Penang on the Local Stage

Penang on the Local Stage tells a story of how the island survived and prospered against the odds. In 1786, the island of Penang was a Kedah backwater. Without a person like Francis Light to pluck it from slumber, it would never amount to much.

The island does harbor pockets of fishing community in the mangrove estuaries. Pirates are said to find the island a good hideaway. On the northern coast, a shrine had already been built by early Chinese settlers in what became known as Tanjung Tokong.

Francis Light came on the scene as an opportunist. He appeared on the scene when Kedah was weak, and the sultan reluctantly turned over the island in returned for military assistance that didn't materialise. He beat the odds in founding Penang, having to clear the forest while keeping disease and enemies at bay. While he managed to fend off an angry Sultan of Kedah, he could not beat malaria, and succumbed to the disease a mere eight years after founding Penang.

The British East India Company didn't pay much attention to Francis Light - or his appeals for funds - until the island was in their own hands. Then world activities propelled them to pay close attention to the island, even promoting it to Presidency. Alas, it was an opportunity gained, and lost.

At the time when Penang was raised to Presidency, it had nothing much of value. And as a result, it was not a profitable port, a realisation that propelled the British, through the shrewd Stamford Raffles to established a superior port in Singapore. The latter quickly surpassed Penang in revenue, and has never looked back since.

Prosperity for Penang came later in the 18th century, when rich tin ore was discovered in the area in northern Perak, which enabled the Chinese (and European) investors to send miners to the area. This resulted in the prosperity that had eluded Francis Light.

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

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Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.