Alor Setar
Alor Setar
Loqstaq (Kedah Malay) | |
|---|---|
| City of Alor Setar Bandaraya Alor Setar (Malay) | |
City centre skyline Kuala Kedah Marina Mahathir Mohamad's house | |
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Flag Seal | |
| Motto: | |
Interactive map of Alor Setar | |
Alor Setar Alor Setar Alor Setar (Malaysia) Alor Setar Alor Setar (Southeast Asia) Alor Setar Alor Setar (Asia) | |
| Coordinates: 06°07′06″N 100°22′10″E / 6.11833°N 100.36944°E | |
| Country | Malaysia |
| State | Kedah |
| District | Kota Setar Pokok Sena |
| Establishment | 30 December 1735 |
| Sanitary Board | 1905 |
| Town Board | 1958 |
| Town Council | 1970 |
| Local Government | 1976 |
| Municipality status | 1 February 1978 |
| City status | 21 December 2003 |
| Founded by | Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II |
| Government | |
| • Type | City council |
| • Body | Alor Setar City Council |
| • Mayor | Yang Berbahagia Dato' Haji Abdul Gafar bin Yahya (since 2 February 2025) |
| Area | |
• City | 424 km2 (164 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 57 m (187 ft) |
| Highest elevation (Mount Keriang) | 99 m (325 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 417,800 |
| • Density | 982/km2 (2,540/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 839,400 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | Not observed |
| Postal code | 05xxx |
| International dialling code prefix | +6047 (landline only) |
| Website | mbas.gov.my |
Alor Setar (Kedah Malay: 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 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 430 km (270 mi) from Kuala Lumpur and 79 km (49 mi) north of George Town, Penang. From Thailand, the city is easily accessible via the Padang Besar–Sadao Highway, it is 51.8 km (32.2 mi) from Sadao and 106 km (66 mi) 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 was 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 666 km2 (257 mi2), 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 Mohamad, the country's longest-serving prime minister of 24 years (in office from 1981 to 2003, from 2018 to 2020).