Permatang Damar Laut, Penang

Permatang Damar Laut, Penang (14 February 2022)


Permatang Damar Laut (GPS: 5.28192, 100.25848; Penang Hokkien: Ma3tang1) is a village on the southeast coast of Penang Island. Along with Batu Maung and Teluk Tempoyak, Permatang Damar Laut is hemmed in by the Bayan Lepas International Airport. On this part of the island, within view of the airport runway, life continues as it has always had for the past thirty years.

For those searching for the picture postcard Penang, it can still be found if we search for it in Permatang Damar Laut. Here, the waters of the South Channel blends with that of the Straits of Malacca. Off the coast of Permatang Damar Laut is Pulau Rimau, an ink-blot shaped island on the southeastern tip of Penang.

Today, a secluded stretch of Permatang Damar Laut has been given the name Pantai Esen (though it did not bear the name when I first started this page back in 2004) by biking and hiking enthusiasts. It is the pathway leading to the Tua Pek Kong shrine.

The earliest settlement of Permatang Damar Laut is said to have been by Sumatrans. The pioneers included Pah Kechil from Batu Bara, who came with Jamaluddin and Nakhoda Che Salleh from Lingga.¹

Updates on Permatang Damar Laut

1 Sept 2023
Work starts for creating the manmade Silicon Island located off Permatang Damar Laut.

 Discover with Timothy Videos

Map of Permatang Damar Laut

Location of Permatang Damar Laut

Measured from the junction of Jalan Permatang Damar Laut with Jalan Teluk Kumbar (gPS: 5.294225, 100.256745), Permatang Damar Laut is 17.3 km to Komtar, 11.3 km to the Penang Bridge, 7.3 km to the Second Penang Bridge and 2.9 km to the Penang International Airport.

Residential Properties in Permatang Damar Laut

Eateries in Permatang Damar Laut

Sights in Permatang Damar Laut

Streets in Permatang Damar Laut

Permatang Damar Laut signboard (15 December 2018)


Permatang Damar Laut Muslim Cemetery - the village relocated in the 1970s to make way for the airport expansion. (15 December 2018)


Lovely Pantai Ah Soon in Permatang Damar Laut (18 April 2004)


Permatang Damar Laut (18 April 2004)

Entering Permatang Damar Laut

Permatang Damar Laut comprises the village area where most of the houses are located. However it also includes a secluded stretch of beach called Pantai Ah Soon, or simply Pantai Indah. I am very well acquainted with Permatang Damar Laut because I actually grew up here. However, it has been several years since I last explored Permatang Damar Laut. Recently I returned here to take some shots. I found that the sea is not clean, as I have more or less expected. The shore is littered with trash, and it requires some effort to find an angle to shoot that does not have trash cluttering the photograph.

Bayan Lepas Main Drain emptying into the sea at Permatang Damar Laut (14 February 2022)


The seashore at Permatang Damar Laut (18 April 2004)


The seashore boulders at Permatang Damar Laut (18 April 2004)


A forest path leads from Pantai Ah Soon into the jungle in Permatang Damar Laut. As it winds its way through the hills, it passes a banyan tree with a small spirit house. The path passes through the last remaining rubber trees in the Batu Maung area. ends at a temple, the Kong Hock Si Temple, 廣福祠 (Penang Hokkien: Kong1 Hock1 Si33, Pinyin: Guǎngfú Cí).

Hill view of Permatang Damar Laut beach (18 April 2004)


Pantai Indah signboard, Permatang Damar Laut (18 April 2004)

Updates on Permatang Damar Laut

December, 2015: Traffic flow to Permatang Damar Laut has been improved greatly with the new dispersal system at the Jalan Teluk Kumbar-Jalan Bayan Lepas junction.

26 June, 2014
The Star reports that the Penang Fo Yi Haemodialysis Society is building a new haemodialysis building at Jalan Permatang Damar Laut. The five-storey building will be known as the Fo Yi Medicare Centre.

6 March, 2014
The Star reports that two 14-year-old boys, were swept by strong currents while on an outing to collect shellfish at Pantai Ah Soon in Permatang Damar Laut, around 5:30 pm on 5 March. The body of Khoo Chong Chun was found by residents at 6:45 pm, while the body of Hung Gui Rui was still missing at time the report was written.
A report of the following day states that the body of Hung Gui Rui was found at Pantai Ah Soon at 6:45 am the following day.

Getting there

Rapid Penang 302 and 305 serves Permatang Damar Laut.

References

List of Beaches in Penang and Beaches in Malaysia; List of Towns in Penang and Towns in Malaysia