Semeling 錫米嶺, Kedah

Semeling, Kedah (23 August, 2015)

Semeling (GPS: 5.7019, 100.47214; Traditional Chinese: 錫米嶺, Simplified Chinese: 锡米岭; Pinyin: Xī mǐ lǐng; Penang Hokkien: Siak1 Bee1 Ling4) is a small town in the district of Kuala Muda in Kedah. It is located across Sungai Merbok from Sungai Petani.

The pekan, or village centre, of Semeling straddles State Route K167, which is also called Jalan Raya Semeling. According to a UTAR community project report¹, Semeling was founded in 1950. Its name came from the Chinese 錫米嶺 which means "tin ridge", suggesting the presence of tin ore in Semeling. There were as many as ten tin-mining fields in the area in the mid-20th century, but these eventually became disused with the collapse of global tin prices. Moving away from tin, Semeling adopted the breeding of tiger prawns as an economic driver. The town also became popular as a food destination, with coffee shops selling fish porridge, satay and other barbecued meats.

Both sides of the road are lined with shophouses, either single or double storey ones. In the afternoon and evening time, you will find a number of stalls being set up by the roadside here, selling barbecued chicken and satay. I stopped here once to buy the satay, which is very inexpensive compared to those in Penang, and tasted very good too.

When I passed through Semeling, I saw some of the houses along the main road were in disrepair, which is a pity. If these houses were in Penang, I suppose someone would have bought it up and restored it to new.