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Gurun is a small town and a
major industrial park situated in Kedah,
Malaysia. "Gurun" in English means desert however the town does not
represent the slightest meaning of its English translation.
Gurun
earned its name from the word "gerun", means terrify or "kurun", means
elephant in Siamese dialect. These words are associated with an incident
where the ruler of Muslim Siam Empire, Sultan Jaafar Muadzam Syah, was
killed in 1876 by the invading Thai's armies by means of crushing the body
using an elephant. This incident took place behind the current Gurun
Police Station.
Administratively, Gurun is under the district of Kuala Muda and fall
within the local government administration of Sungai Petani Municipal
Council.
Gurun is
located between Guar Chempedak to the
north and Bedong to the south and can be reached
via the federal highway, the North-South Expressway and it even has its
own train station. The main junction in the town center connects the
western part of Kedah to the town of
Jeniang and the district of
Sik. The construction of Gurun Railway Station is a part of the
Bukit Mertajam -
Alor Setar railway extension project started
in late 1912 and completed in 1914.
Gurun is
well known for its corn stalls. Rows of these stalls stand along the
federal trunk road from Gurun town to
Guar Chempedak town.
Gurun is
home to a few major factories, such as Naza, Modenas, Perwaja Steel &
Petronas Fertilizer Kedah.
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