SUNGAI PETANI - Background

Tonight, I will share with you about another town at Kedah which is Sungai Petani.

Sungai Petani also known as SP by the citizens is the second largest town in Kedah after Alor Setar. From a small urban centre in the 1970’s Sungai Petani grew rapidly in the 1980’s and 90’s from expansion of the manufacturing sector. Today Sungai Petani is the second fastest growing town in Malaysia, after Johor Bahru.

Sungai Petani Town

      Sungai Petani in the Malay language literally means Farmer’s River. There are several versions as to how the town got its name. The simplistic version says that the name is derived from the geographical position bounded by two parallel rivers, Sungai Petani and Sungai Pasir. The rivers are said to ‘bertanding’ (in Malay ) or to compete, thus rivers competing is said as ‘sungai bertanding’ or pronounced in local Malay as ‘sungai pataning’. Eventually it became ‘sungai patani’.

      Historians prefer the version that suggests this settlement grew along the trade route from Pattani (Kingdom of Langkasuka) in southern Thailand. The ancient trade route followed the Patani River, across the hilly region of Kedah and eventually follow Sungai Kuala Ketil towards the Merbok estuary (near Bujang Valley).

Sungai Petani at night

It is believed that the town derives its name from the Patani traders who travelled by these rivers to the Merbok estuary. Many Patani inhabitants came down through this river and eventually settled near the estuary. Sungai Petani had been called Sungai Patani for years before it was changed in the 1980’s when language experts insisted on the use of correct Malay spelling, perhaps changing the historical significance as well.

     In the 1920’s to the 60’s, Sungai Petani was the backdrop of the rubber industry. With the fall of rubber prices in the 1980’s, the State setup the industrial hub in Sungai Petani. Growth today is centred on the diverse industries established - from electronics to wood-base products. From a population of about 36,000 in 1970, it has grown to 250,000. Sungai Petani is about 30 km from Butterworth, and is about 48 minutes drive from Penang island by the toll expressway.

Toll Expressway Sungai Petani