KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Recently, the Penang government has had to reiterate that it will not be changing George Town’s name, amid calls for it to be restored as Tanjung Penaga.
According to the state government, the name George Town has long been recognised both in Malaysia and internationally, making it unnecessary to consider changing the name of Penang’s capital city.
An aerial view of Penang, including the Unesco Heritage Site, is seen from Level 52 of Komtar in George Town July 19, 2022. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
From ‘Pulau Ka Satu’ to Penang
In the state government’s online article on the state’s history, Penang Island was initially known as Pulau Ka Satu — citing a sailor named Ragam, who gave it this name because it was the only large, isolated island he encountered while trading between Lingga in the Indonesian archipelago and Kedah.
The name continued to be used until the arrival of the British in 1786, who farmed betel nut trees — called “pinang” in Malay — thus leading the island to be called Pulau Pinang, Penang in English.
Before the name Penang Island became popular, residents of Seberang Perai were more familiar with it as Tanjong Penaga, named after the “penaga” trees (iron wood, scientific name Mesua assamica) that grew around the site of Fort Cornwallis.
Some other source said the name was due to another tree instead, the “penaga laut” (mast wood, Calophyllum inophyllum).
The state government said it believed that this name or its abbreviation, Tanjong, was still used in land grants issued by the government until 1800. Some locals still refer to George Town by this name.
Tanjong was renamed as George Town by the colonial British to honour King George III, which ruled Great Britain between 1760 and 1820.
Is it “George Town” or “Georgetown”? According to Penang native Zuhairy Fauzy in his letter to Malay Mail last year:
Historical maps of the city have predominantly spelt the city’s name as “George Town” from its earliest days, as can be seen, for instance, in an 1807 surveying map by Jeremiah McCarthy, as well as another map from 1871.
It’s also worth noting that curators of the city’s heritage, such as Penang Heritage Trust and George Town World Heritage Incorporated, not to mention Unesco itself, consistently use the two-word spelling “George Town” on all of their publications.
A view of Thai Pak Koong (Ng Suk) Temple, which bagged the 2021 Award of Merit for Unesco Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation, is seen at Lebuh King in George Town December 1, 2021. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
Not first attempt
In 2016, a Bernama report cited Universiti Sains Malaysia Centre for Policy Research and International Studies’s Prof Datuk Ahmad Murad Marican saying that Umno assemblyman, Hashim Awang, had in 1958 had mooted a similar change.
The name changing call was repeated in 2022, but was also rejected by the state government then.
Then state tourism and creative economy committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said there was no need to change the name of George Town as it is already recognisable for the past two centuries.
“I do not see any justification for us to change the names of George Town (and Butterworth) because these names have been famous for a long time worldwide, the names have been in use for the past 200 years,” he reportedly said.
Last week, current exco Wong Hon Wai asserted that George Town has already been listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008, following a call by Permatang Pauh MP Fawwaz Jan from Islamist party PAS. According to Wong:
“This international recognition affirms George Town’s position as a premier tourist destination in Malaysia, attracting visitors from all over the world.
“The name George Town has been known for a long time and there is no issue concerning the name of the place.”
The call by PAS came after the organiser of the George Town Festival 2024 was accused of promoting only ethnic Chinese and Indian cultures in the clips promoting the event.