Sungai Petani

Infobox City
official_name = Sungai Petani
native_name = سوغاي فتني
other_name =
nickname = SP
website = http://www.mpspk.gov.my/


image_

pushpin_

pushpin_mapsize=360
image_blank_emblem = Sp logo.pngblank_emblem_size =
blank_emblem_type = Logo
blank_emblem_link = http://www.mpspk.gov.my/definisi_logo.php
map_caption = Location in Malaysia
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name = flag|Malaysia
subdivision_name1 = Kedah
established_title = Establishment
established_date = |established_title2 =
established_date2 =
leader_title = Yang DiPertua
leader_name = Haji Adzmi Bin Din
area_magnitude =
area_total_sq_mi =
area_total_km2 =
population_as_of = 2005
population_total = 313 654
population_footnotes = [http://www.mpspk.gov.my/latar_belakang.php]
population_density_sq_mi =
population_density_km2 =
timezone = MST
utc_offset = +8
timezone_DST = Not observed
latd = 5
latm = 39
lats =
latNS = N
longd = 100
longm = 30
longs =
longEW = E
footnotes =

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.

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.

Sungai Petani has many mall and shopping center. There are Central Square, Village Mall, Tesco, Giant, Econsave, Billion, Sp Plaza, Parkson and so on. Central Square is a well-known shopping place at Sungai Petani as well as Village Mall. For economical places are like Tesco, Giant,and Billion.

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 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 such as Father Barre's Convent (Primary and Secondary), Sekolah Menengah Ibrahim,Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bakar Arang,Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Khir Johari and Sekolah Menengah Sin Min （新民国中）are some of the top schools in the state. SRJK (T) Saraswathi is also one of the premier Tamil primary schools in Kedah.SJK(C) Sin Min A is also famous nationally for its acdemic performance.

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. Besides that, there also set up College PTPL at the town which provide many courses.

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. There are also have private college like PTPL College and Cosmopoint College.

Besides of these, there also have public University for example like UUM Branch Campus and Institusi Kemahiran Malaysia(IKM)

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 Fact|date=April 2007.

The Carnivall

The Carnivall is a newly opened water park in Sungai Petani within the grounds of Cinta Sayang Golf and Country Resort. Costing only 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 well accessibility of the place makes it one of the most well know attractions in Sungai Petani.

Pantai Merdeka

The only beach in the mainland Kedah, it is the major attraction for beach goers from all over northern 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 is a few minutes boat ride. 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 for the Raja Muda of Kedah during its time. There are also an archeology site in Kota Kuala Muda where precious stone (manik) dating a few hundred years was found.

Tanjung Dawai

Tanjung Dawai is a place which is known as seafood spot in Sungai Petani. It is located 30min from Sungai Petani. There provide the fresh fish with a lowest prices. Seafood is well known at that place.

External links

* [http://www.icity.com.my/ Sungai Petani Portal]
* [http://www.aimst.edu.my/ AIMST University]