History of Penang, Malaysia							Back
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Penang, also known as 'Pearl of the Orient' or 'Pulau Mutiara' in Malay Language was actually part of Kedah state but was given by the Sultan of Kedah to British East India Company in 1786 in exchange for protection against Siamese. Some of Penang old names were Pulau Ka Satu called by the Malays and PingLang Yu by Cheng Ho. Captain Francis Light of the British navy was given the honour as the 'founder' of Penang when he landed on Penang on 11 August 1786. He renamed it to 'Prince of Wales Island' as the date was the birth date of the British Prince. During his time in Penang, Fort Cornwallis, a fort which is very well conserved and still standing at its original place, was built. In 1826, Penang became part of the Straits Settlements which were territories of the United Kingdom with its administration in Goa, India. Later in 1867, it became a British Crown Colony with its administration direct from London. In 1942 to 1946, Penang was under the Japanese occupation which the people of Penang did not like. Penang joined the Malayan Union in 1946 and in 1948 became a state in the Federation of Malaya until 1963 when the Federation of Malaya became Malaysia with the inclusion of Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore. British contribution to Penang The British occupation in Penang from 1786 to 31st-Aug-1957 helped developed Penang from a swampy jungle area into a big modern town with roads, ports (Port Swettenham on the island and later Butterworth port on Province Wellesley) and railway (Keretapi Tanah Melayu). These helped Penang to be a suitable entreport along Straits of Malacca and a good logistic hub. However, since independence, Penang's ports, railway and roads did not improve much partly because Penang's free port status was taken away. Now, year 2009, Penang's port is a dying port, struggling to stay alive and has been sidelined by other places like Port Klang, Singapore and even Johore's port. Bicycles, trishaws, motorbikes, cars, buses, trams and trains were introduced to Penang. However, as Penang people got more affluent, trams, bicycles and trishaws began to fade away. Now, year 2009, the roads in Penang, regardless of whether big or small, will be filled with cars during the time people go to office and back from office. Many schools like Convent Light Street, St Xaviers Institute and Penang Free School, were built and its people given proper education. These made most Penang people understand English language quite well and therefore able to teach their young ones good English language until now. The rich Chinese and Indian settlers built chinese and Tamil schools for those who prefer to stick to their own language. Therefore, there are many people in Penang that can still read chinese and tamil until now. Churches were built by and for the Christian. Mosques were built by and for the Muslims. Temples were built by and for the people of other religion like Taoists, Hindus and Buddhists. These made Penang, especially Georgetown special because it has people from different parts of the world with different religions living in harmony with each other. Pre-war houses were built from good and expensive materials with good craftmanship. Many of these pre-war houses were conserved and restored to their olden days 'look'. These became an important part of Georgetown listing by UNESCO apart from their individual awards they got from UNESCO, like Cheong Fat Tze mansion and the Pinang Peranakan Mansion.				Penang's Flag & Emblem		Penang City Hall
				Fort Cornwallis		Penang Town Hall
				Swettenham Pier		Penang Custom Building
				Penang Police Headquarters		Penang High Court
				Penang Session and Magistrate Court		Komtar
				Penang State Assembly Hall		Pre-war Shophouses
				Pre-war Houses		St George's Church
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