Welcome to Georgetown, Penang!

The first thing that strikes you about Penang (an island off the northwestern coast of the Malay Peninsula) is that the three main communities - the Malays, Chinese and Tamils - live in harmony.  There is in fact a "Street of Harmony" in Georgetown (the former British capital of Penang) in which Islam, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity are all represented: the Kapitan Keling Mosque, the Kuan Yin Temple, the Sri Maha Mahariamman Temple and St. George's Church, the oldest Anglican Church in Southeast Asia.  They were built about 140 to 180 years ago and are in various stages of repair and renovation. 

British Colonizers

Britain's role on the Malay peninsula began in 1786 when Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company obtained Penang Island from the Sultan of Kedah.  For years, the British were only interested in Malaya for its seaports and trade routes, but the discovery of tin and rubber (both major trading commodities) prompted them to move inland and, eventually, to govern. 

Fort Cornwallis in Georgetown - located close to the Esplanade and only a few yards from the sea - is named after Lord Cornwallis, the Calcutta-based Governor-General of Bengal. (He is the same British commander who surrendered to the Americans and French at the Battle of Yorktown during the American War of Independence).

Fort Cornwallis is the country's largest standing fort and was used to ward off pirates as well as Dutch and Portuguese naval ships that wandered too far north from Malacca.  

Piracy

Piracy was a major issue in Penang in the 18th and 19th centuries. The free trade policy operated by the British attracted large numbers of native traders. These, in turn, attracted many pirates, for whom the British ships were easy prey in comparison with well-armed European merchant vessels.  

Interestingly enough, former Malay rulers viewed piracy as respectable!  Indeed, early 19th century Malay royalty - the Sultans of Johore and Temenggong - saw it as more honourable than regular trade.  According to historians, piracy might have been wiped out sooner had the Sultans stopped encouraging it.

Tea Time! Cruise Stop

Penang has many beautiful buildings from the colonial period including the City Hall, the Town Hall and the Eastern and Oriental Hotel.

You can well imagine the ladies - quite unsuitably dressed for the climate in long frocks and hats - and the gents (equally unsuitably dressed in linen suits) taking tea and nibbling cakes and cucumber sandwiches at the Eastern and Oriental!  Sadly, we didn't get a chance for tea in Penang but hope to go to the world-famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore to get our fix!  

Not surprisingly, Penang is actually a stop for cruise ships - mainly from Hong Kong, Singapore and Phuket (Thailand).

The multi-cultural multi-ethnic character of the island - and the uniquely English look and feel of Georgetown - is a huge draw for visitors.  After the crowds and pollution of Kuala Lumpur, Penang's laid back lifestyle, slower pace and fresh sea breezes were a welcome change!

Temples and Mosques

Sri Maha Mahariamman is Penang's oldest Hindu temple.  It was closed for renovation but we were told that its statue of Lord Subramaniam (richly decorated in gold and jewels) is taken out in a chariot procession once a year during the Thaipusam festival.  

Another popular temple is Kuan Yin, a Taoist shrine built by early Chinese settlers.  An indigenous Chinese religion from the 3rd century BC, Taoism emphasises harmony between nature, humanity and the divine.  It is associated with acupuncture, herbal medicine and the practice of "feng shui" which is based on the idea that the land is alive and filled with Chi, or energy.  When we visited the temple, young women were holding up offerings of burning joss sticks and going around in circles.

The handsome all-white Kapitan Keling Mosque - next door to Kuan Yin - was built by Indian Muslim traders. "Keling" is a Malay term for Indians and "Kapitan" means a representative of the Indian community.  Unlike the Blue Mosque in Istanbul (with stained glass windows and chandeliers), Kapitan Keling Mosque has no decoration except calligraphy.  After the ornate carvings and colourful statues in the Hindu and Taoist temples, this was very different, very austere. 

Babas and Nyonyas

The first Chinese to settle in the Straits Settlements (Penang, Malacca, Singapore), intermarried with the Malay community and adopted its culture. This new ethnic group called "babas" (males) and "nyonyas" (females) are known as Peranakan. They combined Chinese and Malay traditions to create a new culture.

The Peranakan Baba and Nyonya Mansion in Penang is the house of one such wealthy Chinese-Malay family (not to be confused with "mamaks" or people of Tamil-Malay heritage). These "acculturated" babas lived a very opulent lifestyle. With its eclectic design and architecture, the mansion has more than 1,000 antiques on display ranging from marble and rosewood furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl to jade carvings, fine china, silk tapestries, lacquered baskets and giant ceramic plant holders.  It is now a private museum and heritage site.

Penang Hill and Buggy Ride

The view from the top of Penang Hill is well worth the journey by the Penang Hill Railway with its new Swiss-made coaches.  The summit provides a panoramic view of Georgetown and the nearly 8.5 mile-long Penang Bridge which is quite a feat of engineering. 

Malaysia's infrastructure is impressive. Its roads and bridges are in general very good when compared to the US.  As in Western Europe or other Asian countries, the government has massive public works projects and budgets and seems unafraid of spending money to maintain them!  

The country is justly proud of its famous Petrosan Twin Towers in KL - the tallest twin towers in the world!  Today they might be considered a costly self-indulgence but they were constructed at a time when the economy was booming and Malaysia was making its presence felt on the world stage. 

Penang city doesn't have the same Islamic and Moorish architecture of KL's skyscrapers but the bridges are stunning. At nearly 15 miles long, the Second Penang Bridge - the longest in Southeast Asia - opened earlier this year. 

We got a ten-dollar buggy ride from a 70-year old Chinese driver, Jimmy, who took us to all the scenic lookouts and photo stops on Penang Hill. We also glimpsed the vacation homes of rich Malays, visited a tiny mosque and the neighbouring Sri Thirumurugan Temple. 

Chinese Pagodas, Giant Buddhas and Turtles

On our way down Penang Hill, we explored the Kek Lok Si Temple complex. It is one of the biggest in Southeast Asia with pagodas, pavilions, giant buddhas and a towering bronze statue of the Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin) in addition to fish and turtle ponds. The seven-storey main pagoda (which contains 10,000 alabaster and bronze Buddhas) combines Chinese, Thai and Burmese designs - the goal is to reflect harmony between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.  

Another attraction at Kek Lok Si are the turtles in Liberation Pond.  They have been captured and freed as an act of spiritual liberation.  According to Chinese tradition, turtles symbolise longevity, strength and endurance. The sight of hundreds of turtles - swimming around, sunning themselves and waiting to gobble up chopped vegetables thrown at them by visitors - is quite amazing! 

After the turtles we walked down a covered stairway with souvenir shops and people asking for alms - I'd never seen a Chinese beggar before!  In Beijing they ban them!  In Bangkok, Buddhist monks beg for food as part of their monastic training; many are only monks for a few months and then go back to jobs, studies, etc.  I wondered if the Chinese beggars near Kek Lok Si were also temporary!  

Little India

Penang's Little India is a treat!  It is a very small area (mostly one narrow street and another one crossing it) - a typical lower-end Indian market selling everything from flower garlands to children's clothes, gaudy plastic sandals, cookware, toys, bangles, hair decorations, Ganesh statues, and so on.  

The most prominent store on the street had ear-shattering Tamil film music blaring from loudspeakers as well as a very large picture of Christ displaying a "Laxmi Video" caption!  I wasn't sure if I should be shocked (by the unintentional blasphemy) or just amused - I went with the latter!  

There is also a Little India in KL but it smelt of stale Tandoori food, not "shudh" (pure) Madrasi veg!  We ate dosas (rice and lentil pancakes), iddlies (steamed rice cakes) and "Mysoor Park" (a dessert made from lentils and pure ghee) at Woodlands in Penang's Little India.  It tasted very authentic!

Chinese and Indians

The immigration of Chinese and Indian workers to the Malay peninsula at the time of the British has had a profound impact on the Malay economy.  The workers were responsible for building the railways and also worked in the rubber plantations. In addition, Indians were employed as traders, soldiers, policemen and in government jobs. More recently, Indian nationals have come to work in construction, engineering, restaurants, IT and finance. 

The Chinese have been settling in Malaysia for many centuries as seen in the emergence of the Peranakan (mixed Chinese and Malay) culture. They began in tin mining and railway construction and later owned businesses that have become large conglomerates. Most Chinese are Tao Buddhist and retain strong ties to mainland China. The Peranakan community is very prominent in Penang, a state whose population is majority ethnic Chinese.

"Bumiputras"

Malaysia is 60 percent "bumiputras" (sons of the soil or indigenous Malays), 23 percent ethnic Chinese and 7 percent ethnic Indians, with the remainder made up of other races.  Since "bumiputras" traditionally lag behind in education and business, under national policies, they get cheaper housing, priority in government jobs and business licenses.

According to reports, the number of Indians offered a place in government-funded universities has dropped by more than half compared to a decade ago under the racial quota system, when at least 8 percent were Indian. Chinese student intake went down by a third in the same period.

I sat near a young Chinese student on the train from Penang to KL and got a quick education on the "unfairness" of the system for non-Malays.  He said that 80-90 percent of university seats are reserved for Malays and 5 percent for Chinese. There is no reservation for Tamils! In addition, Malays don't pay the 5 percent sales tax charged to everyone else.  If you are of mixed descent and your father is Malay you would be considered "bumiputra."  

It is no wonder then that, those who can, depart Malaysia for more merit-based countries.  I think it was one of the main reasons that Singapore left the Malaysian Federation back in 1965. 

Indian (and Chinese) Diaspora

The Indian diaspora in Southeast Asia is endlessly fascinating.  Like their distant Trinidadian and South African cousins, they cling to their Indianness!  They have their temples and mosques as well as their restaurants and hawker stalls. The Hindu women wear "bindis" ("pottus" in Tamil or red dots on the forehead); the Muslim women wear the "burkha" or black veil. (You can distinguish Malay women from the others; they wear scarves but don't cover their faces). 

Most Indians in Malaysia are Tamil Muslim and Tamil Hindu but you also have Sikhs, Gujaratis, Parsis, Malyalees, Telegus, and others.  One of our tour bus drivers - a "mona" or shaven Sikh - said his father came with the British Indian army.   

We had the best Tamil taxi drivers and one wonderful Chinese driver-cum-guide - the well-informed and courteous Mr Tee - who took us to Little India, Penang Hill and the Penang train station at Butterworth (such an "Angrezi" word)! 

I must also mention another young Chinese whom we met on the bus from KL to Singapore - Leong from Sarawak (one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo). He showed us how to navigate Malaysian departure and Singapore immigration at the large and confusing Woodlands Checkpoint. Leong waited for us (and a Filipino group) to complete embarkation forms, then guided us through several walkways to get us a taxi that took credit cards since we had no Singapore money! He carried my suitcase up and down stairs. He was even willing to pay our bus fares but we had too many bags to carry. Leong (and Mr. Tee) restored my faith in the "kindness of strangers" - and in Malaysia!

Ludi
Sunway Hotel, Georgetown, Penang
August 24/25, 2014
Text and Photos from my iPad

Penang