Pulau Penang Cherishes it’s in its capital city of Georgetown as dearly as an oyster it’s pearl. Deep in the heart of the capital you’ll find one ‘small(Tamil) shop’ that peddles the betel, or paan leaf, association with which, in turn, gave the areca palm its popular name of ‘betel nut palm’. Pulau Penang is named for the betel nut palm (pinang in Malay), which flourish in abundance on isle. When the British landed in 1786, they claimed the island of the Betel Nut Tree for their own from the Sultan of Kedah and called it Prince of Wales’ Island – it being His Highness’ birthday – and its capital after George III. But for once, history was quick to revert to Penang, and citizens even refer to Georgetown as simply Tanjung, the Malay word for ‘headland’.
It would seem an apt answer to imperialism – but for the fact that the old ‘Malay’ name seems to Portuguese power. Then, in the 16th century, the little isle was a convenient watering hole on the circuit as Batu Ferringhi after the white men; and the Portuguese, it is said, in their turn named the mainland opposite, Pulo Pinaom!
For over a century after, this island doorkeeper to the Strait of Malacca become a haven for merchants go, pirates follow, and so it was at this natural monsoon harbour. It was at the height of the 18th-century spice and opium trade that Sultan of Kedah ceded Penang to the Briton Caption Francis Light and sought protection against the threatening legions of Siam and Burma. However, the Brits played him false and Sultan Abdullah turned his armies on them. It was all settled in ‘civilised’ fashion by a treaty eventually, which has been passed down to this day. The Penang State Government still pays the Sultan of Kedah RM 18, 8000 a year – the 6,000 Spanish which Light originally agreed to cough up.
Today, old Penang sits check by jowl with modem Malaysia in Georgetown. Rustic kampungs on the outskirts of the town lend a rich contrast to the KOMTAR skyscraper in the heart of Georgetown. Hawkers vend spicy savouries through all hours of the night in the jostle of wet markets, temples, gurudwaras, mosques and churches, maidans and pre-war architectural relics. Somewhere in this melee, China and India are brought closer than neighbours, as close as Siamese twins in the back-to-back ethnic districts.
Orientation
Legend JI = Jalan (road); L = Lorong (small street); LH = Lebuh (street); RM = Malaysian Ringgit; St = Street
Bayan Lepas Airport is in the far south of Penang, and you will drive up to the north-east trip of the island to its capital, Georgetown. The city of Butterworth, on the strip of Penang State that is on Peninsular Malaysia, is the entry point to Georgetown by train and ferry.
Georgetown itself is navigated most easily by referring to the Pengkalan Weld Quay on the south-east coast, where all buses start, and the tall KOMTAR (Kom-pleks Tuanku Abdul Rahman) building that dominates the city center, where all buses in Georgetown stop by. Weld Quay is next to the 24-hr ferry terminal where all boats arrive from Butterworth. Little India centers along temple-and-mosque Street, JI Kapitan Keling, and LH Chulia, home to cheap stays and food stalls. Lh Chulia links Little India to Chinatown, whose heart is Armenian Street and Cannon Square. Colonial Georgetown is just north of Chinatown, centering around Fort Cornwallis on the waterfront. Take the Farquhar Expressway west to the beaches of Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Tokong and Tanjung Bungah.
▪ Maps The Penang Tourist Newspaper (RM 2) published by the Penang Tourist Guides, Association is really useful, especially for its map. Streets of Georgetown (RM 35), a detailed guide to the built heritage of Georgetown. It can be bought from all major bookstores. It also has an excellent ‘heritage sites’ map which includes the khoo kongsi and the Cheong Fat Tze Mansion.
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