An International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) academic has sparked debate online after claiming that Kedah’s rich iron deposits may have originated from ancient meteorite impacts, with Gunung Jerai allegedly located at the centre of a massive impact zone.
Prof Dr Solehah Yaacob, whose academic background is in Arabic language and linguistics, presented the theory in a Facebook video promoting the “Sejarah dan Tamadun Melayu Hilang 5.0” course.
The video, themed “Besi Dari Langit” or “Iron From the Sky”, has attracted more than 350,000 views, over 9,700 likes, around 1,300 comments and a similar number of shares.
Solehah claimed that Kedah was once an area where large numbers of meteorites fell, bringing iron-rich material that could explain the abundance of iron associated with the ancient iron-smelting site at Sungai Batu.
“Kedah’s iron came from the sky. It was brought by meteorites. This used to be an area where meteorites fell, which is why there is so much iron here,” she said.
She further suggested that Gunung Jerai was at the centre of an ancient meteorite impact and that the vast Kedah plains surrounding it were actually situated within a giant crater.
According to her theory, the scale of the purported crater meant that people living within the area would not easily recognise its shape from ground level.
Solehah also linked the idea to Kedah’s relatively flat terrain, questioning why much of the state does not display the same mountainous landscape associated with the Titiwangsa Range in other parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
She referred to mountainous areas around Kerian in Perak and Wang Kelian in Perlis, before suggesting that broader geological formations extended northwards through Thailand’s Kra Isthmus and Myanmar’s Arakan Mountains towards Nepal and the Himalayas.
She also claimed that these mountain systems acted like stabilising “pillars” for the land and were among the reasons Malaysia experiences relatively few severe earthquakes.
However, Solehah acknowledged in the video that geology is not her field of expertise, saying her academic specialisation is Arabic language and linguistics.
She maintained that this did not prevent her from examining the subject, saying the ideas presented were based on discussions and research conducted with others.
According to Solehah, the arguments also drew on exchanges with academics who had been involved in archaeological research at Sungai Batu.
The discussion seeks to connect Kedah’s geography and natural resources with ancient iron-smelting activities and the development of the Old Kedah civilisation.
Among the questions raised in the video are why Kedah has substantial iron resources, whether meteorites could have played a role in their formation, and how the availability of natural resources may have influenced the development of early civilisation in the region.
The meteorite and crater explanations presented in the video remain Solehah’s assertions and were not accompanied in the material by geological findings establishing that Gunung Jerai was formed by a meteorite impact.
