The flag of Penang consists of three vertical bands and an areca-nut palm on a grassy mount in the centre. All three bands are of equal width. From left to right, the colour of each band is light blue, white and yellow. The colours of the flag are derived from the tinctures of the

coat of arms of Penang The Coat of arms of Penang is largely based on the coat of arms of Penang first granted to the Settlement (now State) of Penang, then in the Federation of Malaya, by a Royal Warrant of King George VI dated 11 September 1949. Between 1911 (the ...

granted by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

in September 1949. Light blue denotes the sea that surrounds Penang Island, white represents peace and yellow for the prosperity of the state. The areca-nut palm, known as ''pokok pinang'' in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

, symbolises the tree from which

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 ...

got its name. The tree and its grassy mount is centred within the middle white band. The flag was slightly modified to its present form in the 1960s by removing a torse of blue and white at the bottom of the grassy mount.

History

Under the rule 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 Uni ...

prior to the arrival of the East India Company in 1786, the first known representation of Penang on a flag was as one of the three crowns on the flag 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 ...

in use between 1877 and 1946. Following the dissolution of the Straits Settlements and the admission of Penang as a Crown colony within the Malayan Union, there appears to be little clarity as to what flag Penang used between its separation from the April 1946 and the eventual adoption of a blue ensign defaced by the 1949 arms. This would be replaced with final flag of the Crown colony was a blue ensign, defaced with a flag badge depicting the areca nut palm, adopted as of the 17 June 1952 by the Settlement Council. In the months preceding

Malayan independence The Malayan Declaration of Independence (Malay: ''Pemasyhuran Kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu'' Jawi: ڤمشهوران کمرديکان تانه ملايو), was officially proclaimed on Saturday, 31 August 1957, by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first chief ...

, the Settlement Government announced a competition on 17 May 1957 to design a new state flag for Penang. The winner, a C.K. Fook of 434, Chulia Street, was awarded $500 for his design on 20 August. The final modified design differed on the shade of blue submitted by Fook, but it was decided to award the prize to him regardless. The new state flag of Penang was raised at noon on 30 August 1957 at the Padang in the presence of the new governor

Raja Uda Tun Sir Raja Uda Al-Haj bin Raja Muhammad (1894 – 17 October 1976) was a Malaysian statesman during the country's struggle for independence and its early years of nationhood. He was a civil servant under the British Malaya, British colonial a ...

and the last resident commissioner

Robert Porter Bingham The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. That evening, the Union Jack was lowered for the final time at 6:45 pm near Fort Cornwallis, George Town, marking the end of 171 years of British rule. On 24 December 1957, nominated member Koh Sin Hock told the State Council that the flag's areca-nut palm did not resemble a real one, likening it to a coconut palm, and that he hoped a more realistic depiction could be used instead.

Historical flags

City flags

The State of Penang is divided between two

local governments Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

. The

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 Penang s ...

administers Penang's capital city of George Town, whilst the Seberang Perai City Council governs Seberang Perai on 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 ...

. Previously, the city of George Town also had its own flag, which dated back to the grant of city status to the George Town City Council in 1957. The City Council was eventually merged with the Penang Island Rural District Council in 1974 to form the Penang Island Municipal Council, which subsequently became the

in 2015.

Notes

References

External links

Penang
at ''

Flags of the World This gallery of sovereign state flags shows the national or state flags of sovereign states that appear on the list of sovereign states. For other flags, please see flags of active autonomist and secessionist movements, flags of extinct states a ...

''
Tourism Penang State Government Official Website
{{Malaysian flags

Penang