Also known as Malaysia’s Pearl of the Orient, Penang is simultaneously a historical treasure, an economic success story, and a beacon of influence that reaches farther across the world and further back in time than the nation itself.
Penang’s trajectory of development can be traced as far back as 1786, when Francis Light, on behalf of the British East India Company, landed on the north-eastern shore of Penang Island and founded Georgetown. That same stretch of beach, a relatively rare feature of the island’s coastline, is now part of the state capital’s central business district and the most densely populated part of Penang.
Even before becoming the financial hub for the northern half of Peninsular Malaysia, Georgetown was host to the first bank in the nation, and for a brief time, the state was recognised as the financial centre of British-administered Malaya – but Penang’s famously cosmopolitan character owes significant parts of itself to even older influences.
The island itself has been frequented by seafarers passing through the Straits of Malacca as far back as the 15th century. Earlier settlements in mainland Penang, between the Muda River, which borders Kedah to the north, and the Kerian River, bordering Perak to the south, can even be traced to oceanic nomads of the Neolithic era.
Defined by a colonial initiative to explore the mainland, Penang had an early start in becoming a vital part of global maritime trade – but as Singapore and Klang became world-class ports in their own right during the 19th and 20th centuries, Penang was forced to overcome its declining relevance on the world stage.
The Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, known to global electronic manufacturers and foreign investors as the Silicon Valley of the East, is arguably Penang’s most crucial step in its comeback. The success of this initiative in attracting multinational firms to the south-eastern corner of the island is highlighted by a wide range of improvements across the state: expressways, skyscrapers, pedestrian walkways, and the building of Malaysia’s two longest road bridges to connect the island with the mainland at Seberang Perai.
As a result of Penang’s successful economic transformation, residents of the state, especially the island itself, enjoy a relatively high standard of living. Penang’s GDP per capita in 2019 was comparable to, if not marginally higher than, Selangor’s – and residents being able to spend more time in pursuit of leisure has led to the near-complete urbanisation of Penang Island’s eastern coastline and Seberang Perai across the Straits of Malacca.
Despite the long history of development and the rapid urbanisation of recent decades, the southern half of mainland Penang is still largely agricultural and the hilly interior of the island remains forested. It is possible to walk two kilometres inland from the north end of Gurney Drive to the Penang Botanic Gardens – and spend a day equally divided between the bustling metropolis of Georgetown and panoramic views of the island from several hundred metres above sea level.
With property prices hovering around RM1,100 psf at the north-eastern cape of the island, where Gurney Drive leads to Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah and onto Beach Street, Penang’s affluence and quest for more waterfront real estate have led to the reclamation of land along its coasts – a move designed to fuel the state’s next boom.
While the next wave of coastal development is kickstarted by the 131-acre Gurney Wharf, prices in neighbourhoods located farther inland, especially those perched at the base of Penang Hill and priced above the RM1,500 psf mark, such as in the neighbourhood of Jesselton Heights, will continue to be bolstered by centuries-old vantage points overlooking a constantly improving Georgetown.
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