Langkawi
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Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah Langkawi Permata Kedah لڠكاوي ڤرمات قدح 兰卡威 |
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A view of Kuah town, the commercial centre of Langkawi Island
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| Motto: Bandaraya Pelancongan (English: City of Tourism) | |
 Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah
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| Coordinates: 6°21′N 99°48′E / 6.350°N 99.800°E | |
| Country |
 Malaysia
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| State |
 Kedah
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| Establishment | 1957 |
| Granted municipal status |
2001 |
| Government | |
| • Yang Di-Pertua (Mayor) |
Abdul Bari bin Abdullah |
| Area | |
| • Total | 478.5 km2 (184.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 94,777 |
| • Density | 200/km2 (510/sq mi) |
| Time zone | MST (UTC+8) |
| • Summer (DST) | Not observed (UTC) |
| Postal code | 07xxx |
| International dialling code prefix | +6049 (landline only) |
| Website | mplbp |
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi the Jewel of Kedah (Malay: Langkawi Permata Kedah), is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. On 15 July 2008, Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah had consented to the change of name to Langkawi Permata Kedah in conjunction with his Golden Jubilee Celebration. By far the largest of the islands is the eponymous Langkawi Island with a population of some 64,792, the only other inhabited island being nearby Tuba Island. Langkawi is also an administrative district with the town of Kuah as largest town. Langkawi is a duty-free island.
The name Langkawi is thought to have existed by the early 15th century, although in the 16th century the island of Langkawi was also marked on maps variously as Langa, Langka, Lansura, and Langapura.
There are many suggestions for the origin of the name of Langkawi. According to one interpretation, Langkawi means island of the reddish-brown eagle in colloquial Malay. The Malay word for eagle is helang - which is shortened to "lang", while kawi is the name of a red stone used as a chalk to mark goods. This interpretation was used to create the landmark sculpture of an eagle as the symbol of Langkawi at Dataran Helang (Eagle Square) in Kuah.
It is however widely believed that Langkawi is also the same as the Lanka or Langkapuri mentioned in Indian sources. The name is thought to be related to Langkasuka, an old kingdom thought by some to have links with Kedah, and puri means a castle with a moat or a palace. Some also thought that Langkawi means "many beautiful islands", langka being a Sanskrit word meaning "beautiful" while wi means "many".
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Wikipedia