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The State of Penang, one of the most developed and urbanised
Malaysian states The states and federal territories of Malaysia are the principal administrative divisions of Malaysia. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states (''Negeri'') and 3 federal territories (''Wilayah Persekutuan''). States and federal territories Elev ...
, is located at the nation's northwest coast along the
Malacca Strait The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
. Unlike most Malaysian states, the history of modern Penang was shaped by British colonialism, beginning with the acquisition of
Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Eas ...
from the
Sultanate This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continu ...
of
Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...
by the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
in 1786. Developed into a free port, the city state was subsequently governed as part of the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
, together with
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...
and
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site sin ...
; the state capital, George Town, briefly became the capital of this political entity between 1826 and 1832. By the end of the 19th century, George Town prospered and became one of the major
entrepôt An ''entrepôt'' (; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into co ...
s in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. During World War II, Penang was conquered and occupied by the
Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
from 1941 to 1945. At the end of the war, Penang was also the first state in the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
to be liberated by the British, under
Operation Jurist Operation Jurist referred to the British recapture of Penang following Japan's surrender in 1945. Jurist was launched as part of Operation Zipper, the overall British plan to liberate Malaya, including Singapore. While a larger Allied fleet sai ...
. The Straits Settlements was dissolved in the following year and Penang was merged into the
Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca)''See'': ...
. In spite of a secessionist movement within Penang, the merger with Malaya went ahead and the federation attained independence from the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in 1957. Malaya later evolved into the present-day
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
in 1963. Following the revocation of George Town's free port status in the 1960s, the state suffered economic decline and massive unemployment. The
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...
at the time led a push to reorient the economy towards hi-tech manufacturing, successfully recovering Penang's economy and lending the state its moniker the Silicon Valley of the East. Growing recognition of George Town as a bustling tourist destination, particularly since the city's inscription as a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2008, also boosted the state's services sector, and today, both the manufacturing and services sectors are the two strongest economic pillars of Penang. Moreover, the state enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates and Gini coefficients within Malaysia, as well as the second highest
gross domestic product (GDP) Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
per capita within the country after
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
.


Ancient Penang

Evidence of prehistoric human settlement in what is now Penang has been discovered in Guar Kepah within
Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is situated on the Malay Peninsula opposite Penang Island, bordering Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. Its city centre is located in Butterworth, while its local ...
(formerly Province Wellesley), the mainland half of Penang. Human remains, dating back to about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, have been found at the site south of the
Muda River The Muda River ( ms, Sungai Muda) is the longest river in Kedah, Malaysia. Course Sourced in Ulu Muda Forest in Sik region in northeastern Kedah, along the border with Thailand, the river provides water supply to the states of Kedah and Penang. ...
, along with seashells, pottery and hunting tools. These indicate that Seberang Perai had been inhabited by nomadic
Melanesians Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in a wide area from Indonesia's New Guinea to as far East as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Most speak either one of the many languages of the Austronesian language fa ...
from as early as the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...
era. Seberang Perai also became part of the
Bujang Valley The Bujang Valley ( ms, Lembah Bujang) is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south. It is the richest archaeological area in Ma ...
civilisation. The Cherok Tok Kun
megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...
in
Bukit Mertajam Bukit Mertajam ( Jawi:بوكيت مرتاجم) is the administrative centre of the city of Seberang Perai in Penang, Malaysia. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. , Bukit Mertajam (core) contains a total of 13,09 ...
, discovered in 1845, contains
Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...
inscriptions, indicating that an early
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
-
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
political entity in what is now
Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...
had established control over parts of Seberang Perai sometime between the 5th and 6th centuries. The entirety of what is now Penang would later form part of the
Sultanate of Kedah The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union ...
up until the late 18th century. Meanwhile,
Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Eas ...
was first documented by Chinese sailors of the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
in the 15th century. At the time, Ming Emperor Yongle was in the midst of launching naval expeditions that would eventually reach all the way to eastern
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The island, known as Bīnláng Yù (), was mapped by Admiral
Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...
's fleet in the ' Nautical Charts of Zheng He'. One of the first Englishmen to arrive on Penang Island was the privateer
James Lancaster Sir James Lancaster (c. 1554 – 6 June 1618) was an English privateer and trader of the Elizabethan era. Life and work Lancaster came from Basingstoke in Hampshire. In his early life, he was a soldier and a trader in Portugal. On 10 April 159 ...
who commanded the ''Edward Bonaventure''. He landed in June 1592 and remained on the island until September, pillaging every vessel he encountered. Penang Island was also indicated as Pulo Pinaom in Portuguese historian Emanuel Godinho de Eredia's 1613 map of the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
. In the early 18th century, ethnic Minangkabaus from
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent is ...
, led by Haji Muhammad Salleh (also known as Nakhoda Intan), landed on Penang Island, establishing a seaside settlement at Batu Uban in 1734. They were followed by the
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
, who subsequently intermarried with the Minangkabau; this gave rise to the Arab-Minangkabau admixture now described as Malay, as they have assimilated into the local Malay community.


Founding of Penang

The history of modern Penang only began in earnest in the late 18th century. Up until then, the
Sultanate of Kedah The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union ...
, which had control over Penang, had maintained turbulent diplomatic relations with
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
to the north. In the 1770s, the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
instructed
Francis Light Captain Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light and his lifelong partner, Martina Rozells, were th ...
to establish trade relations in the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
. Light subsequently landed in Kedah, which at that point was threatened by both Siam and
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, as well as an internal
Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawesi, ...
rebellion. Aware of this situation, Light formed friendly relations with the then Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II, and promised British military protection. As part of his promises, Light assisted in the quelling of the Bugis revolt by recapturing a Bugis-held fort for the Sultan. The Sultan reciprocated by offering
Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Eas ...
to Light. Light subsequently wrote to his superiors regarding the offer, arguing that Penang Island could serve as a "convenient magazine for trade" and its strategic location would allow the British to check Dutch and French territorial gains in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. He also made the case that, with the other ports in the region, such as
Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a spe ...
and
Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...
, riddled with piracy and despotic governments, the British East India Company could seize the opportunity to establish a tranquil harbour on Penang Island conducive for free trade, noting that if "Malay, Bugis and Chinese will come to reside here, it will become the Exchange of the East if not loaded with impositions and restrictions". However, nothing transpired until 1786, when by that point the British were fighting the Thirteen American Colonies, which were backed by France and the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...
. Faced with the Dutch dominance of the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...
(now
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...
) and a growing French threat, Light, who by then had risen to the rank of captain, was ordered to acquire Penang Island from Kedah. The British East India Company sought control of Penang Island as a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
base, and a trading post between China and the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
. Light negotiated with the new Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah, regarding the cession of Penang Island to the British East India Company in exchange for British military assistance and a lease of 6,000
Spanish dollar The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
s to cancel Kedah's debts to Siam. With the agreement between Light and the Kedah Sultan successfully concluded, Light and his entourage sailed on to Penang Island, where they arrived on 17 July 1786.
Fort Cornwallis Fort Cornwallis is a bastion fort in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, built by the British East India Company in the late 18th century. It is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. The fort never engaged in combat during its operational history. ...
would later be built at the spot where Light first set foot. The area where Light first landed was originally a mangrove swamp covered in thick jungle. Once enough land was cleared, creating what is now the
Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
, a ceremony was held on 11 August, during which the
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
was raised for the first time. This signified the formal possession of Penang Island by the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
in the name of
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Bri ...
. The island was renamed the Prince of Wales Island after the heir to the British throne, while the new settlement of George Town was established in honour of
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Bri ...
. Thus, George Town became the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and a springboard for future British territorial expansion in the region, while its establishment by the British East India Company marked the start of a period of British imperialism in the Malay Peninsula. Unbeknownst to the Kedah Sultan, however, Light had acted without the authority or consent of his superiors in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. When Light reneged on his promise of British military protection against Siam, the Kedah Sultan in 1791 assembled an army in what is now
Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is situated on the Malay Peninsula opposite Penang Island, bordering Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. Its city centre is located in Butterworth, while its local ...
to retake the Prince of Wales Island. The Sultan's force was also assisted by a fleet of pirates. Fortunately for Light, his garrison on the island was reinforced by two companies from
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...
. After failing to persuade the Sultan to disband his forces, the British East India Company launched amphibious assaults at night, destroying
Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...
's military installations in
Perai Perai is an urban settlement in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies at the southern bank of the Perai River and borders Butterworth to the north. Perai gave its name to the city of Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State ...
, and defeating both the pirates and the Sultan's army. In 1800, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Prince of Wales Island, Sir George Leith, gained a strip of Seberang Perai from the new Sultan of Kedah. The treaty, negotiated by Leith's First Assistant
George Caunter George Caunter (c. June 1758 – 25 December 1811) was a British administrator who governed Prince of Wales Island (Penang Island) as Acting Superintendent from 1797 to 1798 and again from 1798 to 1800. As First Assistant under Lieutenant-Gove ...
, superseded Light's earlier agreement and gave the British permanent sovereignty over both Prince of Wales Island and the newly ceded mainland territory, which in subsequent years was named Province Wellesley. The newly acquired land, which included a five-kilometre stretch of coastline south of the
Perai River The Perai River ( ms, Sungai Perai; ; ta, பிறை நதி) is a major river in Penang, Malaysia. It also acts as the mother river of Butterworth, and it separates Perai and the Seberang Jaya suburb. See also * List of rivers of Malaysia ...
, turned the river into the international border between Province Wellesley and Kedah. At the time, Province Wellesley was heavily forested and sparsely populated, with a total population of only 5,000. The treaty gave Prince of Wales Island the entire command of its harbour for the first time, as well as control of the vulnerable mainland coastline, home to pirates and brigands. It further gave the island a controlled source of food and increased the value of its
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, whic ...
and arack farms. It provided for the free flow of food and commodities from Kedah to Prince of Wales Island and Province Wellesley. For Kedah it provided a protective strip against enemy attack from the sea. In exchange for this acquisition, the annual payment to the Kedah Sultan was increased to 10,000 Spanish dollars per annum. To this day, the Malaysian federal government still pays Kedah, on behalf of Penang, RM10,000 annually as a symbolic gesture. Following the original acquisition in 1800, Province Wellesley was gradually expanded up to its present-day boundaries in 1874, when the
Pangkor Treaty The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was a treaty signed between Great Britain and the Sultan of Perak on 20 January 1874, on the Colonial Steamer Pluto, off the coast of Perak. The treaty is significant in the history of the Malay states as it legitimis ...
, which included the delineation of Province Wellesley's southern borders, was signed between the British and the neighbouring
Sultanate of Perak The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...
. Province Wellesley thus gained the town of Sungai Acheh from Perak. Light died from malaria in 1794 and was buried within the Old Protestant Cemetery in George Town. To this day, Light is honoured as the founding father of
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
.


Early growth

Francis Light Captain Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light and his lifelong partner, Martina Rozells, were th ...
had established George Town as a free port, thus allowing merchants to trade without having to pay any form of tax or duties. In effect, this measure was intended to entice merchants from the Dutch ports in the region. As a result, the number of incoming vessels increased exponentially from 85 in 1786 to 3,569 in 1802; George Town's population had also risen to 10,000 by 1792. Immigrants came from various parts of
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
; in 1801, the then Lieutenant-Governor of the Prince of Wales Island, Sir George Leith, remarked that "there is not, probably, any part of the world where, in so small a space, so many different people are assembled together or so great a variety of languages spoken". A committee of assessors was also established for George Town in 1800, making it the first local government to be established within
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Un ...
. The Prince of Wales Island, together with Province Wellesley, had been administered under the
Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
until 1805, when Penang was made a separate Presidency on par with
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and Bengal. By then,
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
also served as a penal station; in 1796, 700 Indian convicts were shipped in from the
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the ...
. The practice of employing Indian convicts continued throughout the 19th century as a means to provide the necessary labour for public infrastructure works, such as the construction of roads, drains and public buildings. In 1807, a
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
to provide for the establishment of a Supreme Court and a police force in Penang was granted. The Supreme Court of Penang was first opened at
Fort Cornwallis Fort Cornwallis is a bastion fort in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, built by the British East India Company in the late 18th century. It is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. The fort never engaged in combat during its operational history. ...
in George Town in 1808, with Edmond Stanley assuming office as its first Recorder (Judge). In the decades that followed, Penang's judiciary and the police force were progressively applied to the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
, and later copied throughout British Malaya. Hence, Penang was the birthplace of the present-day Malaysian judiciary system, as well as the
Royal Malaysian Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Am ...
. In the early 19th century, Penang became a centre of spice production and trade within
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. The cultivation of pepper began soon after the founding of George Town in 1786. The production of spices, including
nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, ...
and
clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer produc ...
, gradually grew more varied and the booming spice trade led to the opening of spice farms all over Penang. The export of spices through the
Port of Penang The Port of Penang is a deepwater seaport within the Malaysian state of Penang. It consists of terminals along the Penang Strait, including five in Seberang Perai and one in George Town. The Port of Penang was the third busiest harbour in Malay ...
also enabled the British East India Company to cover the administrative costs of Penang. Furthermore, the agricultural plantations would fuel the growth of several villages, such as
Air Itam Ayer Itam (also spelt Air Itam or Air Hitam) is a suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. Nested within the central valleys of Penang Island, it is located approximately southwest of the city centre. Ayer Itam is one of the well-known places ...
and
Balik Pulau Balik Pulau is a town within the jurisdiction of Penang Island City Council in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at the southwest of Penang Island, it is also the administrative seat of the Southwest Penang Island District. The agricultur ...
on the island, and
Bukit Mertajam Bukit Mertajam ( Jawi:بوكيت مرتاجم) is the administrative centre of the city of Seberang Perai in Penang, Malaysia. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. , Bukit Mertajam (core) contains a total of 13,09 ...
in Province Wellesley. Malay refugees fleeing the Siamese invasion of
Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...
and Chinese immigrants formed the bulk of workers in these agricultural estates. Other areas, such as
Bayan Lepas Bayan Lepas is a town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, near the southeastern tip of Penang Island. Founded in the 19th century, Bayan Lepas has various industries. History Bayan Le ...
on the island and Kepala Batas in Province Wellesley, were founded as rice-producing estates.


Straits Settlements

In 1826, the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
amalgamated the territories of Penang,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...
(acquired from
Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bo ...
in 1819) and
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site sin ...
(acquired from the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...
in 1824) into a single political entity, the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
. George Town was made the administrative and judicial capital of the new entity. However, owing to Singapore's more strategic geographical location between the
Malacca Strait The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
and the South China Sea, the
Port of Singapore The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade and handles Singapore's harbours and shipping. It has been ranked as the top maritime capital of the world since 2015. Currently the world's s ...
rapidly surpassed the
Port of Penang The Port of Penang is a deepwater seaport within the Malaysian state of Penang. It consists of terminals along the Penang Strait, including five in Seberang Perai and one in George Town. The Port of Penang was the third busiest harbour in Malay ...
as the preeminent harbour in the region. Consequently, Singapore replaced George Town as the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1832. Nonetheless, George Town continued to retain its importance as a vital British
entrepôt An ''entrepôt'' (; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into co ...
by funneling the exports meant for global shipping lines which had bypassed other regional harbours. In the latter half of the 19th century, the tin mining boom within the neighbouring
Sultanate of Perak The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...
and
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
brought more prosperity to Penang. Tin produced from within the
Kinta Valley The Kinta Valley is a conurbation in central Perak, Malaysia, surrounding and including the state capital Ipoh. Historically the Kinta Valley was very rich in tin, and their mines have been among the most productive in the world. The valley is form ...
and southern Siam were transported to George Town for smelting, before being exported via the Port of Penang to European and American industries. The Port of Penang subsequently became a major tin-exporting harbour within
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Un ...
, directly challenging the Port of Singapore. The opening of the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
in 1869 and the advent of steamships further cemented the Port of Penang's importance as a major entrepôt within British Malaya. By the end of the 19th century, George Town also evolved into a leading financial centre of British Malaya, as mercantile firms and international banks, including
Standard Chartered Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...
and
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
, flocked into the city. By then, Penang became home to a myriad of ethnicities and religious affinities. Aside from the sizeable
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
, Malay,
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
,
Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, t ...
,
Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
and Siamese communities, the colony's multi-ethnic and multi-religious society included significant minorities of Burmese,
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
, Javanese,
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinhal ...
,
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
and
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
origin. At the time, each ethnic community had a tendency to specialise in specific trades and economic sectors. While the Europeans predominated in the various professional fields, as well as occupying managerial positions in mercantile and shipping firms, the Peranakans and the Eurasians tended to enter the nascent civil service as lawyers, engineers, architects and clerks. Some of the newer Chinese arrivals, labelled condescendingly by the Peranakans as Sinkheh (
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
: 新客; meaning new guests), were coolies and agricultural farmers, although many eventually entered into commercial, trading and real estate enterprises within the city; certain dialect communities, such as the
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
and the
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhe ...
, predominated as artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters and cooks. The Indians, who were first brought in as convict workers for public works, also began competing with the Chinese in commercial, trading and shipping stevedore activities. Ethnic Malays, meanwhile, were primarily engaged in agricultural occupations, including rice farming and fishing. Other ethnic communities, such as the Jews and the Armenians, were mainly engaged in mercantile and commercial ventures; the latter community was notable for the establishment of the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, for instance. The rapid population growth that resulted from the booming economy led to several social problems, chiefly the inadequate sanitation and public health facilities, as well as rampant crime. The latter was brought about by an influx of Chinese immigrants, which led to the formation of feuding triads and secret societies. Turf wars between the triads worsened, and when the Straits Settlements authorities attempted to put a stop to the triad activities in 1857, the Chinese triads came into conflict against the British-led police force as well. This culminated in the Penang Riots of 1867 in the streets of George Town, when the Kean Teik Tong, led by Khoo Thean Teik and the Red Flag, clashed against the alliance of the
Ghee Hin Kongsi The Ghee Hin Kongsi () was a secret society in Singapore and Malaya, formed in 1820. Ghee Hin literally means "the rise of righteousness" in Chinese and was part of the Hongmen overseas network. The Ghee Hin often fought against the Hakka-domina ...
and the White Flag. The resulting civil unrest lasted for 10 days, before the turf war was eventually quelled by the Straits Settlements authorities under newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor
Edward Anson Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson , , (16 April 1826 – 26 February 1925), was a British military commander from the Anson family. Background and education Anson was born at 32 Devonshire Place, London, the youngest son of Maj ...
, who were assisted by European residents and reinforcements from Singapore. Also in the same year, the Straits Settlements was made a
British crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...
, thereby placing the administration of Penang, Singapore and Malacca directly under the Colonial Office in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
. Direct
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
rule meant better enforcement of the rule of law, as Penang's police force was vastly beefed up and the secret societies that had plagued George Town during the preceding decades were gradually outlawed. Meanwhile, in Province Wellesley, new railway lines were being constructed, with the first railroad being the
Bukit Mertajam Bukit Mertajam ( Jawi:بوكيت مرتاجم) is the administrative centre of the city of Seberang Perai in Penang, Malaysia. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. , Bukit Mertajam (core) contains a total of 13,09 ...
-
Perai Perai is an urban settlement in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies at the southern bank of the Perai River and borders Butterworth to the north. Perai gave its name to the city of Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State ...
line in 1899. The town of Butterworth was also established in the mid-19th century as the transportation hub within Province Wellesley. In 1894, the first cross-strait ferry service between George Town and Butterworth commenced operations, and would eventually evolve into the present-day
Rapid Ferry The Penang Ferry Service is the oldest ferry service within the State of Penang, Malaysia, connecting the city of George Town on Penang Island and Butterworth on the mainland. This cross-strait transit has been operational since 1894, making ...
. With improved access to education and rising living standards, Penang soon enjoyed substantial press freedom and there was a greater degree of participation in municipal affairs by its Asian residents. Penang's representatives in the Straits Settlements Legislative Council gained a reputation for their assertive contestation of the policies made by the Singapore-based British authorities, which sometimes went against Penang's interests. On top of that, George Town, perceived as being more intellectually receptive than Singapore, also served as a magnet for well known English authors, Asian intellectuals and reformists. For instance, the Chinese revolutionary leader,
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925) Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serv ...
, chose to relocate his Southeast Asian base from Singapore to George Town, where he continued his efforts to reorganise and raise funds for the Chinese revolutionary movement against the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
. These efforts culminated in the famous 1910 Penang conference, which paved the way to the ultimately triumphant
Wuchang uprising The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan), Hubei, China on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last i ...
that overthrew the
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
imperial government of China.


World wars


World War I

On 28 October 1914, the
Battle of Penang The Battle of Penang occurred on 28 October 1914, during World War I. It was a naval action in the Strait of Malacca, in which the German cruiser sank two Allied warships. Background At the time, Penang was part of the Straits Settlements, a ...
occurred, during which an
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaiser ...
cruiser, , covertly sailed into George Town and sank the
Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...
cruiser, ''Zhemchug''. The
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
destroyer, ''Mousquet'', set off in pursuit, before being sunk by SMS ''Emden'' as well off the northwestern tip of
Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Eas ...
. 147 French and Russian sailors perished, while the survivors were rescued by local Malay fishermen. Aside from the naval battle,
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
, as well as the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
, was largely unaffected by the events of World War I.


World War II

World War II, on the other hand, unleashed unprecedented social and political upheaval to Penang. The swift British retreat, coupled with the brutal massacres of Penang's Chinese residents, would severely dent British sense of prestige and dominance in the eyes of the locals. From 9 until 18 December 1941, Japanese warplanes indiscriminately strafed and bombed George Town, in the process eliminating the obsolete
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) a ...
and
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
squadrons based in
RAF Butterworth Butterworth may refer to: Places * Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom * Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa ...
and the Bayan Lepas Aerodrome (now
Penang International Airport Penang International Airport is an airport in northern Malaysia. The airport is located near Bayan Lepas at the southeastern tip of Penang Island, south of the city centre. It was estimated that 600 civilians were killed as a result of the Japanese bombardment, with an additional 1,100 wounded. Notwithstanding the fact that the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
had earlier designated
Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Eas ...
as a fortress, Lieutenant-General
Arthur Percival Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, (26 December 1887 – 31 January 1966) was a senior British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted for ...
then ordered a withdrawal from Penang. Not only did the British Army abandon the Batu Maung Fort on the island, they also surreptitiously evacuated Penang's European population, leaving the colony's Asian populace to the mercy of the impending Japanese occupation. To this day, it has been agreed that the withdrawal and the covert evacuation of Europeans led to the loss of the British sense of invincibility, and that "the moral collapse of British rule in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
came not in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...
, but in Penang". Penang fell to the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
on 19 December 1941, marking the start of a period of Japanese occupation. Penang Island was renamed Tojo-to, after the
Japanese Prime Minister The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...
at the time,
Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...
. George Town's harbour facilities were also put to use as a major
Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
submarine base in Southeast Asia. The Japanese enacted dissimilar policies with each ethnic community. Ethnic Chinese residents arguably suffered the most brutal treatment, as the Imperial Japanese Army massacred thousands of Chinese as part of the
Sook Ching Sook Ching was a mass killing that occurred from 18 February to 4 March 1942 in Singapore after it fell to the Japanese. It was a systematic purge and massacre of 'anti-Japanese' elements in Singapore, with the Singaporean Chinese particular ...
campaign to rid what was perceived as anti-Japanese elements in the society. Penang's womenfolk were also coerced to work as
comfort women Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese '' ia ...
by the Imperial Japanese Army. Penang's residents also had to endure economic hardship during the Japanese occupation, with
hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as ...
caused by the oversupply of the Japanese-issued 'banana' dollars, and the acute shortage of food and raw materials, due to a combination of Japanese wartime rationing and an Allied blockade of Japanese shipping.''Financing Japan's World War II Occupation of Southeast Asia'', Gregg Huff and Shinobu Majima, Pembroke College – University of Oxford and Faculty of Economics – Gakushuin University, pp. 7–19 Households were forced to turn to secondary crops such as sweet potatoes, yam and tapioca for their own subsistence. Beginning in 1942, a standardised Japanese curricula was enforced in all schools throughout Penang, with
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
as the official language. In fact, social lifestyles were also greatly impacted, as it became compulsory to bow to Japanese soldiers on guard duty and to sing the Japanese national anthem, whilst whole streets and shops were renamed in Japanese. Between 1944 and 1945, Royal Air Force and
United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
bomber squadrons based in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
repeatedly launched bombing raids on George Town, seeking to destroy naval and administrative facilities. The destruction of the Penang Secretariat building by the Allied bombardment caused the loss of a large part of the British and Japanese records concerning Penang Island, complicating post-war efforts to compile a comprehensive history of Penang. The
Penang Strait The Penang Strait is an 11 kilometre-wide strait that separates Penang Island from mainland Malay Peninsula. Penang Island is to the west of the channel, while Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State of Penang, is to the east. The norther ...
was also mined as part of efforts to constrict Japanese shipping. Following the
Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
on 15 August 1945, the ''Penang Shimbun'', a Japanese newspaper, published the proclamation of surrender issued by the
Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the wi ...
. Under
Operation Jurist Operation Jurist referred to the British recapture of Penang following Japan's surrender in 1945. Jurist was launched as part of Operation Zipper, the overall British plan to liberate Malaya, including Singapore. While a larger Allied fleet sai ...
, a
British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
fleet accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison in Penang on 2 September 1945. A British Royal Marines contingent recaptured Penang Island on the following day, making George Town the first city in
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
to be liberated at the end of the war.


Post-war

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
was placed under a
military administration Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outsid ...
until 1946, as the British sought to restore order in the face of an emerging Communist insurgency. The British also dissolved the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
in April 1946, with Sir
Shenton Thomas Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas (10 October 1879 – 15 January 1962), commonly known as Sir Shenton Thomas, was a British colonial administrator most notable for his role as Governor of the Straits Settlements in Singapore. He served fr ...
being its last
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
;
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
and
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site sin ...
were then merged with the
Federated Malay States )Under God's Protection , capital = Kuala Lumpur1 , religion = Islam , legislature = Federal Legislative Council , type_house1 = State level , common_languages = , title_leader = Monarch , leader1 ...
and the
Unfederated Malay States The term Unfederated Malay States () was the collective name given to five British protected states in the Malay peninsula in the first half of the twentieth century. These states were Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu. In contras ...
to form the
Malayan Union The Malayan Union was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administration. F ...
(the new
Colony of Singapore Singapore was a British colony for 144 years, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945 during the Pacific War. When the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, at the end of World War II, Si ...
, excluded from this union, was to remain firmly under British rule). The Malayan Union was replaced by the
Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca)''See'': ...
in 1948. As the gradual withdrawal of the Western colonial powers in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
continued taking shape, the independence of Malaya as a united political entity seemed a foregone conclusion. However, the merger of the British crown colony of Penang into the vast Malay heartland alarmed some quarters of Penang's population. Questions were raised over economic and ethnic issues, such as the citizenship of non-Malays, greater trade regulations imposed on Penang by the central government in
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
and the introduction of export
duties A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...
for trade with the rest of Malaya. Consequently, the Penang Secession Committee, formed in 1948, proposed to exclude Penang from the Federation of Malaya, which would allow Penang to either retain its links with the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
or form a political union with Singapore. The movement was led by D.A. Mackay, then the chairman of the Penang Chamber of Commerce, and included the Penang Muslim Chamber of Commerce, the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Penang Straits Chinese Association, the Penang Eurasian Association and the Penang Indian Chamber of Commerce. Ultimately, the Penang Secession Committee failed to attain its goals and petered out. A secession motion tabled in the Penang Settlement Council in 1949 was narrowly dismissed by British official votes, while another petition sent to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
in 1951 also met with British disapproval. While some British and American observers were sympathetic to the secessionists' cause, the British administrators were reluctant to jeopardise their own plans to gradually grant independence to a united Malayan polity. Moreover, the British government allayed the fears raised by the secessionists by guaranteeing George Town's free port status and by reintroducing municipal elections for the city in 1951. On 1 January 1957, George Town, the capital of Penang, was granted city status by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
in 1957, becoming the first city within the Federation of Malaya, and by extension,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
. George Town continued to be the only city within Malaysia (other than
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...
between 1963 and its Separation in 1965) until 1972, when Kuala Lumpur was also conferred city status. Penang, as part of the Federation of Malaya, gained independence from the British Empire on 31 August 1957, and subsequently became a member state of Malaysia in 1963.


Post-independence


1957–1969

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
's political landscape immediately after the independence of
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
became relatively fractured. The new
Penang state government The Government of Penang ( ms, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang) refers to the government authority of the Malaysian state of Penang. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of Malaysia, and ...
was dominated by the Alliance coalition (now succeeded by
Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
), the same ruling coalition that controlled the Malayan federal government. Wong Pow Nee of the
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...
(MCA), one of the major component parties of the Alliance, became Penang's first
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terr ...
, a position that he held until 1969. On the other hand, the Labour Party, a left-wing opposition party, took control of the George Town City Council soon after the Malayan independence. Penang's voters tended to leave the control of the state government in the hands of the Alliance, while consistently electing the Labour Party to run the city council. At the time, the George Town City Council was the only fully elected local authority in Malaya, as well as the country's richest, with an annual revenue that was double that of the Penang state government by 1965. This solidified the financial autonomy of the city council, with its revenue going into social welfare projects within George Town. Meanwhile, the Penang state government attempted to boost the state's manufacturing sector by opening new industrial estates in
Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is situated on the Malay Peninsula opposite Penang Island, bordering Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. Its city centre is located in Butterworth, while its local ...
, such as in
Perai Perai is an urban settlement in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies at the southern bank of the Perai River and borders Butterworth to the north. Perai gave its name to the city of Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State ...
and
Mak Mandin Mak Mandin is an industrial town located in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South ...
. Exacerbated by the opposing political affinities and ideologies, conflicts frequently arose between the state government and the city council over differences in policies and budget allocations. As previously guaranteed by the British authorities, George Town's free port status was untouched in the years immediately after the Malayan independence. The earlier fears by the secessionists eventually came true, however, when in 1969, the free port status was suddenly revoked by the Malaysian federal government. Consequently, 16.4% of Penang's working population became unemployed as the
Port of Penang The Port of Penang is a deepwater seaport within the Malaysian state of Penang. It consists of terminals along the Penang Strait, including five in Seberang Perai and one in George Town. The Port of Penang was the third busiest harbour in Malay ...
's trade volume plummeted, adversely affecting George Town's services sector. In the long run, this also marked the beginning of George Town's slow, decades-long decline, which was only recently reversed. The revocation of George Town's free port status, coupled with an unsuccessful, bloody strike by Penang's unions in 1967, led to a loss of popular support for the Alliance amongst Penangites. During the 1969 State Elections, Gerakan, then an opposition party, was voted into power in Penang, replacing the Alliance. The party's founder,
Lim Chong Eu Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu (; 28 May 1919 – 24 November 2010) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang from May 1969 to October 1990. He was also the founding president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN) ...
, succeeded Wong Pow Nee as the Chief Minister of Penang. However, the violent race riots in Kuala Lumpur following the concurrent Malaysian General Elections led to the nationwide imposition of martial law and the functions of the Penang state government were taken over by the National Operations Council until 1971.


1970–1990

In 1973, Gerakan joined
Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
, thus returning the
Penang state government The Government of Penang ( ms, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang) refers to the government authority of the Malaysian state of Penang. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of Malaysia, and ...
back into the hands of the ruling coalition. To revive
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
's economy,
Lim Chong Eu Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu (; 28 May 1919 – 24 November 2010) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang from May 1969 to October 1990. He was also the founding president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN) ...
created the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone and courted foreign
multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
s for investments. Pioneer tax status was granted to multinational firms seeking to establish assembly plants within Bayan Lepas, which was formerly the rice bowl of Penang. Major electronic and engineering firms, including
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
, Bosch,
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
and
Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo G ...
, flocked in, setting up assembly plants within the area. Complemented by cheap labour, the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, one of the major electronics manufacturing zones in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, grew to become the Silicon Valley of the East and was instrumental in pulling Penang out from its economic slump, greatly propelling the state's economy as one of the main economic powerhouses within
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
. To this day, manufacturing remains one of Penang's two largest economic sectors, contributing as much as 47.4% of Penang's
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
. During Lim's tenure, several major infrastructure projects were completed. The
Penang Bridge The Penang Bridge is a dual carriageway toll bridge and controlled-access highway in the state of Penang, Malaysia. The bridge connects Perai on the mainland side of the state with Gelugor on the island, crossing the Penang Strait. The b ...
, then the longest bridge in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, was completed in 1985, thus providing for the first time a road link between
Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Eas ...
and the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
. More controversial was the -tall
Komtar The Tun Abdul Razak Complex, ( Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak; Chinese: 光大大厦; Tamil: கொம்டார் கோபுரம்); colloquially known by its Malay acronym Komtar, formerly known as the Penang New Urban Center and t ...
in George Town, to this day the tallest skyscraper in Penang. Launched in 1974 as part of his vision to reverse George Town's declining fortunes, Komtar was constructed in the expense of hundreds of shophouses, schools and temples, as well as whole streets, which were bulldozed for the project. However, instead of arresting George Town's decline, Komtar itself became a white elephant by the early 2000s. Meanwhile, in 1974, the
Port of Penang The Port of Penang is a deepwater seaport within the Malaysian state of Penang. It consists of terminals along the Penang Strait, including five in Seberang Perai and one in George Town. The Port of Penang was the third busiest harbour in Malay ...
was relocated from George Town to the town of Butterworth, directly across the
Penang Strait The Penang Strait is an 11 kilometre-wide strait that separates Penang Island from mainland Malay Peninsula. Penang Island is to the west of the channel, while Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State of Penang, is to the east. The norther ...
, to allow for the berthing of larger container and cargo vessels. By then, the maritime traffic through Penang had been greatly diminished since the revocation of George Town's free port status, with increasing volumes of maritime trade being directed towards
Port Klang Port Klang ( ms, Pelabuhan Klang) is a town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Known during colonial times as Port Swettenham ( ms, Pelabuhan Swettenham) but renamed Port Klang in July 1972, it is the largest port in the country. It is ...
near
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
instead. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the Malaysian federal government proceeded with the rapid development of Kuala Lumpur and nearby Port Klang, by controlling investments in communication, transport, education and health. Kuala Lumpur soon outstripped George Town as Malaysia's largest city and financial centre, while Port Klang quickly became the country's busiest seaport. Consequently, Penang began to suffer considerable brain drain as younger Penangites started emigrating for better employment opportunities. In 1974, the George Town City Council was merged with the Penang Island Rural District Council to form the Penang Island Municipal Council, while the five local authorities within
Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is situated on the Malay Peninsula opposite Penang Island, bordering Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. Its city centre is located in Butterworth, while its local ...
, including the Butterworth and
Bukit Mertajam Bukit Mertajam ( Jawi:بوكيت مرتاجم) is the administrative centre of the city of Seberang Perai in Penang, Malaysia. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. , Bukit Mertajam (core) contains a total of 13,09 ...
town councils, were merged into the
Seberang Perai Municipal Council The Seberang Perai City Council is the city council which administers Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the Malaysian state of Penang. This agency is under the purview of the Penang state government. Established in 1976, Seberang Perai City C ...
. By then, local elections, suspended since 1965, became a thing of the past, with the municipal councillors being appointed by the Penang state government ever since. The merger of the local governments on Penang Island also led to a decades-long dispute over George Town's city status. In the 1990 State Elections, Lim Chong Eu as the incumbent lost the Padang Kota constituency to
Lim Kit Siang Lim Kit Siang (; born 20 February 1941) is a Malaysian politician. He is the longest-serving leader of the opposition in Malaysia, having held the position for a total of 29 years on three separate occasions. He is also former Secretary-Gener ...
of the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social democratic political party in Malaysia. ...
(DAP), forcing him into retirement. Although Barisan Nasional remained in power, Lim Chong Eu was succeeded by Koh Tsu Koon as the
Chief Minister of Penang The Chief Minister of Penang is the head of government in the Malaysian state of Penang. According to convention, the chief minister is the leader of the majority party or largest coalition party of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The chi ...
.


1991–2008

Koh Tsu Koon's tenure as the
Chief Minister of Penang The Chief Minister of Penang is the head of government in the Malaysian state of Penang. According to convention, the chief minister is the leader of the majority party or largest coalition party of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The chi ...
was marked by inept development and urban planning policies, rampant pollution, and the deteriorating general state of affairs within
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
. Political tussles complicated development policies, while simmering discontent from Penang's vocal
non-governmental organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
(NGOs) and residents over the state's decline would eventually lead to an unprecedented political change within the state. In the early 1990s, plans for the development of
Penang Hill Penang Hill is a hill resort comprising a group of peaks near the center of Penang Island, Malaysia. It is located within the Air Itam suburb, west of the center of George Town. Penang Hill is also known by the Malay name ''Bukit Bendera'', ...
were drawn up by the
Penang state government The Government of Penang ( ms, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang) refers to the government authority of the Malaysian state of Penang. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of Malaysia, and ...
, drawing considerable backlash from Penang's civil societies over the potential environmental degradation of the forested hill. The plan was eventually axed. Meanwhile, the Rent Control Act, which until then had protected the low-income residents within the George Town city centre from eviction by preventing any arbitrary hike in rents, was repealed by 2001. This consequently led to the further hollowing out of the city centre, as residents, and smaller businesses, were unable to cope with the rental hikes and moved out. Unscrupulous private developers began demolishing several pre-war heritage buildings within the city centre for redevelopment, while other historic buildings fell under disrepair. Concerned over the impending loss of George Town's heritage architecture, NGOs based within the city started to mobilise public support for the conservation of these historic buildings. By the early 2000s, Penang's economic growth began to lose steam, with the city-state recording the lowest monthly household income growth rate amongst the
Malaysian states The states and federal territories of Malaysia are the principal administrative divisions of Malaysia. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states (''Negeri'') and 3 federal territories (''Wilayah Persekutuan''). States and federal territories Elev ...
. The decades of brain drain also took its toll. For instance, while
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
was granted several mega-projects, including the
Petronas Towers The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, ( Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially desig ...
and the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation. KLIA is the largest and b ...
, Penang suffered a shortage of qualified engineers and architects as professionals continued gravitating towards the
Greater Kuala Lumpur Greater Kuala Lumpur is the geographical term that determines the boundaries of Metropolitan Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Though similar to the term "Klang Valley", there remains a variation between the two. It is similar to Greater London and Great ...
area. Moreover, the lack of a coherent urban planning policy and poor traffic management meant that little was done to curb the worsening traffic congestion within Penang. Even the state's reputation for cleanliness was not spared, as reports of coastal pollution and dirty streets within Penang made headline news. As early as 1996, the then Malaysian Prime Mninister,
Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the offic ...
, had even labelled Penang a "garbage state". Widespread dissatisfaction over Penang's decline and neglect sparked a media campaign to restore Penang to its former glory in 2004. It has since been speculated that the public outcry over the neglect of the city once known as the Pearl of the Orient, combined with Penang's relatively lively political scene, contributed to the defeat of Barisan Nasional in the 2008 State Election by the federal opposition pact,
Pakatan Rakyat The People's Alliance ( ms, Pakatan Rakyat; abbrev: PR) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party ( ...
. The opposition coalition, led by the DAP, subsequently took over the Penang state government, with
Lim Guan Eng Lim Guan Eng (; born 8 December 1960) is a Malaysian politician and accountant from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bagan, Member of ...
succeeding Koh as the Chief Minister of Penang. In late 2004, Penang was hit by the massive
Indian Ocean tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
. Out of the 68 deaths within
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
, 52 were in Penang. Northern coastal areas, such as
Batu Ferringhi Batu Ferringhi is a suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. Located along the northern coast of Penang Island and about northwest of the city centre, it is the prime beach destination in Penang among locals and tourists. To cater to the influ ...
and
Gurney Drive Gurney Drive (,, ) is a popular seafront promenade within George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The road is also famous for the street cuisine at the seafront's hawker centre and has been listed as one of the 25 best streets worldwide to visit by the A ...
in George Town, were among the worst hit places within the state. In the aftermath of the tsunami, a network of sirens has been installed throughout Penang as part of a national tsunami warning system designed to alert the public of such calamities in the future.


2008

The swearing in of the new
Penang state government The Government of Penang ( ms, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang) refers to the government authority of the Malaysian state of Penang. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of Malaysia, and ...
, now led by
Pakatan Rakyat The People's Alliance ( ms, Pakatan Rakyat; abbrev: PR) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party ( ...
, in 2008, heralded various positive policy changes. During that year, the George Town city centre, along with
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site sin ...
, was inscribed as a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, as a result of years of conservation efforts led by the city's
NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
. The new state government subsequently spearheaded efforts to improve hygiene, cleanliness and pedestrianisation, as well as the use of public transportation and the promotion of the city's cultural diversity. By 2010, George Town was ranked the most liveable city in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
by ECA International, coming in at eighth place within
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
as well. Moreover, in 2017, the city was also ranked the second cleanest within Malaysia, behind only
Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...
. In the economic front, the present state government has emphasised efforts to attract
foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct c ...
s and to push Penang up the economic value chain, as well as policies to root out corruption. In 2010, Penang recorded the highest amount of capital investments within Malaysia, attracting RM12.2 billion, or 26%, of the nation's total investments. Penang's stunning economic recovery, particularly since 2008, was described by
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ...
as Malaysia's "biggest economic success" despite the Malaysian federal government's focus on other states such as
Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bo ...
and
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, K ...
. On top of that, the
Penang state government The Government of Penang ( ms, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang) refers to the government authority of the Malaysian state of Penang. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of Malaysia, and ...
was able to decrease Penang's public debt by 95%, from RM630 million in 2008 to RM30 million by late 2011. In addition, in 2016, George Town was rated as the most attractive destination for commercial property investment within Malaysia by
Knight Frank Knight Frank LLP is an estate agency, residential and commercial property consultancy founded in London by John Knight, Howard Frank and William Rutley in 1896. Knight Frank together with its American affiliate Cresa is one of the world's la ...
, surpassing even
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
. In 2015, the Malaysian federal government elevated the Penang Island Municipal Council into the present-day
Penang Island City Council The City Council of Penang Island is the council that administers the city of Pulau Pinang, which includes the entirety of Penang Island, Malaysia. The city council, which has jurisdiction over an area of , falls under the purview of the Penan ...
, thereby expanding the jurisdiction of George Town to encompass the entire Penang Island, as well as five of the surrounding islets. This also made George Town the only Malaysian city to have been conferred its city status twice. The Second Penang Bridge, currently the longest bridge in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, was opened in 2013. Straddling a length of , it provides a second road link between Penang Island and
Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is situated on the Malay Peninsula opposite Penang Island, bordering Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. Its city centre is located in Butterworth, while its local ...
, and has spurred the development of new industrial areas such as
Batu Kawan Batu Kawan ( Jawi: باتو كاون) is an island in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It is geographically separated from the rest of Seberang Perai by the Jawi and Tengah rivers. , Batu Kawan contained a population of 5,537. Long ...
.


See also

* History of George Town *
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
*
List of governors of Penang The governor of Penang ( ms, Yang di-Pertua Negeri Pulau Pinang) is the head of state of the Malaysian state of Penang. The role of governor is largely ceremonial with the power vested in the executive branch of the state government led by th ...


References


Further reading

* * * * Woodcock, George. "Penang: Britain's First Settlement In Malaya" ''History Today'' (Dec 1969), Vol. 19 Issue 12, p832-839; online


External links

{{British overseas territories