The history of Kedah

Kedah Logo

pic credit from google.

With the archeological artifacts uncovered in Lembah Bujang, Kedah was recognised as a major kingdom on the Malay Peninsula dated back to the 5th century. As with most other Malays states located in the north, Kedah was under the influence of Siam in the 15th Century. Kedah was able to remained independent from Siamese rule sporadically within that period. The attacked by Acheh in 1618, lead to Kedah seeking protection form Siam. In doing so, Kedah became under the Siamese influence for the second time.

Kedah's position was further jeaopadised with the pressure from the Bugis, the Siamese and the Burmese in the 18th Century. The power struggled between them sparked a civil war in 1724. The Bugis leader, Raja Haji, invaded Kedah in 1770.

Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Syah appealed to the British for protection from the Siamese threat. The British appointed Sir Francis Light to negotiate the protection conditions. In return for protection, The British obtained an exclusive lease of Pulau Pinang for her British East India Company. Lead by sir Francis Light, the British established a settlement on Pulau Pinang on 11 August 1786.

By 1788, Sultan Abdullah realized that the British had no intentions in helping Kedah's situation with the Siamese. In retaliation, Sultan Abdullah attempted to drive The British off Pulau Pinang. However, Sir Francis Light quashed the challenge. Consequently, Sultan Abdullah was forced to hand over Pulau Pinang to The British on 11 May 1791.

Without the protection of the British, the Siamese invaded and conquered Kedah in 1821. The Kedah sultanate tried many times to restore the Kedah's independence. Eventually, Siam.

In 1909, Kedah was relinquished to The British with the signing of the Bangkok Agreement. In line with the British colonization policy of installing an advisor in all the Malay states, Sir George Maxwell was installed as the first British adviser in 1909. Similar to other Malay states, Kelantan was placed under the British Military Administration from September 1945 to early 1946.

In October 1945, the British laid out the Malayan Union scheme before the British Parliament. Under the scheme, Pulau Pinang, Melaka and nine other Malay states were to be united under the Malayan Union. Sir Harold MacMicheal was then entrusted in obtaining the agreements from the Malay Rulers.

Malays opposition to the British plans to form the Malayan Union catalyst the movement for Independence. Sparked by national sentiments, Dato Onn Jaafar formed United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) on 11 May 1946. The Malay Federation was founded on 1 February 1948 and on 31 August 1957, Malaya achieved Independence.