Alor Setar

Alor Setar (Jawi: الور ستار, Kedahan: Loqstaq) is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is home to the third-tallest telecommunication tower in Malaysia, the Alor Setar Tower. Its location along the main travel corridor from Malaysia to Thailand has long made it a major transportation hub in the northern Malay Peninsula. Alor Setar sits along the country's longest expressway, located from Kuala Lumpur and north of George Town, Penang. From Thailand, the city is easily accessible via the Padang Besar–Sadao Highway, it is from Sadao and from Hat Yai. The city was originally founded as Kota Setar in 1785. Owing to the long status as the capital of Kedah, Alor Setar is regarded as one of the core cultural centres for the Kedahan Malays. It is also among the key pioneer in the Malayan transportation history, the railway station is commissioned in 1915 followed by its airport in 1929. Alor Setar is home to the Central State Administration Centre and is the administrative centre of Kota Setar District. At present, the city covers a land area of , which is occupied by more than 400,000 inhabitants (as per the 2020 census). At the local-government level, Alor Setar is administered by the Alor Setar City Council. It is the birthplace of two pivotal prime ministers of Malaysia; namely Tunku Abdul Rahman, the founding father of the nation (in office from 1957 to 1970) and Mahathir bin Mohamad, the country's longest-serving prime minister of 24 years (in office from 1981 to 2003, from 2018 to 2020). The name came from the combination of two Malay words: Alor ("small stream") and Setar (Bouea macrophylla Griff.; known as the marian plum, gandaria, or plum mango), a tree which is related to mango. The city's name was changed to Alor Star during a 21 December 2003 ceremony proclaiming it a city. The city's previous name was restored on 15 January 2009.