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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 capital city
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. The word "petani" may also refer to "Pattani", a
city in present day
Thailand
to which the river was once connected. Even the old spelling of Sungai
Petani was "Sungei Patani", without any reference to farming.
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 has many malls and shopping centers such as Central Square,
Village Mall, Lagenda Height Tesco, Sungai Petani North Tesco, Sungai
Petani South Tesco, Giant Hypermarket, Econsave, Billion, SP Plaza and Parkson.
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 make-shift express bus hub that caters to any destination
within Peninsular Malaysia,
Thailand and
Singapore.
Sungai Petani also has a relatively below average local bus service called
City Liner, with air-conditioned red coaches. The express bus station not
far from
Sungai Petani Railway Station. The railway station is managed by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad.
The nearest airport is the
Penang International Airport on
Penang
Island. Another alternative airport is the
Sultan
Abdul Halim Airport, Alor Star (the
state capital of Kedah).
Sungai Petani has various health amenities such as the
Sultan Abdul Halim
Hospital, a USD150-million hospital and various private medical
facilities. It is a 498-bed hospital which provides secondary and tertiary
specialist services.
There are also two private hospitals:
Metro Specialist Hospital and
Pantai
Hospital Sungai Petani.
The major landmark of Sungai Petani is a clock tower 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 and gold coloured structure. The
tower was a present from Lim Lean Teng to George V and Queen Mary to
commemorate the Silver Jubilee.
Tanjung
Dawai is a place which is known as a seafood spot in Sungai Petani. It is
located 30 minutes from Sungai Petani. It has about twenty seafood
restaurants.
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