Paduka Sri Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Mu'adzam Shah II ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah I (1699 – 23 September 1778; also spelt Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zain al-‘Adilan Mu’azzam Shah) was the 19th
Sultan of Kedah
The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Uni ...
. He reigned from 1710/1723 to 1778 and is widely known as the founder of
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 ...
and many current landmarks in the city are attributed to him.
He went on pilgrimage to
Jambi
Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3, ...
and
Palembang
Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...
, where he met the Arab religious teacher Shaikh Abdul Jalil, then journeyed with him to
Java and
India. He returned to the mainland from his exile in Langkawi and formally installed at the Balai Penghadapan, Istana Bukit Pinang, May 1710. He transferred his capital to Alor Star on 20 December 1735.
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 ...
was founded in 1735 by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa and was the
Kedah’s eighth administrative centre since the establishment of the
Kedah Sultanate
The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Unio ...
in 1136. The earlier administrative centres were located in Kota Bukit Meriam, Kota Sungai Emas, Kota Siputeh, Kota Naga, Kota Sena, Kota Indera Kayangan and Kota Bukit Pinang.
After founding the city, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa went on to build his palace, Istana Kota Setar. The original building was a wooden structure which had undergone demolitions several times due to attacks by the
Bugis
The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...
(1770) and the
Siamese (1821). The current concrete building was completed during the reign of
Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah.
This palace is also renowned as the ''Istana Pelamin Palace'' when the space of the palace was extended to add a pavilion and several rooms when
Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah
Paduka Sri Sultan Sir Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah (4 June 1864 – 13 May 1943) was the 26th Sultan of Kedah. He reigned from 1881 to 1943.
Foreign relations
During his reign, the Sultan had aske ...
wanted to marry off his five princes and princesses. After 1941, this palace was used as a school and an office for several organizations including the office for the Kedah chapter of
St John's Ambulance
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...
and the
Scout movements. On 25 July 1983, this palace was declared the ''Kedah Royal Museum''.
Another structure attributed to Sultan Muhammad Jiwa was the Balai Besar (Grand Audience Hall). Initially the function of the building was as the Balai Rong Seri or Balai Penghadapan (audience hall), that was situated at the back area of the Istana Kota Setar complex. The pillars, roofs and floors were made of wood. It still stands to this day
Balai Nobat was also built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa upon founding of
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 ...
. The 18 metre-tall and 5 metre-wide three-tiered octagonal tower's purpose was to keep all the royal musical instruments including the serunai (wooden flute), nafiri, gendang (drum) and gong, which is known as
nobat.
Kedah achieved its greatest extent during his reign reaching from
Terang in the north to
Krian
Krian is a state constituency in Sarawak, Malaysia, that has been represented in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of ...
in the south.
References
External links
List of Sultans of Kedah*
*
*
{{Authority control
1778 deaths
Year of birth unknown
18th-century Sultans of Kedah
City founders