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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: JUN-KHA |
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KEDAI .This state, on the west coast of the peninsula, lies between parallels 5 20' and 6 42' N., and is bounded, N. by Palit and Songkla, E. by Songkla and Raman, S. by Province Wellesley and Perak, and W. by the sea. The coast-line is 65 m. long, the greatest distance from north to south is try m. and the greatest breadth 46 m. Off the coast lies a group of islands, the largest of which is Langkawi, well peopled and forming a district of the state. The total area of Kedah is about 4000 sq. m. The land is low-lying and swampy near the coast except towards the south where the height known as Kedah Hill rises from the shore opposite Penang , flat and fertile farther inland, and mountainous towards the eastern border. The rivers are small, the Sungei Kedah, navigable for a few miles for vessels of 50 tons, and the S.M uda,which forms the boundary with Province Wellesley, being the only streams worthy of notice. The plains are formed of marine deposit, and in the mountains lime-stone and granite preponderate. The population is estimated at 220,000, of whom about too,000 are Malays, 50,000 Siamese and Samsams and 70,000 Chinese and Madrassis (Klings). There are three towns of importance. Alor Star, the capital , on the Kedah river, to miles from the sea, in a flat, unhealthy, but fertile locality, is a well laid out town with good streets, many handsome public and483 private buildings, and good wharfage for small vessels. The population is about 20,000, of whom more than half are Chinese, and the remainder government servants and retainers of the local aristocracy. Kuala Muda (pop. to,00n) and Kulim (pop. 8000) situated in the south, are unimposing collections of small birch houses and thatched bamboo huts; the latter is the centre of the Kedah tin mining industry. The bulk of the population is scattered over the plains in small villages. A good road runs north from Alor Star to the border of the state, a distance of 40 miles, and other roads are being constructed. The state has 185 miles of telegraph line and 75 miles of telephone line. Mails are closed daily at Alor Star for Penang and there is a good internal postal service. The chief
chief
cotton
control . There are schools in the chief towns, but education has not yet been seriously undertaken.Kedah was founded by colonists from India in A.D. 1200, about which time the Siamese had subdued Nakhon Sri Tammarat and claimed the whole Malay Peninsula. When the rise of Malacca shook Siamese authority in the peninsula, Kedah oscillated between them, and on the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese, fell to Siam, though the capital was raided and burnt by the Europeans. The ruler and his people were converted to Islam in the 15th century. In 1768, the Siamese kingdom being disorganized, the sultan of Kedah entered into direct political relations with the Hon. East India Company, leasing the island of Penang to the latter. Further treaties followed in 1791 and 1802, but in 1821 Siam reasserted her control , expelling the rebellious sultan after a sanguinary war. The sultan made several fruitless efforts to recover the state, and at length made full submission, when he was reinstated. In 1868 an agreement between Great Britain and Siam was substituted for the treaties of the East India Company with the sultan. The present sultan succeeded in 1881, and for 14 years governed well, but in 1895 he began to contract debts and to leave the government to his minions. The result was chaos, and in 1905 the Siamese government had to intervene to avert a condition of bankruptcy, adjusting the finances and reorganizing the general administration to such effect that when, four years later, the state became a British dependency, a government was found established on a sound basis and requiring nothing but the presence of a firm and experienced officer as adviser to maintain its efficiency and assist its further advance.PERras (Palit).This small state, consisting of the left bank drainage area of the Perlis River, lies between Setul and Kedah, which bound it on the N. and W. and on the E. respectively. It touches the sea only round the mouth of the river. The population is about to,000, Malays and Chinese. The chief town, Perlis, is situated about 12 M. Up the river. A good deal of tin is worked, and rice and pepper are grown and exported. In the early part of the 19th century Perlis was a district of Kedah, but during a period of disturbance in the latter state it established itself as a separate chiefdom. In 1897 Siam restored the nominal authority of Kedah, but the measure was not productive of good. In 1905 the Siamese government advanced a loan of $200,000 to Perlis, and appointed an English adviser to assist in the general administration. This money was refunded to Siam and the adviser relieved by a British officer when the state became British in July 1909. The condition of the state has improved, but the revenue, $8o,000, is not sufficient for the immediate needs of government.AUrxoRITIES.Norman, The Far East (London, 1895) ; H. Clifford, in the Geographical Journal (London, 1896); Carter, The Kingdom of Siam (London, 1904); Graham, Reports on Kelantan (Bangkok, 1905-1909) ; Skeat and Blagden, Pagan
(W. A. G.) End of Article: KEDAI If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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