History, Geography and Demographics Of Langkawi

Dataran Helang (Eagle Square)

Langkawi means island of the reddish-brown eagle in colloquial Malay. The Malay word for eagle is helang - which is shortened to "lang". It was given the title of "Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah" in 2008 by Kedah's Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah as part of his golden jubilee to impress on tourists that it was part of Kedah.

History

A panoramic view of Kuah town, the commercial center of Pulau Langkawi.

Langkawi was traditionally thought to be cursed. However, in 1986 then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad decided to transform it into a tourist resort, helping to plan many of the islands buildings himself.

Geography and Demographics

Langkawi, a cluster of 105 islands separated from mainland Malaysia by the Straits of Malacca, is a district of the state of Kedah in Northern Malaysia and lies approximately 51 km west of Kedah. The total land mass of the islands is 47,848 hectares. The main island spans about 25 km from north to south and slightly more for east and west. The coastal areas consist of flat, alluvial plains punctuated with limestone ridges. Two-thirds of the island is dominated by forest-covered mountains, hills and natural vegetation.
The island's oldest geological formation, Gunung Matchincang, was the first part of South-East Asia to rise from the seabed in the Cambrian period more than half a billion years ago. The oldest part of the formation is observable at Teluk Datai to the north-west of the island, where the exposed outcrop consists of mainly sandstone (quartzite) in the upper parts and shale and mudstone in the lower parts of the sequence.

Demographics

Islam is practised primarily by ethnic Malays. Other major religions are Hinduism (mainly among Indians), Buddhism (mainly among Chinese and Thai) and Christianity (mostly Chinese).
Only four of the 99 islands are inhabited - Pulau Langkawi (the main island), Pulau Tuba, Pulau Rebak and Pulau Dayang Bunting. The population is approximately 99000 of which 90% are Malays. The other ethnic groups consist mainly of Chinese, Indians and Thais.