Penang: Difference between revisions

Penang (Malay: Pulau Pinang, Simplified Chinese: 槟城, Malay (Jawi script): بينانج) is a Malaysian state located on the north-west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The state is geographically and administratively divided into two sections:

Penang Island – a 293km² island located in the Straits of Malacca; and
Province Wellesley – a 760km² strip of land located on the Southeast Asian mainland.

The state has the highest population density in Malaysia with 2,031.74 people per square kilometre on the island and 865.99 people per square kilometre on the mainland. The ethnic composition in 1995 was: Chinese (572,700 or 55%), Malay (446,700 or 33%), Indian (127,000 or 11%), Other (6,200), other Bumiputra (1,300). Penang is the only state in Peninsular Malaysia in which Malays are in the minority.

The name "Penang" comes from the word "pinang", which refers to the betel nut tree (Areca catechu). The name "Pulau Pinang" translated literally from Malay means "pinang island".

The state capital of Penang, George Town and its principal town on the mainland, Butterworth has a close proximity to several satellite towns in Kedah and Perak, forming a large urban area in northwestern Peninsular Malaysia.

File:Penang Google Map.jpg

Penang island and Province Wellesley on the mainland as seen on Google Maps [1]

History

File:Penang Island.JPG

Beautiful Penang Island with its wonderful weather

Before the island was ceded to the British East India Company, Penang was once part of the large Malay sultanate of Kedah. The Sultan of Kedah was facing attacks and incursions by the Siamese and Burmese armies from the north and negotiated with Captain Francis Light for protection from the British in exchange for the island in 1771.

On August 11, 1786, the captain and his crew landed on what is now called the Esplanade. The Union Jack was raised on the island (which was christened "Prince of Wales Island") on the same day, and the Captain had successfully claimed the island on behalf of the British Empire. The Sultan did not realise that the British administration had never approved his request.

When Kedah did not receive any assistance when it was attacked by Siam, the Sultan tried to retake the island. The captain managed to counter the attack and then successfully forced the Sultan of Kedah to cede the island to the British East India Company on August 12, 1786 in exchange for an annual honorarium of 6,000 dollars. Province Wellesley was ceded to the Company in 1800 for a further 4,000 dollars per annum. This honorarium continues to be paid annually by the Penang State Government to Kedah (10,000 dollars per annum).

The location of the island, which is located at the opening of the Straits of Malacca, attracted the British East India Company to use the island as a natural harbour and anchorage for their trading ships and as a naval base to counter growing French ambitions in the region. The town on the north-eastern tip of the island was named George Town after King George III of the United Kingdom.

In 1826, Penang, along with Malacca and Singapore, became part of the Straits Settlements under the British administration in India, moving to direct British colonial rule in 1867. In 1946 it became part of the Malayan Union, before becoming in 1948 a state of the Federation of Malaya, which gained independence in 1957. In 1963 it became one of the 13 states of Malaysia.

The island was a free port until 1969. Despite the loss of the island's free-port status, from the 1970s to the late 1990s the state built up one of the largest electronics manufacturing bases in Asia, in the Free Trade Zone around the airport in the south of the island.

Recently (in 2004), widespread dissatisfaction with the decline of Penang has led to a media campaign to return Penang to its former glory [2]

Government

The state has its own state legislature and executive, but these have very limited powers in comparison with those of the Malaysian federal authorities.

The head of the state executive is a Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia. The present Governor is Tun Dato' Seri Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas. In practice the Governor is a figurehead, and he acts upon the advice of the state Executive Council, which is appointed from the majority party in the Legislative Assembly.

The current Chief Minister of Penang, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, is from the Gerakan party which its representatives have held the chief-ministership since 1969. It is the only state chief-ministership in Malaysia which is held by an ethnic Chinese, reflecting the state's ethnic majority.

There are two local authorities in Penang, the Municipal Council of Penang Island (Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang) and the Municipal Council of Seberang Perai (Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai). Local councillors have been appointed by the state government since local elections were abolished in Malaysia in the 1960s. The state is divided into 5 administrative divisions:

On Province Wellesley:

1. Central Province Wellesley (Seberang Perai Tengah)

2. Nothern Province Wellesley (Seberang Perai Utara)

3. Southern Province Wellesley (Seberang Perai Selatan)

On Penang Island:

4. Northeastern District (Daerah Timur Laut)

5. Southwestern District (Daerah Barat Daya)

The current Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, hails from the Penang town of Kepala Batas, whereas the former Deputy Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim is from the town of Permatang Pauh, also in the same state.

In May 2005, there were calls by UMNO members from the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN) to rotate the Chief Minister post between BN component parties but the Prime Minister down shot the idea. Analysts have pointed out that if Penang does have a Malay chief minister, by logic the other 11 Malay majority states would also have to have a Chinese or Indian as Chief Minister. From a bigger perspective, this idea would not be feasible to the UMNO-ruled states.

Culture and Economy

Penang island, also known as the "Pearl of the Orient", is a paradise for food lovers, who come from all over Malaysia and Singapore to sample the island's unique cuisine. Penang's cuisine reflects the Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnic mix of Malaysia, but is strongly influenced by the cuisine of Thailand to the north. Penang is especially famous for the "hawker food" sold and eaten by the street, in which noodles and fresh seafood feature strongly.

The north shore of Penang, known as Batu Feringghi, is a popular beach resort, characterised by high-rise hotels. Many tourists also spend time in the historic centre of George Town, which is largely made of nineteenth-century Straits Chinese shophouses, with Indian and Malay quarters. Anglo-Indian colonial buildings are also to be found amongst elaborate Chinese and Indian temples and Indian-Muslim mosques. The Kek Lok Si Temple in Ayer Itam, the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Georgetown and Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas area are some of the famous tourist destinations. The tallest hill in Penang is Penang Hill (The actual peak at 830 m above sea level is called Western Hill, which is considered to be part of Penang Hill). One of Penang's more well-known landmarks is KOMTAR, the tallest building in Penang.

Penang War Museum is located at Batu Maung, South-East of Penang, could be the largest living war musuem in Asia. This mighty military fortress built in 1930's by British to protect the island from enemies. The British Royal Engineers and a work force comprises of local labourers blasted and dug into the hill to create a fort with underground military tunnels, intelligence and logistic center, halls, offices, ventilation shafts, canon firing bays, sleeping quarters, cook houses as well as medical infirmary.

The entrepôt trade has greatly declined, due in part to the loss of Penang's free-port status, but also due to the active development of Port Klang near the federal capital Kuala Lumpur. However, there is a container terminal in Butterworth which continues to service the northern area.

Penang state is today the third-largest economy amongst the states of Malaysia, after Selangor and Johore. Manufacturing is the most important component of the Penang economy, contributing 45.9% of the State's GDP (2000). The southern part of the island is highly industrialised with high-tech electronics plants (such as Intel, AMD, Motorola, Agilent, Hitachi, Osram, Bosch and Seagate) located within the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

Other important sectors of Penang's economy include tourism, finance and other services.

Language

The lingua franca in Penang, depending on social class and social circles, are Malay, Penang Hokkien and English.

Penang Hokkien is a variant of Minnan (Chinese: 闽南语) and is widely spoken by a substantial proportion of the Penang populace who are descendants of early Chinese settlers. It bears strong resemblance to the language spoken by Chinese living in the Indonesian city of Medan and is based on the Minnan dialect of Zhangzhou prefecture in Fujian province, China, but incorporates a large number of borrowed words from Malay and English. Many Penangites who are not ethnically Chinese are also able to speak in Hokkien. Most Hokkien speakers in Penang cannot write in Hokkien. Instead they write in English, Malay and/or standard Chinese.

Ordinary folk speak the northwest Malay dialect with some of its own pronunciation and vocabulary, like hang for "you" and depa for "they/them".

English, as in the rest of Malaysia, is often in Malaysian English.

Other languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese and Tamil, are also spoken in the state. Teochew is heard more in mainland Penang (Province Wellesley / Seberang Prai) than in Penang Island.

The general Chinese name for Penang is 槟城 (檳城, 梹城) (pinyin: Bīnchéng or Bīngchéng), which loosely refers either to the city of George Town, the island of Penang, or the state of Penang. If more precise names for the city, island and state are needed, then George Town is 乔治市 (Qiáozhì Shì), Penang Island is 槟榔屿 (Bīnláng Xù) or 槟榔岛 (Bīnláng Dǎo) and Penang state is 槟州 (Bīn Zhōu). Province Wellesly (Seberang Prai) is 威省 (Wēi Shěng).

Cuisine

Penang is famous for the food sold at road-side stalls, known as "hawker food". Among the most famous Penang dishes are:

Penang Laksa, a dish of thick round rice noodles in a spicy and sour tamarind-based fish soup.

Ching pu leang thang shui or Ching Pu Leang Dessert (Chinese: 清補涼糖水), Ching pu leang thang shui means a cooling and rejuvenating dessert. Most people calls it simply ching pu leang. It is a type of healthy dessert consists of sweet potatoes, red beans, jelly, white fungus, sago, atapchi, mata kucing/longan, ginkgo, wintermelon, rambutan and many more. The soup of the ching pu leang is made from mata kucing/longan and sugar. There's a most famous stall in Penang that sells ching pu leang called Mat Toh Yau (the brand of the ching pu leang that means complete, because the stall sells many high quality ingredients in the ching pu leang), opposite Jelutong Market. There's also a branch of Mat Toh Yau at Terengganu Road. There are many stalls copying or trying to be better than Mat Toh Yau since it is very popular in Penang. Mat Toh Yau even has branches in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Its Penang branches sell the dessert only at night and the Kuala Lumpur branches sell the dessert in the morning and afternoon at some places, at night at most night markets.

Satay, this famous meat-on-a-stick is typically made from marinated meat - chicken, mutton or beef, skewered onto bamboo sticks and grilled over hot charcoals. Chinese hawkers, who outnumber Malay ones in Penang, also serve satay made from pork. A fresh salad of cucumbers & onions are served together with a spicy-sweet peanut dipping sauce for dipping. Ketupat, a Malay rice cake, is sometimes served together with satay.

Ikan Bakar, is a general term meaning grilled or barbecued fish. A popular local fish for grilling is Ikan Kembong (Mackerel Fish). The fish is usually marinated in spices, coconut milk, sometimes stuffed with sambal, then wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over hot charcoals.

Otak-otak, fresh fish fillets are blended with light spices, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and other aromatic herbs, into a sort of fish mousse. The fish mousse is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed or grilled.

Nasi Kandar, an Indian-Muslim dish of mixed rice with an assortment of meat and seafood curries, the secret of which is in the mix of curries. Among the most well-known is a place called Line Clear, off Penang Road.

Mee Goreng, fresh yellow egg noodles are stir fried with mutton or lamb, vegetables, tomato ketchup and spices, giving this fried noodle dish a distinctly unique Indian flavor.

Mee Rebus, a rich gravy made out of sweet potatoes, is ladled over fresh yellow egg noodles and bean sprouts. It is garnished with cooked squid, prawn fritters, boiled egg and fried shallots. A squeeze of a fresh local lime before serving.

Char Koay Teow (Chinese: 炒粿条), fried flat rice noodles with seafood. (A stall at a corner along Chulia Street which uses distinctive narrower noodles than other vendors.)

Hokkien Hae Mee (Chinese: 福建虾面), rice and egg noodles, served together with eggs, small prawns, meat slices, bean sprouts and kangkung (water spinach) in a spicy prawn stock.

Koay Teow Th'ng (Chinese: 粿条汤), fresh flat rice noodles are served in a clear soup broth, topped with fish balls, slices of pork, chicken, golden brown garlic bits and chopped scallions. A condiment of sliced fresh red chilies in soy-vinegar usually accompanies the dish.

Chee Cheong Fun (Chinese: 猪肠粉), usually eaten as breakfast, flat sheets made from rice flour, sometimes with some dried shrimp embedded, is steamed soft then cut up and topped with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili hot sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

Wan Than Mee (Chinese: 云吞面), also known as Tok-tok Mee from the sound of knocking bamboo sticks made by the vendors in former times to draw attention to their food, of a dish of egg noodles and wontons with sliced barbecued pork and vegetables. It is served either dry with soya sauce and sesame oil, or in a clear pork stock. In Penang, many spellings exist for "Wonton", some examples being "Wan Thun", "Wan Tan", "One Ton", and so on.

Ais Kacang, sweet red beans, seaweed jelly, barley pearls, sweet corn and fruits are covered with shaved ice, then laced with rose syrup, brown sugar syrup and sweetened condensed milk.

Chendol, a dessert with green noodles in coconut milk, brown sugar and shaved ice. There's a very famous stall along the busy street of Penang Road. Another not so famous 'cendol' stall is located just opposite to it.

Rojak, is a fruit and vegetable salad tossed in a special sauce. Simply labeled Rojak Sauce, the sauce is made from a thick black Prawn Paste. This is combined with palm sugar, tamarind paste and other ingredients. Pineapple, apple, guava, green mango, jicama and cucumber are tossed in this sauce with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds.

Transport

Penang island is connected to the mainland by the 13.5 km Penang Bridge (completed in 1985), one of the longest bridges in Asia. Ferry services are available between George Town and Butterworth (where the nearest Malayan Railway station is located) on the mainland and to the resort island of Langkawi in the north. Bayan Lepas International Airport (PEN) is located in the south of the island, and international flights are available to London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Medan, Taipei, Bangkok, Seoul, Riau, Xiamen and Guangzhou. A quaint mode of transportation, the three-wheeled trishaw, still operates in certain parts of George Town. However, with the advent of modern transportation, the trishaw has increasingly become more of a tourist attraction. Unfortunately, modern transportation has also brought the problem of traffic congestion to Penang's roads, as most of the roads in the city centre are narrow, due to lack of proper planning.

Reference

The Penang Tourism Action Council. "The "Light" Years and Beyond". Retrieved Jul. 26, 2005.

External links

Template:Wikitravel

Penang @ Talk Malaysia
Penang Community Forum : A community forum for Penangites to speak and to be heard
The Penang Story Project: Initiated by the Star newspaper, this is a collection of articles and documents related to the history and culture of Penang
PenangTalk
Penang Hill: Nowhere To Go But Up: Article on racing in Penang, Malaysia
Satellite Photo of Penang at Google Maps: George Town is on the eastern cape of Penang Island. Butterworth faces George Town across the water on the mainland
Penang's Colonial Past
GP Forum - A chinese version of Penang forum: GP论坛~槟城人的网络社区，注册人数已经超过1200人
[3] Community Hub for Penang

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 *[http://www.malacca.org Penang's Colonial Past]
 *[http://www.googlepenang.com/bbs GP Forum - A chinese version of Penang forum]: GP论坛~槟城人的网络社区，注册人数已经超过1200人
-* [http://www.penanglive.com] Community Hub for Penang
+*[http://www.penanglive.com] Community Hub for Penang
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