was built to replace a smaller hospital. The Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital was handed over by the Public Works Department to the Ministry of Health on July 23, 2006. It has 498 beds and provides secondary and tertiary specialist services There are also other various private medical facilities. They are Pantai Hospital Laguna Merbok (formerly known as Amanjaya Specialist Centre), Pantai Hospital Sungai Petani, and Metro Specialist Hospital. Education Primary and Secondary Kuala Muda Yan District Education Office administers the primary and secondary education of two districts, Kuala Muda (where Sungai Petani is located) and Yan. Sungai Petani hosts a large number of reputable schools such as the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ibrahim which was established in 1919 and Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa. Other schools include Convent Father Barre (Primary and Secondary), Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bakar Arang, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Khir Johari, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Sungai Petani, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tunku Ismail, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Pasir, Sekolah Menengah Teknik Sungai Petani 1 & 2, SJK(T) Saraswathy, Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan Sin Min, and SJK(C) Sin Kwang. There is also Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Merbok in Merbok, about 11 km northwest of Sungai Petani. Tertiary The AIMST University (the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology), was previously in Amanjaya. The university offers a variety of professional courses, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, biotechnology, materials technology, engineering, and computer science and information technology. Universiti Teknologi Mara has a branch campus at Merbok, Sungai Petani. Another government institution with campuses in Sungai Petani include Institusi Kemahiran Malaysia (IKM), Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Sultan Abdul Halim (IPG KSAH), an institution set up by the government to provide teaching courses for trainee teachers, and Kolej Komuniti Sungai Petani, a community college that provides Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) courses. Sungai Petani also has a number of private colleges and universities. One of them is the Open University Malaysia (OUM) that operates as the Regional Learning Center for the state of Kedah and Perlis. Other private colleges include MSU College and Cosmopoint College. Shopping Sungai Petani has many malls and shopping centers. Amanjaya Mall, Central Square, Village Mall are modern shopping malls in the city. There are also a few retailer chain and hypermarket outlets such as Tesco Sungai Petani and Tesco Sungai Petani South. Religious Institutions Sungai Petani has no dearth of religious buildings. Muslims can visit Masjid Sultan Muzaffar Shah.