Kedah in the context of "Songkhla Province"

The bunga emas dan perak (lit. "golden and silver flowers", Thai: ต้นไม้เงินต้นไม้ทอง RTGS: ton mai ngoen ton mai thong), often abbreviated to bunga mas (Jawi: بوڠا مس‎ "golden flowers"), was a form of tribute sent every three years to the king of Ayutthaya (Siam) from its vassal states in the Malay Peninsula, in particular, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Pattani, Nong Chik, Yala, Rangae, Kubang Pasu and Setul. The tribute consisted of two small trees made of gold and silver, along with costly gifts of weapons, goods and slaves.

According to a Kedahan source, the first time a bunga mas was sent, it was sent as a toy for a new-born Siamese prince who was the grandson of Sultan of Kedah himself since his kin, a princess was married to the Siamese king. The rulers of Kedah in the 17th-century considered it to be a token of friendship. However Siamese kings since instead maintained that it was a recognition of their suzerainty.

Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is divided into two parts by the Strait of Malacca: Penang Island to the west, where the capital city George Town is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula to the east. These two halves are physically connected by the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The state shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south.

Penang is one of Malaysia's most developed economic powerhouses, with the highest GDP per capita of all states. It also ranks second among the states in terms of average wages. Penang is Malaysia's leading exporter with nearly RM495 billion (US$119.57 billion) in exports in 2024, primarily through the Penang International Airport which is also the nation's second busiest by aircraft movements.

The monarchies of Malaysia exist in each of the nine Malay states under the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features of a federation.

Nine of the states of Malaysia are constitutionally headed by traditional Malay rulers, collectively referred to as the Malay states. State constitutions limit eligibility for the thrones to male Malay Muslims of royal descent. Seven are hereditary monarchies based on agnatic primogeniture: Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Perlis, Pahang, Selangor and Terengganu. In Perak, the throne rotates among three branches of the royal family loosely based on agnatic seniority. One state, Negeri Sembilan, is an elective monarchy; the ruler is elected from male members of the royal family by hereditary chiefs. All rulers, except those of Perlis and of Negeri Sembilan, use the title of Sultan. The ruler of Perlis is styled the Raja, whereas the ruler of Negeri Sembilan is known as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.

Yala (Thai: ยะลา, pronounced [já(ʔ).lāː] Malay: Jala) is the southernmost Province (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from northwest clockwise) Songkhla, Pattani, and Narathiwat. Yala is one of two landlocked provinces in southern Thailand, the other being Phatthalung. Its southern part borders Kedah and Perak of Malaysia.

Kubang Pasu, officially known as the Kingdom of Kubang Pasu Darul Qiyam (Malay: کرجاءن کوبڠ ڤاسو دار القيام, romanized: Kerajaan Kubang Pasu Darul Qiyam; Thai: เมืองกุปังปาสู; RTGS: Mueang Kupangpasu) was a Malay kingdom located in the northern Malay Peninsula. The state was established in 1839 as a gift to Tunku Anum of the Kedahan nobility, for his efforts in ending the conflict between Kedah and Siam in the aftermath of the Siamese invasion in 1821. The kingdom had two monarchs before it was re-integrated into Kedah in 1859.

Mahathir bin Mohamad (Jawi: محاضر بن محمد; IPA: [mahaðɪ(r) bɪn mohamad]; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who served as the fourth and seventh prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. He was the country's longest-serving prime minister, serving for a cumulative total of 24 years. His political career has spanned more than 75 years, from joining protests opposing citizenship policies for non-Malays in the Malayan Union in the 1940s to forming the Gerakan Tanah Air coalition in 2022. During his premiership, Mahathir was granted the title "Father of Modernisation" (Malay: Bapa Pemodenan) for his pivotal role in transforming the country's economy and infrastructure. At 100 years old, he is the second-oldest living former state leader in the world and the first Malaysian prime minister to reach that age.

Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir excelled at school and became a physician. He became active in UMNO before entering the parliament of Malaysia in 1964 as the Member of Parliament for Kota Setar Selatan, serving until 1969 amid losing his seat, subsequently falling out with Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and being expelled from UMNO. In 1970, he released the book The Malay Dilemma. When Tunku resigned, Mahathir re-entered UMNO and parliament through Kubang Pasu constituency, and was promoted to Minister of Education from 1974 to 1978 and Minister of Trade and Industry from 1978 to 1981. He became deputy prime minister in 1976 and in other cabinet before being sworn in as prime minister in 1981.

The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, also known as the Bangkok Treaty of 1909, was an agreement between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand). It was signed on 10 March 1909 in Bangkok, with ratifications exchanged in London on 9 July 1909. The treaty established the modern border between Malaysia and Thailand. Areas around modern Pattani, Narathiwat, southern Songkhla, Satun and Yala remained under Thai control, later becoming the site of the South Thailand insurgency.

Under the treaty, Thailand relinquished claims to Kedah (Thai: ไทรบุรี, romanized: Saiburi), Kelantan (กลันตัน, Kalantan), Perlis (ปะลิส, Palit) and Terengganu (ตรังกานู, Trangkanu), which entered the British sphere of influence as protectorates. During World War II, Thailand briefly reclaimed these territories with Japanese permission, but they were returned to British control after the defeat of the Axis powers. These four states, together with Johor, later became known as the Unfederated Malay States, eventually joining the Federation of Malaya and forming part of present-day Malaysia.

Suvarṇabhūmi (Sanskrit: सुवर्णभूमि, IPA: [suʋɐrɳɐbʰuːmi]; Pali: Suvaṇṇabhūmi, IPA: [suʋɐɳːɐbʰuːmi]; lit. 'golden land') is a toponym that appears in many ancient Indian literary sources and Buddhist texts such as the Mahavamsa, some of the Jataka tales, the Milinda Panha and the Ramayana.

Though its exact location is unknown and remains a matter of debate, Suvarṇabhūmi was an important port along trade routes that run through the Indian Ocean, setting sail from the wealthy ports in Basra, Ubullah, and Siraf, through Muscat, Malabar, Ceylon, the Nicobars, Kedah and on through the Strait of Malacca to fabled Suvarṇabhūmi.

Acehnese (/ˌɑːtʃəˈniːz/ AH-chə-NEEZ; Bahsa/Basa Acèh; Jawoë: بهسا اچيه, IPA: [bahsa at͡ʃɛh]), also written as Achinese, is an Austronesian language of the Chamic branch natively spoken by the Acehnese people in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. This language is also spoken by Acehnese descendants in some parts of Malaysia like in Yan District, Kedah. Acehnese is used as the co-official language in the province of Aceh, alongside Indonesian.

Being part of the Chamic languages group, Acehnese is the only Austronesian language of the Chamic branch spoken in Indonesia, its closest relatives are the other Chamic languages, which are principally spoken in Vietnam and Cambodia.