George Town, Penang

George Town Tanjung Penaga
Other transcription(s)
• Simplified Chinese	乔治市
• Tamil	ஜோர்ஜ் டவுன்
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Bandar Mutiara Pearl of the Orient City
Location in Penang. Location in Penang.
George Town Location in the Peninsula Malaysia
File:Malaysia location map.svg George Town Location in Malaysia
Coordinates:
Country	Malaysia
State	Penang
Founded	1786
Municipality established	1857
Granted city status	1957
Government
• Mayor	Patahiyah Ismail
Area
• City	305.773 km2 (118.060 sq mi)
• Metro	2,740.000 km2 (1,057.920 sq mi)
Elevation	14 m (46 ft)
Population (2010)
• City	500,000
• Demonym	George Townians
Time zone	MST (UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC)
Postal code	10xxx to 14xxx
Area code(s)	04
Vehicle registration	P
Website	www.mbpp.gov.my

George Town (Chinese: 乔治市; pinyin: qiáozhì shì Tamil: ஜோர்ஜ் டவுன்) is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang, located on the north-east corner of the island. It had an estimated population of 500,000 as of 2010. The metropolitan area (which consists of Jelutong, Sungai Pinang, Sungai Nibong, Gelugor, Air Itam, Tanjung Bungah and Tanjung Tokong) has a population of 2.5 million, making it the second largest metropolitan area and the biggest northern metropolis in Malaysia.

Etymology

The George Town area was once known as Tanjung (Cape) in Malay as it was situated on a cape area on the island northeast. The Malay name is derived from the older name of the town, Tanjung Penaga (Cape Penaigre). As George Town was founded by British Captain Francis Light in 1786, the town was named after King George III.

History

Founding of George Town

Statue of Francis Light in the present-day city, he was regarded as the founder of George Town.

As the Dutch East India Company had dominated the Far East spice trade, the British were determined to establish their presence in the region to control the trade route between mainland China and the Indian subcontinent through the archipelago, and to set up a base to repair British Navy ships. Because of this, Francis Light, who was a captain and a trader for the British East India Company (EIC) was instructed by his company, Jourdain Sullivan and de Souza in Madras, India to establish trade relations in the Malay archipelago. He arrived on Penang Island on 17 July 1786.

As Penang was still under the control of the Sultan of Kedah, Light needed to negotiate with the Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah to grant the island to the EIC in exchange for protection of the Sultanate against Siamese and Burmese intrusions. The early negotiations were problematic because the Sultan did not want to cede the island to the British, but the threat from Siam grew as the five Malay kingdoms of Kedah, Perak, Terengganu, Kelantan and Pattani were forced to offer bunga mas annually as a sign of vassal state. The Sultan was aware that he needed an agreement with the British for protection from the Siamese although he did not realise Light had acted without the approval of his superiors. Following the sealing of agreements by both sides, Light returned to the island on 11 August 1786 to establish possession under the flag of the United Kingdom, and renamed it Prince of Wales Island.

An 1799 map featuring the Fort Cornwallis after Captain Light acquired the island of Prince of Wales (present-day Penang).

At the time of his arrival, the island was inhabited by at least 1,000 Malay fishermen. He then built Fort Cornwallis which became the first British presence in the Malay archipelago. The area of present-day George Town was developed from a swampy area. Light introduced the island to traders as a free port to attract them from the Dutch trading post in neighbouring Sumatra. Although during the early stage of development he had difficulty in defending the island because of the shortage of water supply and because it was prone to flooding and malaria, Light managed to increase the settlement population to 10,000 and the value of imports to £130,000. In addition to Britain's free trade policy, Light also succeeded in attracting many traders from the Dutch ports in Sumatra where many restrictions and taxes had been imposed.

After the company failed to provide military protection to the Sultanate of Kedah was attacked by Siam in 1790, the Sultan formed an army at Seberang Perai (later Province Wellesley) to remove the British as well some Dutch presence, to retake Prince of Wales Island. This action was defeated by Light who implemented night raids on the Sultan's fortress. The following year, the Sultan was forced to signed a treaty with the British, which stipulated the official handing-over of the island to the British. Light was appointed Superintendent of the island and, to appease the Sultan, he paid $6,000 annually. After Light died of malaria on 21 October 1794, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Wellesley arrived to defend and maintain British control of the island. Sir George Alexander William Leith won control of another strip of land across the channel near the island in the Sultan of Kedah's territory in 1800, and named it Province Wellesley (present-day Seberang Perai). This gave the island control over the harbour and ended the problem of water shortage in the town. The annual payment to the Sultan of Kedah was increased to $10,000 after the acquisition and payment continues into the present.

In 1805, the island was elevated from a colonial status to that of a residency and by 1832, under the British administration in India, the Straits Settlements comprising the states of Malacca, Singapore and Penang was formed. Penang became its capital but in 1935 it was replaced by Singapore. At the end of the 19th century, prior to rich deposits of tin from neighbouring state and relentless demands of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the island and the town enjoyed an economic boom. At this time, the town was overwhelmed by immigrants especially those from China and India. Many European planters and Chinese towkays (business leaders) generate their money in the plantations and mines sectors in other northern Malay states but built their homes and sent their children to school in the town. This prosperity was however halted when the Japanese arrived in 1941 as part of World War II.

World War, post-independence and present

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Malacca and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Location	Malaysia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv
Reference	1223
UNESCO region	Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	2008 (32nd Session)

During the World War I, a surprise naval attack to the Allies occurred on 28 October 1914 on the town harbour area when German cruiser SMS Emden disguise as a British cruiser of HMS Yarmouth suddenly sending a torpedo to sank Russian cruiser of Zhemchug and French destroyer of Mousquet in a battle known as the Battle of Penang. The attack resulting 135 sailors been killed while another 157 wounded mainly from the Russian and French side. Local Malay fishermen who were doing their daily activities not far from the area then rush to the site to save any sailors they could.

As part of the World War II when the Japanese had landed in Kelantan on 8 December 1941 and following the Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse on 10 December, the Japanese advancement finally arrived to launch airstrikes when their jets were sighted off the town on 11 December without any warnings. The Japanese jet fighters and bombers arrived in V-formations while the town residents were amazed to see the formation by came out from their homes and buildings which turned into an horrified moments when they saw the jets dropped a weird thing (which is actually a bomb). When the bomb hit one of the buildings in the town and resulted in an explosion, the town residents became panic more so when they saw many residents have lying unconsciously on the streets and the buildings were in fire. Many residents began quickly to evacuate the town to saved their lives and looting were common at the time.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 453 Squadron with sixteen-F2A Buffalo did eventually tried to counter the Japanese airstrikes, but met with a failure with many of the Australian pilots killed during dog-fights. The town was burned for days following the success of Japanese bombing with around 600 town residents killed instantly and another 1,100 wounded. The Japanese continue its advancement with land attacks on 19 December, and until 22 December, the first contingent of the Japanese land forces consisting 200 people arrived to overtake the town as well the island which marking the beginning of Japanese occupation in Penang as part of the Empire of Japan.

Transport

Land

Public transport

See also: Trolleybuses in George Town, Penang

Health care

Education

See also: List of schools in Penang

Culture and leisure

Attractions and recreational spots

Entertainment

See also: List of cinemas in Malaysia

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Malaysia

Several countries have set up their consulates in George Town, including Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

Sister cities

George Town has six sister cities:

City of Adelaide, Australia. Xiamen, China.

Medan, Indonesia. Taipei, Taiwan.

Bangkok, Thailand. Phuket City, Thailand.

See also

• Architecture of Penang
• City Hall, Penang
• Penang Museum and Art Gallery
• Little India, Penang

Literature

• Suet Leng Khoo; Narimah Samat; Nurwati Badarulzaman; Sharifah Rohayah Sheikh Dawood The Promise and Perils of the Island City of George Town (Penang) as a Creative City (archive link). Urban Island Studies. (2015).
• Francis, Ric; Ganley, Colin. Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways: Municipal Transport History 1880s–1963. Penang: Areca Books. (2006, 2nd ed. 2012) ISBN 983-42834-0-7.
• Khoo Salma Nasution. More Than Merchants: A History of the German-speaking Community in Penang, 1800s–1940s. Areca Books. (2006). ISBN 978-983-42834-1-4
• Ooi Cheng Ghee. Portraits of Penang: Little India. Areca Books. (2011). ISBN 978-967-5719-05-9

External links

• George Town Municipal Council