The opportunity to visit relatives of Acehnese groups in Kampung Acheh, Yan, Keudah, Malaysia is inherent in my memories. People living in Kampung Acheh are Malaysian citizens of Acehnese descent, they still speak Acehnese in their daily lives. It can not be ascertained, when the first time the people of Aceh settled in Yan, but they believe is the 5th generation of the first generation.
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> The Yan District is a district in Kedah, Malaysia. It is bordered by Kota Setar District to the north, Pendang District to the northeast and Kuala Muda District to the south. Yan District is along the coast of the Straits of Malacca. It is the smallest municipality in Kedah. <sup>[en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yan_District)</sup>
Kampung Acheh is one of the villages in Mukim Yan. There are 5 Mukim in Yan area ie Mukim Yan, Mukim Sala Besar, Mukim Sungai Daun, Mukim Dulang dan Mukim Singkir.
Mukim is a Sub-District within a country, a region consisting of several kampongs. In Indonesia the term mukim is only used in Aceh Goverment.
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> Malay loan word Mukim came from Arabic word Iqama. This term synonymous with word distrik, daerah, or wilayah.
> * In Brunei, a mukim is a subdivision of a daerah (district). The equivalent of the word 'mukim' in English would be 'sub-district'.
> * In Malaysia, a mukim can either be a subdivision of a daerah (district) or a subdivision of sub-district, (Section 11(c) of the National Land Code 1965)
> * In Singapore, a mukim is a survey district in a rural area. There are 34 mukim survey districts in Singapore, as well as 30 Town Subdivision survey districts.
> * In Indonesia, Mukim means 'a place to stay' or 'the one who stay', Permukiman generally use to refer 'a settlement'. The term mukim used exclusively as a subdivision of a subdistrict in Aceh. A mukim contains some villages. <sup>[en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukim)</sup>
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I came to Yan with three friends from Aceh on a missions trip, they are Zainal Arifin (high ranking official in [aceh.tribunnews.com](http://aceh.tribunnews.com/)), Safar Nyaktafar (Chairman of Yayasan Advokasi Rakyat Aceh (YARA) (Advocacy Foundation for People of Aceh)) and YudhisTira Al-asyiie (YARA Treasurer).We ordered a [Grab](https://www.grab.com/id/en/car/) app service taxi in Alor Star intending to Yan, a gracious driver grab us to Kampung Acheh, Yan.
Arriving in the small town of Yan, we tried to reopen the Grab app to ensure the vehicle to return to Alor star, apparently there is no Grab service in Yan. We had to ask the Grab driver to wait about 2-3 hours, he insisted on returning to [Alor Star](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alor_Setar) because his contract was only delivering, after being persuaded for various reasons he finally agreed. We treat him like a best friend, from the time he first boarded his vehicle.
We entered the village of Acheh, and we took pic in the signpost, taken by the Grab driver.
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This is our first visit there, by using the assist of Google Map, we direct the destination to Kem KAMC (Kampung Aceh Management Center) lot 2505, kampong Acheh, 06900 Yan, Keudah. Darul Aman. There we came across a camp clerk, we told each other then he seemed to dissolve in his homeland longing, the driver grab started to talk in our conversation and the atmosphere grew vibrant.
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Then the KAMC officer called someone, sedan car came an elderly man drove a luxury sedan car then immediately greeted with the language of Aceh, and invited us coffee at a warung, there we _"peh tem"_ at length.
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They all speak the language of Aceh, we feel exactly being in a village just like relaxing in a coffee shop in Aceh. then we get to know each other.
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We also introduced a grab driver, as our best friend from Alor Star, then he also introduced himself, _"My name is Shahrel Elham, a Malaysian police job, once served as Tan Sri Dato' Seri Sanusi Junid's personal bodyguard team"_, I was astonished whispering to my friend beside me, _"That na teuh, pakon han in peugah dari beunoe"_ (why he did not say that before). There was an atmosphere of intimacy like a longing for siblings.
Tan Sri Dato' Seri Sanusi Junid, a senior Malaysian politician who is of Acehnese originally, had served as Minister of State and Foreign Development, Malaysia, the birth of Kampung Acheh village, Yan, Keudah.
Here the photos I shot there, some of which I uploaded on Google Map.
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we are getting ready at Shahab Perdana bus station to Terminal Bas Ekspres Sungai Nibong, Penang Island.
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Photos are my collection, taken with Samsung S7 smartphone camera.