Permatang Damar Laut is a coastal

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

within the city of George Town in the

Malaysian state 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 Ele ...

of Penang. It is located within the

Southwest Penang Island District The Southwest Penang Island District ( ms, Daerah Barat Daya Pulau Pinang) is a district within the Malaysian state of Penang. The district covers the southwestern half of Penang Island and borders the Northeast Penang Island District to the eas ...

, at the southern 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 Ea ...

, making it the southernmost human settlement on the island. The village is hemmed in between the

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.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 ...

to the south.

Etymology

The Malay word '''Permatang''' refers to the village's geographic landform, as it is situated on a ridge surrounded by mangrove swamps. '''Damar''' in Malay means

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

whilst Laut''' is the Malay word for the sea; the village was purportedly where resin-producing trees once grew along the shore, hence the phrase '''Damar Laut'''.

History

According to historians in

Universiti Sains Malaysia Universiti Sains Malaysia ( 'Science University of Malaysia'; abbreviation, abbreviated as USM) is a public research university in Malaysia. Founded on 1 June 1969 as a statutory body with its own constitution, it is among the oldest institute ...

, the village of Permatang Damar Laut was founded in the late 18th century by three pioneers of

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

origin - Pah Kechil, Jamaluddin and Nakhoda Che Salleh. The village was one of the handful of autonomous Malay settlements that were established at the south of

at the time.

Transportation

The main road within Permatang Damar Laut is Jalan Permatang Damar Laut, which forms part of the Federal Route 6. The thoroughfare cuts through the village, linking it with

Batu Maung Batu Maung is a residential neighbourhood in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, near the southeastern tip of Penang Island, and adjacent to the town of Bayan Lepas and the Penang Internation ...

to the east and the old town of

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 ...

to the west. Permatang Damar Laut is also the southern terminus of

Rapid Penang Rapid Penang (styled as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand in the Penang, State of Penang, Malaysia. Formed as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia in 2007, to date it is the main public transport operator within Penang; its bus network serves ...

's bus route 302, which connects the village with several destinations along the eastern half of

, such as Batu Maung, Bayan Lepas,

Bayan Baru Bayan Baru is a town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, adjacent to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. The township was created in the 1970s following the establishment of the zone. Si ...

, SPICE Arena and the capital city of George Town. To alleviate worsening traffic congestion in the area, the

Malaysian Public Works Department The Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR; ms, Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia) is the federal government department in Malaysia under Ministry of Works Malaysia (MOW) which is responsible for construction and maintenance of public infrastructure ...

has widened a stretch of the road leading to the village in 2017. The project also included the construction of a flyover and an elevated U-turn.

Education

Permatang Damar Laut is served by a single

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

- SRK Permatang Damar Laut.

Health care

The village contains a

haemodialysis Hemodialysis, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply dialysis, is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as creatini ...

centre operated by the Penang Fo Yi Haemodialysis Society. Opened in 2017, the Fo Yi Medicare Centre is equipped with 30 dialysis machines, which allow it to treat 180 kidney patients per month.

References