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.

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Map of Roads in Penang

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.