Gurun, Kedah

Gurun is a small town and a major industrial park situated within the parliamentary district of Jerai in Kedah, Malaysia. "Gurun" in English means desert, however the town does not resemble in the slightest the meaning of its English translation. Gurun derived its name from the word "gerun", which means terrify or "kurun" meaning elephant in the Siamese dialect. These words are associated with an incident during the reign of Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II Ibni Almarhum Sultan Jaafar Muazzam Shah (1874 - 1876), Sultan of Perak, who was killed in 1876 by the invading Thai armies when they crushed his body using an elephant. This incident took place behind the current Gurun Police Station.

Government and Politics

Administratively, Gurun is under the district of Kuala Muda and falls within the local government administration of Sungai Petani Municipal Council. Gurun is designated as N22 for the Kedah State Legislative Council Zone and is represented by Dr Leong Yong Kong (National Front - BN) (incumbent) who defeated Salma binti Ismail (People Justice Party - PKR) with majority of 1,296 votes in the 2013 General Election. Its Member of Parliament (P12 - Jerai) is Datuk Seri Jamil Khir bin Baharom (National Front - BN) who defeated Mohd. Firdaus Ja'afar (Malaysian Islamic Party - PAS) by a majority of 1,196 votes.