (abbreviated "Sg. Petani" or "SP") is a town in the state of Kedah, in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Sungai Petani is the second largest town in Kedah after Alor Star. The name Sungai Petani has its roots from sungai meaning river and petani meaning farmer in the Malay language. Sungai Petani in full means "Farmer's River", due to the huge concentration of paddy fields and farmers in the state. The word "petani" may also refer to "Pattani", a city in present day Thailand to which the river was once connected. Even the old spelling of Sungai Petani was "Sungei Patani", without any reference to farming.
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[edit] Politics
Sungai Petani is designated as a parliamentary area in its own right, with an electorate of 983,851 people (2008). It is currently represented by Johari Abdul from Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
The parliamentary area of Merbok and part of parliamentary area of Yan (Gurun) is also part of Sungai Petani Municipal administrative area.
[edit] Economy
Sungai Petani has a high and medium sized business community. Small and medium industry also play a part in the local economy, producing numerous products, from semiconductors to television tubes and from textile to wood products. Sungai Petani is also a booming business center with many large malls, franchise stores and business enclaves.
Sungai Petani has many malls and shopping centers such as Central Square, Village Mall, Lagenda Height Tesco, Sungai Petani South Tesco, Giant, Econsave, Billion, Sp Plaza, Parkson, with Central Square and S.P South Tesco being the most visited shopping malls.
[edit] Transportation
The town is accessible through the Federal Route 1 and also the North-South Expressway. Sungai Petani has two highway exits while the Federal Route I runs across the city. Apart from that, it also has a train station and an express bus hub that caters to any destination within Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
Sungai Petani also has an efficient local bus service, with air-conditioned red coaches.The express bus station not far from Sungai Petani Railway Station. The railway station is managed by KTMB Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad.
The nearest airport is the Penang International Airport on Penang Island. Another alternative airport is the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, Alor Star (the state capital of Kedah).
[edit] Services and amenities
[edit] Health
Sungai Petani has various health amenities such as the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital, a USD150-million hospital and various private medical facilities. It is one of the most high-tech hospitals in Malaysia with Total Hospital Information System. The Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital was handed over by the Public Works Department to the Health Ministry on July 23, 2006. It is a 498-bed hospital which provides secondary and tertiary specialist services.
The hospital provides laparoscopic gynaecology operations. It is a recognized training center for gynaecologists in this field. It is also a center for thoracic surgery for the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. This hospital is a training hospital for a local private medical college, AIMST University.
There are also two private hospitals in Sungai Petani: Metro Specialist Hospital and Hospital Pantai Utara.
[edit] Education
[edit] Schools
Sungai Petani also hosts a large number of reputable schools such as the famous Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ibrahim and Convent Father Barre (Primary and Secondary). Other schools include Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bakar Arang, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Khir Johari, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Sungai Petani, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tunku Ismail and Sekolah Menengah Teknik Sungai Petani 2.
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Amanjaya, in Sg. Lalang (6 km north of Sungai Petani) is the most crowded school in Kedah state and 2nd. most crowded school in the country.
SRJK(T) Saraswathi is also one of the premier Tamil primary schools in Kedah. Recently the school celebrated its 85th anniversary.
Sekolah Menengah Sin Min （新民国中）and its Chinese primary school counterpart, SJK(C) Sin Min, are both also famous nationally for its academic performance.
Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Merbok (MRSM) was opened a few years back. Located near Bujang about 11 km north west of Sungai Petani.
The District Education Department located in Sungai Petani administers two districts of Kuala Muda and Yan with the highest number of primary and secondary schools in the state of Kedah.
[edit] Tertiary
The AIMST University, (the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology), was previously situated in Amanjaya. In April 2007, the university moved to its new futuristic Semeling campus. The university offers a variety of professional courses, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, biotechnology, materials technology, engineering, and computer science and information technology.
Universiti Teknologi Mara has a branch campus located at Merbok, Sungai Petani. Universiti Utara Malaysia also has a branch campus here.
Other government institutes with campuses in Sungai Petani include Institusi Kemahiran Malaysia (IKM). Located ten minutes from Sungai Petani town, Institut Perguruan Sultan Halim is an institute set up by the government to provide teaching courses for trainee teachers.
One of the country's fastest growing private universities, the Open University Malaysia's (OUM) Regional Learning Center for the state of Kedah and Perlis are also located in Sungai Petani. There are also private colleges like PTPL College and Cosmopoint College offering a variety of courses.
[edit] Tourism
[edit] Clock tower
The major landmark of Sungai Petani is a clock tower located on the main street, Jalan Ibrahim. The clock tower was built in 1936. It is 12.1 m in height. It is topped by a dome-shaped and gold coloured structure. The tower was a present from Lm Lean Teng to George V and Queen Mary to commemorate the Silver Jubilee.
[edit] Parks and Gardens
Sungai Petani is also known for its green lungs and attractions. In the heart of the town is the famous Jubli Perak (Silver Jubilee) public park and also Bird Park. There are more than five golf courses around Sungai Petani as well as various streams and rivers. Many lakes dot the land and have been attracting fishing fans for years.
[edit] Gunung Jerai
In the northern part of the town, about 30 kilometres away, is the famous Gunung Jerai. Gunung Jerai is 1,217 metres from the sea level. This is the tallest mountain in the northern region and is surrounded by a vast jungle. It is a navigational point for ships entering the Straits of Malacca from the north because it is visible from far. There is an 18 km trekking route to the top of the mountain through a winding road. Atop the Jerai is a resort and the mountain boasts some tall and cooling waterfalls. Historically, the Jerai mountain served as the navigational point for traders from the east and west. There was a Hindu temple on top of the mountain that was built nearly a thousand years ago during the Bujang Valley Hindu Civilization[citation needed].
[edit] The Carnivall
The Carnivall is a newly opened water park in Sungai Petani within the grounds of Cinta Sayang Golf and Country Resort. With an entrance fee of MYR 20, the Carnivall is the first water park in Kedah. It was opened on 25 December 2006. Weekday rates are cheaper than weekend rates, and the good accessibility of the place makes it one of the most well known attractions in Sungai Petani.
[edit] Pantai Merdeka
The only beach in mainland Kedah, it is a major attraction for beach goers from all over mainland Penang and Kedah State. Various accommodation is available for rent to experience the beach and other attractions in the area which includes harvesting Kepah, Siput Kemudi and Kerang (variety of sea food in local language) in Kampung Tepi Sungai, Kota Kuala Muda, Pantai Merdeka itself and also at Pulau Sayak.
Pantai Merdeka is also a gateway to island activities for Pulau Bidan and Pulau Telor which are a few minutes boat ride away. These are good areas for fishing and resting at its beaches.
In addition to that Kota Kuala Muda housed an old fort used to be the fort of the Raja Muda of Kedah during its time. There is also an archeology site in Kota Kuala Muda where precious stones (manik) dating a few hundred years were found.
[edit] Tanjung Dawai
Tanjung Dawai is a place which is known as a seafood spot in Sungai Petani. It is located 30 minutes from Sungai Petani. It has about twenty seafood restaurants. Because of availability of seafood and competition, fine cuisine is available at prices lower most other similar areas - with a dinner for 10-12 people costing around MYR 100.
POTENTIAL TOURISM
Sungai Petani offers high potential of growth in tourism industry specifically in Historic Themes , Ecotourism and Aqua sports.
The district of Kuala Muda in which Sungai Petani is located is having the 2nd largest mangroove area in the country. Ecotourism is now in continuos development.
Sungai Petani was also noted for its battles and wars.
Pulau Tiga, near Laguna Merbok was once the location of His Highness Sultan Ahamd Tajuddin's palace and his headquarters after been defeated and drove away by the Siamese in the Battle for Kuala Kedah Fort in the 18th. century. For not so long after, the Siamese attacked the new palace and razed it down. The Sultan escaped to Penang and then Malacca. Kedah was then broken into severals administrative teritories and ruled by respective Siamese Military Governors. A few years than, after a peace negotiation, the Siamese agreed to re-install His Highness as the Sultan of Kedah with a new throne at the Kuala Muda Fort. The smaller teritories were then merged back as Kedah state with the military governors replaced with a Siamese Resident Advisor.
The present military camp was a RAF Aerodrome during the WWII and was heavily bombed by the Japanese Airforce on the 1st. day of the invasion of Malaya. The 6th. Brigade (Army) was historically full of military exploits/combats/battles during the Communist Insurgency in the 1970s. There are a large numbers of military cemeteries of Ghurkas' and Commenwealth soldiers. There are a numbers of fallen heroes during the insurgency that came from this command. One was the downing of a Nuri helicopter by the rebels near the Thai border that killed more than a dozen soldiers.The communist had officially ceast all hostilities since 1989 after a peace treaty with the Malaysian government.
The military camp also is the headquarters of the 19th. Royal Malay Regiments with war records such as the famous Black Hawk Downs battle in Mogadishu, Somalia. They helped rescued the surrounded US soldiers with one casualty of their own Regiment members.
The present District Police Headquarters was the headquarters/camp of the Police Field Force Battalion during the insurgency. The paramilitary police too has their shares of fallen heroes during the insurgency.
The bloody legend of Raja Bersiong (the King with Fangs) whom was believed to be one of the rulers of ancient Kedah was originated from the Lembah Bujang (or Bujangha in Sanskrit = Big Snake = Dragon ) , one of the 2 valleys (Lembah Muda is the other ) that covers half of the Sungai Petani surrounding landscape. The other half is the highland of Gunung Jerai. There are two major rivers Sungai Merbok and Sungai Muda that suitable for aquasport. There are also abandoned open mining/quarry pools that is suitable for water tourism.
Gunung Jerai offers abundance of waterfalls.
From Sungai Emas to Bukit Meriam, Bujang/Merbok, Pulau Tiga and Kota Kuala Muda one can trace the path of Kedah ancient capitals.
As for shopper and diners, Sungai Petani offers 6 KFC outlets, 3 Pizza Hut outlets, 1 MacDonald, 2 Secret Recipes,Starbuck Coffee, several kopitiams , Radixs outlets and plenty of Thai Cusine Style warungs and restaurants. Radix Orientals Cusine (halal) at Legenda Height worths a special mentioned for value for money in all aspects.
Sungai Petani is also the shoppers haven for textile and traditional gold jewelery.
[edit] External links
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