Ayer Rajah is a residential

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

within the

downtown core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...

of George Town in the Malaysian state of

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. This leafy, affluent neighbourhood, situated adjacent to the

Penang Botanic Gardens The Penang Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden within the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Situated at Jalan Air Terjun (Waterfall Road), it is also colloquially known as the Waterfall Gardens because of the cascading w ...

, mostly consists of landed properties such as

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

s and semi-detached houses, surrounded by tree-lined avenues.

Etymology

Ayer Rajah was named after Ayer Rajah Bay, the northern bay of George Town which forms the city's northern shoreline and includes the present-day Gurney Drive.

History

By 1796, 10 years after the establishment of George Town by

Francis Light Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British sailor and explorer best known for founding the colony of Penang and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light was the father of William Light, who founded the city of Adelaide in South A ...

, more than of the area had been cleared, forming the Ayer Rajah Estate. The agricultural plantation, founded by Light's

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

partners, David Brown and James Scott, was owned by the Brown and Scott families. In particular, Scott Road, which runs through the neighbourhood, was named after James Scott. Other prominent personalities who once resided within this neighbourhood include the first

Malaysian Prime Minister The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a member of Parliament (MP) wh ...

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...

, and local DAP politician-cum-lawyer,

Karpal Singh Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh Deo (; 28 June 1940 – 17 April 2014) was an Indian Malaysian politician and lawyer. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bukit Gelugor in the state of Penang from 2004 to 2014. During that t ...

Transportation

The major thoroughfares within the neighbourhood include Ayer Rajah Road (now ''Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman'') and Brown Road. Western Road (''Jalan Utama'') forms the southern end of the neighbourhood, which is also bounded by Burmah Road to the north.

Rapid Penang Rapid Penang (stylised as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand operating within the George Town Conurbation in Malaysia. Established in 2007 as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it serves as the main public transport system within the sta ...

bus route 10 includes a handful of stops along Gottlieb Road.

Education

The neighbourhood is served by two

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

s, three

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and two private colleges, as well as an international school. Primary schools * St. Xavier's Primary Branch School * Penang Chinese Girls' Primary School High schools * Convent Pulau Tikus *

Penang Chinese Girls' High School Penang Chinese Girls' High School (PCGHS) (; Malay: Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan China Pulau Pinang) is a national-type chinese secondary school in Penang, Malaysia. Often referred to as "Bin Hua" () among the local Chinese community in Pen ...

* Penang Chinese Girls' Private High School International school * St. Christopher's International Primary School Private colleges *

DISTED College DISTED College is a private college within George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. It was established in 1987 as the first Penang-based private tertiary institution. The college provides various pre-university, diploma ...

* PTPL College Aside from these institutions, the

Adventist College of Nursing and Health Sciences The Adventist College of Nursing and Health Sciences (ACNHS) is a private nursing school in Penang, Malaysia and offers nurse training programs at the undergraduate level. It was established in 1993 and is closely associated with Penang Adven ...

, operated by the nearby

Penang Adventist Hospital Penang Adventist Hospital (, ) is a non-profit hospital in George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. Established in 1924, the 200-bed medical institution is part of an international network of hospitals operated by the Seventh-day Advent ...

, is also situated at Burmah Road.

Health care

The

, a major private hospital, is located at Burmah Road. Founded in 1924, the 253-bed hospital offers specialist treatments for a variety of medical conditions and has emerged as one of the more well-known hospitals among medical tourists in

Consulates

Ayer Rajah is also home to a number of consulates. * : Ayer Rajah Road * : Burmah Road * : Ayer Rajah Road

References

{{Penang Neighbourhoods in George Town, Penang