Sungai Petani

Sungai Petani
Official logo of Sungai Petani [[1]]
Nickname:  SP
Country	Malaysia
State	Kedah
Government
• Yang DiPertua	Haji Adzmi Bin Din
Population  (2005)[2]
• Total	313 654
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed
Website	http://www.mpspk.gov.my/

Sungai Petani (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.

Politics

Sungai Petani is designated as a parliamentary area in its own right, with an electorate of 983,851 people. It is currently represented by Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

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.

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 nearest airport is the Penang International Airport on Penang Island. Another airport is Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, Alor Star (the state capital of Kedah).

Services and Amenities

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 gynaecolgists 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, Asian Institute of Medical,Science and Technology.

There are also three private hospitals in Sungai Petani; Metro Specialist Hospital, Strand Specialist Hospital and Hospital Pantai Utara.

Education

Sungai Petani also hosts a large number of reputable schools Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ibrahim,Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pekula Jaya and Sekolah Menengah Sin Min （新民国中） are some of the top schools in the state. SRJK (T) Saraswathi Nehi-Nehi is also one of the premier Tamil primary schools in Kedah.

The AIMST University formerly called the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology was situated in Amanjaya. Since April 2007 it is operated from the futuristic Semeling campus. The university offers a variety of professional courses, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, biotechnology, materials technology, engineering, and computer science/information technology. It is also among the few private institutions in the country to offer full-time courses in medicine and dentistry. UiTM is also located at Merbok, Sg. Petani.

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 university, the Open University Malaysia's(OUM) Regional Learning Center for the state of Kedah and Perlis is also located in Sungai Petani.

Tourism

Clock Tower

The major landmark of Sungai Petani is a clocktower 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 structure. The tower was a present from Lim Lean Teng to George V and Queen Mary to commemorate the Silver Jubilee.

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 5 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.

Gunung Jerai

In the northern part of the town, about 30 kilometres away, is the famous Gunung Jerai. 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 . It was consequently destroyed by the Malaysian authorities to make way for development.

The Carnivall

File:Carnivall.jpg

Carnivall theme park

The Carnivall is a newly opened water park in Sungai Petani within the grounds of Cinta Sayang Golf and Country Resort. Costing 20 million ringgit, the Carnivall is the first ever water park in Kedah. It was opened on 25 December 2006.

The Dato'K house

Located in Kampung Permatang Pasir,Tikam Batu,Sungai Petani.The house was the place of birth of Dato'K,Malaysia no 1's singer husband,Siti Nurhaliza.

Tikam Batu

A peaceful and most exciting small town in Sungai Petani.With a panoramic views,SMK Pekula Jaya in Tikam Batu has born estimately 4000 successful businessman,30% of them are millionaire.This school achieved the Malaysia Best School Award in 2006.This was the 17th time the school won the award.Tikam Batu is the most unique town located between Sungai Petani and Kota Kuala Muda/Pantai Merdeka.Food are most attracting things here,with a lot of variety of traditional and modern food,anyone can't stand the moment of eating here,so awesome!!

External links

• AIMST University

5°38′N 100°30′E