Sungai Petani (abbreviated ""Sg. Petani"" or ""SP"") is a town in the state of Kedah, in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Sungai Petani is the second largest town in Kedah after Alor Star. The name Sungai Petani has its roots from "sungai" meaning river and "petani" meaning farmer in the Malay language. Sungai Petani in full means "Farmer's River", as there are a lot of paddy fields and farmers in the state. The word "petani" may also refer to "Pattani", a city in present-day Thailand to which the river was once connected. Even the old spelling of Sungai Petani was "Sungei Patani", without any reference to farming.