Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple, Teluk Bahang

Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple, Teluk Bahang (19 May 2012)

Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple (GPS: 5.46079, 100.21707) is a beach-side Hindu temple in Teluk Bahang. It is located in Kampung Keling, a former Indian village right next to the now closed Penang Mutiara Beach Resort. The temple, now over a hundred years old, is all that remains of the former Kampung Keling. The area became known as the Jubilee Camp Beach, after the scout campsite that was there in the 1950s and 60s.

Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple is best known as the venue of the Teppa Tiruvizla, a Hindu festival where lit pavilions are taken into the sea. This is staged during the month of Maasi Magan, which usually falls between mid February and mid March. It is the month following the month of Thai (in which Thaipusam is celebrated).

During Teppa Tiruvizla, the normally serene atmosphere of Teluk Bahang is shattered by the arrival of devotees, visitors and onlookers all over. There would be bus loads of pilgrims from different parts of Malaysia as well as Singapore.

On my visit to the Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple in May 2012, I saw that it was undergoing renovation. The temple sculptures are given a new coat of paint, and some new ones are also being made. The temple priest is named Ravi. He doesn't speak much English or Malay, but he was happy to pose for a photograph with the incomplete sculptures.

Updates on the Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple

3 February, 2016 Visit Penang announces that the 2016 Masi Magam Theppe Thiruvilla Floating Chariot Festival will take place at the Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple on 22 February.

Getting there

The Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple is located beside the now closed Penang Mutiara Beach Resort. To reach the temple, turn off from Jalan Teluk Bahang down a sandy path. There is a signboard beside Jalan Teluk Bahang to point the way.