Kedah (pop. 1,947,651) is a state in northwest Peninsular Malaysia. It lies on the border with Thailand. The state includes the Langkawi Islands, a small group lying off the coast of Perlis. Kedah occupies an area of 3,668 square miles (9,500 square kilometers). The state capital is Alor Setar. Kedah’s head of state is a hereditary ruler known as a sultan. A majority of the people are Malay.
Most of the people work in agriculture. The main crop is rice, and the state is the major rice producer of the Malay peninsula.
There are large rubber plantations in the central and southern parts of the state. Some of the people in coastal towns and villages gain their living from fishing. Industrial estates have been established in the western part of the state, and manufacturing and processing plants have been built there. The milling of rice remains an important source of employment.
From the earliest times, Kedah was an important center for settlement and trade because of its geographical position. The state contains Stone Age sites, and has important Hindu and Buddhist remains.
The region was part of the great Sumatran empire of Srivijaya. With the decline of Srivijaya in the 1200’s, Kedah came under the influence of the Thais, who advanced from the north. The rise of Melaka in the 1400’s led to a Thai retreat. Kedah became an Islamic state.
During the 1500’s and 1600’s, the Acehnese from Sumatra and the Bugis from Sulawesi frequently raided Kedah. The Portuguese also attacked Kedah. In 1786, the sultan of Kedah ceded Penang to the British East India Company. In return, he was to receive yearly payments from the British. He also hoped for British protection against possible attacks from Siam (now Thailand) or Burma (now Myanmar) to the north. In 1821, Thai forces again attacked the region. Kedah remained under the control of the Thais during the 1800’s. In 1909, through an Anglo-Thai agreement, it came under British authority.
Although there was a British adviser in Kedah beginning in 1909, the local rulers remained largely independent during the colonial period. Following the Japanese attack on the peninsula in 1941, Kedah was given back to Thailand. With the defeat of the Japanese in 1945, the state again came under British authority. In 1948, Kedah became part of the Federation of Malaya.
