Penang
State in Malaysia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Penang (Malay: Pulau Pinang, [pi.naŋ]) is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. These two halves are physically connected by the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The state shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south.
Penang Pulau Pinang | |
---|---|
Other transcription(s) | |
• Mandarin | 槟城 (Simplified) 檳城 (Traditional) Bīn chéng (Pinyin) |
• Hokkien | 庇能 Pī-néeng (Tâi-lô) |
• Tamil | பினாங்கு Piṉāṅku (Transliteration) |
• Thai | ปีนัง Pinang (RTGS) |
Etymology: Areca nut | |
Nickname(s): Pulau Mutiara Pearl of the Orient | |
Motto: Bersatu dan Setia United and Loyal | |
Anthem: Untuk Negeri Kita For Our State | |
Sovereign state | Malaysia |
Founded by the British East India Company | 11 August 1786 |
Straits Settlements | 1 April 1867 – 1 April 1946 |
Japanese occupation | 19 December 1941 – 3 September 1945 |
Malayan Union | 1 April 1946 |
Federation of Malaya | 31 August 1957 |
Proclamation of Malaysia | 16 September 1963 |
Capital | George Town |
Largest city | Seberang Perai |
Ethnic groups (2020)[1] | |
Religion (2020)[1] |
|
Demonym(s) | Penangite |
Government | Parliamentary |
Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak | |
Chow Kon Yeow (PH-DAP) | |
Law Choo Kiang (PH-PKR) | |
Legislature | Legislative Assembly |
Area | |
• Total | 1,049 km2 (405 sq mi) (12th) |
Elevation | 24 m (79 ft) |
Highest elevation | 833 m (2,733 ft) |
Population | |
• 2020 census | 1,740,405 |
• Density | 1,659.11/km2 (4,297.1/sq mi) (3rd) |
GDP (PPP) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $70.966 billion (5th) |
• Per capita | $44,104 (4th) |
GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $27.535 billion (6th) |
• Per capita | $15,837 (4th) |
Gini (2022) | 0.371[3] low |
HDI (2021) | 0.836 very high · 3rd |
Currency | Malaysian ringgit (RM/MYR) |
Time zone | UTC+8 (Malaysian Time) |
Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +604-2, +604-6, +604-8 (George Town) +604-3, +604-5 (Seberang Perai) |
Postal code | |
ISO 3166 code | MY-07 |
Website | www |
With 1.74 million residents and a population density of 1,659/km2 (4,300/sq mi) as of 2020[update], Penang is one of Malaysia's most densely populated and urbanised states.[4] Seberang Perai is Malaysia's third largest city by population. Penang is culturally diverse with a population that includes Chinese, Malays, Indians, Eurasians, Siamese and expatriates.
Established by Francis Light in 1786, Penang became part of the Straits Settlements, a British crown colony also comprising Malacca and Singapore. During World War II, Japan occupied Penang, but the British regained control in 1945. Penang was later merged with the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia), which gained independence in 1957.
Penang's economy shifted from entrepôt trade to electronics manufacturing and the tertiary sector in the late 20th century. It is one of the country's most developed economic powerhouses, with the second highest GDP per capita among Malaysian states, and the third highest Human Development Index after Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Penang is Malaysia's leading exporter with nearly RM451 billion (USD108.94 billion) in exports in 2022, primarily through the Penang International Airport which is also the nation's third busiest in passenger traffic.
The name Penang comes from the modern Malay name Pulau Pinang which means 'areca nut island'.[5] Penang is also colloquially referred to as the "Pearl of the Orient" and "The Island of Pearls" (Malay: Pulau Mutiara).[6][7]
Over the course of history, Penang Island had been known by different names by seafarers from various regions. The locals named it Pulo Ka Satu, meaning The First Island, as it was the largest island on the maritime route between Lingga and Kedah.[8] The Siamese, who were the overlords of Kedah, called it Ko Mak (Thai: เกาะหมาก).[9]
Maritime explorers also took note of the island's abundance of areca nut. During the 15th century, Admiral Zheng He of Ming China referred to the island as Bīngláng Yǔ (traditional Chinese: 檳榔嶼; simplified Chinese: 槟榔屿; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Pin-nn̂g-sū; lit. 'areca nut island') in his navigational charts.[10] In the Description of Malacca, Portuguese cartographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia named it Pulo Pinaom.[11]
British East India Company 1786–1858
British Raj 1858–1867
Straits Settlements 1826–1941; 1945–1946
Empire of Japan 1941–1945
Malayan Union 1946–1948
Federation of Malaya 1948–1963
Malaysia 1963–present
Early history
Archaeologists have discovered human remains such as the "Penang Woman", along with seashells, pottery and stone tools, in Seberang Perai.[12] The artifacts indicate that around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, Penang was inhabited by nomadic Melanesians during the Neolithic era.[13][14][15]
Pali inscriptions on the Cherok Tok Kun megalith suggest the Hindu-Buddhist Bujang Valley civilisation, based in present-day Kedah, held authority over parts of Seberang Perai by the 6th century.[16] The entirety of Penang later formed part of Kedah, which came under Siamese suzerainty by the late 18th century.[17]
Establishment and British rule
Penang's modern history began in 1786 when Francis Light, a representative of the British East India Company (EIC), obtained Penang Island from Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah of Kedah in exchange for military aid. Light had been sent to the Malay Peninsula by the EIC to build trade relations in the region, where he saw the strategic potential of Penang Island as a "convenient magazine for trade" that could enable the British to check Dutch and French territorial ambitions in Southeast Asia.[23]
After negotiating an agreement with the Sultan, Light and his entourage landed on Penang Island on 17 July that year and took formal possession of the island "in the name of King George III of England" on 11 August.[24] The island was renamed Prince of Wales Island after the heir to the British throne and the new settlement of George Town was established in honour of King George III.[25]
Unbeknownst to Sultan Abdullah, Light had acted without the authority or the consent of his superiors in India. When the EIC reneged on military protection, the Sultan launched an attempt to recapture the Prince of Wales Island in 1791. However, the attempt was defeated by EIC forces and the Sultan sued for peace.[26] An annual payment of 6000 Spanish dollars was agreed in exchange for British sovereignty over the island.[27]
In 1800, Lieutenant-Governor George Leith secured a strip of hinterland across the Penang Strait, which was subsequently named Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai).[27][28] The EIC gained permanent sovereignty over both Prince of Wales Island and the new mainland territory, while the annual payment to the Sultan of Kedah was increased to 10,000 Spanish dollars.[29] The British and Malaysian governments maintained the annual payments to Kedah until 2018, when the Malaysian federal government increased the amount by RM10 million yearly.[30][31]
George Town grew rapidly as a free port and a conduit for spice trade, diverting maritime commerce away from Dutch outposts in the region.[32][33][34] In 1805, Penang became a separate presidency of British India, sharing similar status with Bombay and Madras.[35] By 1808, George Town had established its local government, while the founding of the Supreme Court of Penang marked the birth of Malaysia's modern judiciary.[36] In 1826, George Town was made the capital of the Straits Settlements which included Singapore and Malacca. As Singapore soon supplanted George Town as the region's premier entrepôt, Singapore became the capital instead in 1832.[37]
Despite its secondary importance to Singapore, George Town retained its importance as a vital British entrepôt.[38] Towards the end of the 19th century, it became a major tin exporter and Malaya's primary financial centre.[39][40][41] Penang's prosperity attracted a cosmopolitan population comprising Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, Siamese and migrants of mixed European-Asian lineage referred to as "Eurasians", and led to the development of hitherto rural areas such as Butterworth and Bukit Mertajam.[42] However, the population growth created social problems such as inadequate sanitation, health facilities and rampant crime, culminating in street violence and rioting in 1867.[43][44][45]
The Straits Settlements became a British crown colony within the same year.[46][47] Direct British rule led to improved law enforcement, and investments in health care and public transportation in Penang.[38][43][48] Owing to enhanced access to education, active participation of Asian residents in municipal affairs and substantial press freedom, George Town was perceived as being more intellectually receptive than Singapore.[38][49][50] The settlement attracted intellectuals and revolutionaries, including Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham and Sun Yat-sen.[38][51][52] In 1910, Sun selected George Town as the centre for the Tongmenghui's political activities in Southeast Asia, aimed at overthrowing the Qing dynasty.[52]
World wars
Penang emerged from World War I relatively unscathed, apart from the Battle of Penang during which the Imperial German Navy cruiser SMS Emden sank two Allied warships off George Town.[53] During the interwar years, the British had acknowledged the need to fortify their armed forces in northern Malaya. However, complacency and lack of resources left British forces ill-prepared to confront the Japanese invasion at the onset of the Pacific War. Although Penang Island had been designated as a fortress, Penang fell without struggle to the Imperial Japanese Army on 19 December 1941 after daily aerial attacks.[54] The British covertly evacuated Penang's European populace; historian Raymond Callahan since contended that "the moral collapse of British rule in Southeast Asia came not at Singapore, but at Penang".[55][56]
Penang Island was subsequently renamed Tojo-to after Prime Minister Hideki Tojo.[57] Japanese military police imposed order by massacring Chinese civilians under the Sook Ching policy, while women were forced into sexual slavery.[58] Swettenham Pier was converted into a major submarine base by the Axis Powers.[59][60][61]
Between 1944 and 1945, Allied bombers from India targeted naval and administrative buildings in George Town, damaging and destroying several colonial buildings in the process.[62][63] The Penang Strait was mined to restrict Japanese shipping.[64] Following Japan's surrender, George Town was the first Malayan settlement liberated by British marines through Operation Jurist on 3 September 1945.[65]
Post-war years
Penang was placed under British military administration until 1946, after which the Straits Settlements was abolished. The British sought to consolidate the various political entities in British Malaya, including the Crown Colony of Penang, under a single polity known as the Malayan Union. Initially, the impending annexation of Penang into the vast Malay heartland proved unpopular among Penangites.[66] The Penang Secessionist Committee was formed in 1948 due to economic and ethnic concerns, but their attempt to avert Penang's merger with Malaya was unsuccessful due to British disapproval.[67][68][69]
To allay the concerns raised by the secessionists, the British government guaranteed George Town's free port status and reintroduced municipal elections in 1951.[36][69] George Town became the first fully-elected municipality in Malaya by 1956 and was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in the following year. This made George Town the first city within the Federation of Malaya, and by extension, Malaysia.[70]
Post-independence era
George Town's status as a free port was rescinded by the Malaysian federal government in 1969.[49] This led to a loss of maritime trade, causing massive unemployment and brain drain.[49][71][72] To revive the economy, Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu established the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone in 1972.[73] Massive industrialisation proved instrumental in reversing Penang's economic slump and led to the state's rapid economic growth until the late 1990s.[73][74][75] Under Lim's tenure, the Penang Bridge, the first road link between Penang Island and the Malay Peninsula, was built.
However, persistent brain drain, exacerbated by federal policies that favoured the development of Kuala Lumpur, meant that Penang was no longer at the forefront of the country's economy by the 21st century
Persistent brain drain, aggravated by federal policies prioritising the growth of Kuala Lumpur, resulted in Penang losing its leading position in the national economy by the 21st century.[49][76] This decline, compounded by various issues including incoherent urban planning, poor traffic management and the dilapidation of George Town's heritage enclave following the repeal of the Rent Control Act in 2001, contributed to growing dissatisfaction within Penang's society.[22][77][78]
In response, civil societies in George Town mobilised public support to rejuvenate the city.[49][79][80] Resentment against the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration led to the Pakatan Rakyat bloc (now Pakatan Harapan) rising to power through the 2008 state election.[77] Efforts to preserve George Town's heritage architecture led to the city's historical core being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that year.[80][81]