George Town
City
File:Penang.png
Coat of Arms of the City Council of George Town
Motto:  "Leading We Serve"
Country	Malaysia
State	Penang
Founded	1786
Municipality established	1857
Granted city status	1957
Merged with neighbouring district	1974
Area
• City	121 km2 (47 sq mi)
• Metro	4,444 km2 (1,716 sq mi)
Elevation	4 m (13 ft)
Population  (2010)
• City	740,200
• Density	4,299/km2 (11,130/sq mi)
• Metro	2.5 million
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed
Website	http://www.mppp.gov.my/home

05°25′N 100°19′E / 5.417°N 100.317°E / 5.417; 100.317 George Town^[1] (less commonly also spelt Georgetown,^[2]) is the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia. Named after Britain's King George III, George Town is located on the north-east corner of Penang Island. The inner city has a population of 720,202 and the metropolitan area which consists of Penang Island, Seberang Prai, Sungai Petani and Kulim has a combined population of 2,251,042, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Malaysia.^[3]

Formerly a municipality and then a city in its own right, since 1976 George Town has been part of the Municipality of Penang Island, though the area formerly governed by the City Council of George Town is still commonly referred to as a city. George Town is also known as Tanjung ("The Cape") in Malay, 乔治市 (Qiáozhì Shì) in Chinese and ஜோர்ஜ் டவுன் (Georgetown) in Tamil.

The inner city of George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

George Town was founded on 11 August 1786 by Captain Francis Light, a trader for the British East India Company, as base for the company in the Malay States. He obtained the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah and built Fort Cornwallis on the north-eastern corner of the island. The fort became the nexus of a growing trading post and the island's population reached 12,000 by 1804. ^{[citation needed]}

The town was built on swampy land that had to be cleared of vegetation, levelled and filled. The original commercial town was laid out between Light Street, Beach Street (then running close to the seashore), Malabar Street (subsequently called Chulia Street) and Pitt Street (now called Masjid Kapitan Keling Street).

The warehouses and godowns extended from Beach Street to the sea. By the 1880s, there were ghauts leading from Beach Street to the wharf and jetties as Beach Street receded inland due to land reclamation. A new waterfront was created at Weld Quay, where commercial buildings sprang up.

The historic commercial centre was segmented into the banking and trading areas related to port activities which included shipping companies, the import and export trade, and the wholesalers who dominate the southern section of Beach Street until now. It has been listed as a World Heritage site since July 2008.^[4]

At the turn of the 19th century, the northern section of Beach Street and the adjacent Bishop Street were the ‘high street’ where the ‘modern’ European emporium and stores selling imported merchandise were situated.

Among the early foreign companies that located their offices on Beach Street were the Netherlands Trading Society, the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the Chartered Bank, Boustead & Co., Guthne & Co., Caldbeck & Macgregor, Behn Meyer, Sandilands & Buttery, G.H. Slot and the stores of Pritchard & Co., Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co., and others. Among the local businesses that were established here during this period were H.M. Nooradin, Tiang Lee & Co., Guan Lee Hin Steamship, Tye Sin Tat, Pinang Sales Room, Koe Guan and others. Penang’s first petroleum lamps were installed on this section of Beach Street by Huttenbach & Co..

A Committee of Assessors was established in George Town in 1801, and was the first local authority established in Malaya. In 1857, a board of partly elected Municipal Commissioners was established, but elections were abolished in 1913, before being reintroduced in the run-up to Independence in 1951. In 1956, George Town became the first municipality in the Federation of Malaya to have a fully elected council, and on 1 January 1957, the municipality became a city by a royal charter granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the first (and until 1972, the only) city in the Federation. In 1965, the federal Government suspended local elections as a result of the Indonesian Confrontation, and in 1966 the functions of the City Council were transferred to the Chief Minister of Penang. In 1974, a Local Government Management Board (Lembaga Pengurus Kerajaan Tempatan) was established for the whole of Penang Island, which became the Municipal Council of Penang Island (Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang) in 1976.

P.048 Bukit Bendera Liew Chin Tong (DAP)

• N.22 Tanjung Bungah
• N.23 Air Putih
• N.24 Kebun Bunga
• N.25 Pulau Tikus

P.049 Tanjong Chow Kon Yeow (DAP)

• N.26 Padang Kota
• N.27 Pengkalan Kota
• N.28 Komtar

P.050 Jelutong Ooi Chuan Aun (DAP)

• N.29 Datok Keramat
• N.30 Sungai Pinang
• N.31 Batu Lancang

P.051 Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh A/L Ram Singh (DAP)

• N.32 Seri Delima
• N.33 Air Itam
• N.34 Paya Terubong

Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Interactive map of Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca
Criteria	Cultural: ii, iii, iv
Reference	1223
Inscription	2008 (32nd Session)

On 7 July 2008, George Town was, together with Malacca, formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is officially recognized as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.^[5]

George Town has been ranked as the most liveable city in Malaysia, eighth most liveable in Asia and the 62nd in the world in 2010 by ECA International, an improvement in ranking from recent years.[16]

In the past, George Town boasted of having the best public transportation system in Malaysia, with Electric Trams, Trolleybuses and also Double-decker buses. They have since been stopped in the 1970.

George Town is well connected by roads, buses and etc. The Jelutong Expressway connects the city to Bayan Lepas and the Penang International Airport. With this highway, trips to the airport were cut short to 30 minutes instead of almost an hour in the past. The Penang International Airport serves as the main airport of the northern part of Malaysia.

To get over to Butterworth in the mainland, the Penang Ferry Service at Weld Quay operates every day since 1920. Passengers, cars and motorcycles can all travel in the ferry. Other than that, commuters can drive to the Penang Bridge, located in Gelugor, to cross over to the mainland. To travel elsewhere around Malaysia, through the Penang Bridge, commuters can take the North-South Expressway to reach their destinations.

Public transportation in George Town is operated mainly by Rapid Penang, the main bus company in Penang now. Almost every bus connects George Town to their respective destinations, with Weld Quay being the main terminal of Rapid Penang in Penang Island and Komtar being the main hub. There is also a free bus service operated by Rapid Penang. This bus service is only located within George Town, and it also operates every day, taking commuters a drive along George Town's famous heritage sites.

Express buses used to stop at Komtar but has since been relocated to the Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal, which is not that far away. There are many express bus companies operating 24-hours there, and main destinations are usually Genting Highlands and Kuala Lumpur. There are also some buses travelling out of Malaysia mainly to Singapore and Southern Thailand.

Other than that, George Town is famous for having trishaws plying the city. The Port of Penang has 4 ports, with 3 on the mainland and one terminal here, Swettenham Pier. There is also a cruise ship situated here and it has become an attraction here.

Due to strict rent controls, George Town retains many of its colonial-era shophouses to this day and is often considered an architectural gem. Since the repeal of the rent controls in 2000, many pre-war buildings have given way to new high rises. Partly for this reason, the city was listed in the 2000 and 2002 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund (WMF). Heritage guidelines are still in its infancy and much needs to be done to conserve architectural treasures for the benefit of future generations. In 2005 WMF helped restore an 1870s structure within the George Town Historic Enclave, with support from American Express. The structure is used by the Penang Heritage Trust as a model to further its mission to protect the most significant buildings in the community.^[6]

On 2 August 2006, the federal government announced a plan to build a monorail urban transit system connecting George Town to Tanjung Tokong in the north and Bayan Lepas in the south. However, due to the defeat in Penang of the Barisan Nasional coalition after the 2008 General Election, the proposed development project was called-off after the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan which was tabled in Parliament on June 26, 2008. ^{[citation needed]}

• Gurney Plaza
• Gurney Paragon
• Queensbay Mall 7 km from City Centre
• Island Plaza
• Komtar Tower
• Prangin Mall
• Ist Avenue Georgetown
• Parkson Grand
• Penang Times Square
• Midlands Park Centre
• Tesco Jelutong
• Tesco Tanjung Pinang
• Kamdar
• Mydin
• Sunshine Square
• Gama
• All Seasons Place

• City Stadium

• Penang General Hospital
• Island Hospital
• Gleneagles Medical Centre
• Pantai Mutiara Hospital
• Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre
• Lam Wah Ee Hospital
• Penang Adventist Hospital
• Tanjung Medical Centre
• Mt Miriam Hospital
• Tropicana Medical Centre Penang

Night scene of Jelutong Penang.

• City Centre
• Gurney Drive
• Tanjung Bungah
• Tanjung Tokong
• Tanjong Pinang
• Seri Tanjong
• Pulau Tikus
• Desa Baiduri
• Batu Lanchang
• Belachan Village
• Dodol Village
• Hijau Village
• Makam Village
• Masjid Village
• Masjid Bagan Village
• Rawa Village
• Raya Baharu Village
• Syed Village
• Port Weld
• Jelutong
• Abidin Garden
• Ara Garden
• Air Itam
• Farlim
• West Garden
• Cemerlang Garden
• Cheeseman Garden
• Continental Garden
• Desa Green Garden
• Dhoby Ghaut
• Free School Garden
• Green Lane Garden
• Greenview
• Guan Joo Seng
• Islands Glades
• Jeliemas Garden
• Jelutong Garden
• Jesselton Height
• Kampar Garden
• Kennedy Garden
• Taman Lita
• P. Ramlee Garden
• Penang Garden
• Perak Garden
• Rampas Garden
• Scotland Garden
• Selamat Garden
• Sri Husin Garden
• Windmill Garden
• Miden Height
• Gelugor
• Sungai Dua
• Sungai Nibong
• Batu Uban

• Bayan Lepas Bayan Baru Balik Pulau Kepala Batas Butterworth Permatang Pauh Bukit Mertajam Perai Nibong Tebal in Penang
• Sungai Petani Kulim Yan Serdang Baling Sik in Kedah
• Parit Buntar Bagan Serai Selama Taiping Kuala Kangsar Gerik in Perak

[3] The George Town Conurbation Plan

George Town features a tropical rainforest climate, under the Köppen climate classification. As is the norm for many cities with this climate, George Town experiences relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year, with an average high temperature of about 31 degrees Celsius and an average low of 24 degrees Celsius. While George Town does not have a true dry season, its driest months are from December through February. The city sees on average around 2550 mm of precipitation annually.

The city is one of main important education center in Malaysia mainly for the Tertiary education. There are various college in Georgetown.[IPG College] now known as PTPL Penang is the first college in Penang established by Malaysia first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and his very good friend Mr K L Goon in 1981. Ever since then, IPG College has been the college of choice and has produce more than 300 World and Malaysia awards winners.

Penang is known as a regional education hub which attracts students from foreign countries due to its quality education and affordable tuition fees. Although it has been an important centre of education, Penang is one of the states in Malaysia that suffers from brain drain. The Malaysian New Economic Plan has been criticized by many people to be one of the key contributors to this social effect. However, this is not the only factor. University graduates do not have much opportunity to experience cutting-edge technologies in many areas of industry, from hard sciences (e.g. nanotechnology, grid computing, algorithmic research etc.) to high finance (e.g. risk management etc.) to global corporate management.

• Penang Free School, the oldest English school in the country
• St. Xavier's Institution
• Convent Green Lane
• Convent Light Street, oldest girl school in Georgetown
• St. George's Girls School

• Heng Ee High School
• Penang Chinese Girls' High School
• Convent Datuk Keramat
• Chung Ling High School^[7]

• Azad tamil school
• Ramakrishna Tamil School ^[8]
• SJK (T) Jalan Sungai ^[9]

• Tenby International School, Penang
• Dalat International School
• St. Christopher's International Primary School
• Prince of Wales Island International School
• Fairview International School
• Sri Pelita International School
• International School of Penang (Uplands)

• Penang Medical College
• KDU College^[10]
• SEGi college^[11]
• Sentral college
• olympia college
• INTI international college
• Equator Academy of Art
• Han Chiang College

Channel	Name	Language	Country of Regions	Group
Television
3	CNN	English	Hong Kong	News
4	Discovery Channel	English (subtitle in Malay)	Singapore	Education
7	ESPN	English	Hong Kong	Sports
8	HBO	English (subtitle in Malay)	Singapore	Movies
9	TNT & Cartoon Network		Hong Kong	Entertainment

Channel	Name	Language	Country of Regions	Group
Television
1	Astro Saluran 1	Malay	Malaysia	Sensasi
2	Astro Saluran 2	Indian
10	CNN	English	Hong Kong	News
20	Astro Saluran 20		Malaysia	Sports
21	ESPN		Hong Kong
22	STAR TV Sports
30	Discovery Channel	English (subtitle in Malay)	Singapore	Education
40	HBO			Movies
41	STAR TV Movies		Hong Kong
42	Metro Goldwyn Mayer		Singapore
43	Hallmark Movies Channel
50	TNT & Cartoon Network		Hong Kong	Entertainment
51	Disney Channel		Singapore
52	STAR TV World		Hong Kong
53	STAR TV Music
54	MTV		Singapore
60	Astro Saluran 60	Cantonese (subtitle in Chinese)	Malaysia	Jade
61	Pioneer Karaoke Channel	Teochew Chinese Cantonese Taiwanese Japanese Korean Thai	Malaysia  Hong Kong  Singapore  Republic of China  Japan  South Korea  Thailand
62	Toni Braxton Television	Teochew Chinese Cantonese Taiwanese	Malaysia  Hong Kong  Singapore  Republic of China
63	CETV	Chinese/Cantonese	Hong Kong
64	STAR TV Movies	Cantonese (subtitle in Malay)
65	Shaw Brothers Classic Movies
Radio
851	Western Country	English	Malaysia	Country
852	Classical			Classical Opera
853	Gospel			Protestant Roman Catholic

• Ramadhan
• Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (1-2 Syawal)
• Hari Raya Aidil Adha (10 Zulhijah)
• Maulidur Rasul (12 Rabiul Awal)
• Nuzul Quran (17 Ramadhan)
• Awal Muharram (1 Muharram)

• Christmas
  • Christmas Eve (24 December)
  • Christmas Day (25 December)
  • Boxing Day (26 December)

• New Year
  • New Year's Eve (31 December)
  • New Year's Day (1 January)

• Wesak (15th day of the 4th month)

• Makar Sankranti (Pausha)
• Thaipusam (Pausha-Magha)
• Maha Shivaratri (Phalguna)
• Gudi Padwa (1 Chaitra)
• Chaitra Purnima (15 Chaitra)
• Vaishaka Visakam (Vaishakha)
• Ganesh Chaturthi (Bhaadra)
• Navratri (First week of Ashwin)
• Vijayadashami (6 or 7 Ashwin)
• Deepavali (1 Kartik)
• Kartik Purnima(Karthikai Deepam) (15 Kartik)

• Chinese New Year's Day (1st-3rd day of the 1st month)
• Lantern Festival (15th day of 1st lunar month)
• Tomb Sweeping Day (5 April)
• Dragon Boat Festival (5th day of 5th lunar month)
• Double 7th Festival (7th day of 7th lunar month)
• Ghost Festival (15th day of 7th lunar month)
• Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of 8th lunar month)
• Nine Emperor Gods Festival (9th day of 9th lunar month)
• Winter Solstice Festival (22 December)
• Chinese New Year's Eve (29th day of 12nd lunar month)

• Adelaide, Australia (8 December 1973)^[12]
• Xiamen, China^[13] (1991)
• Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan (3 October 1991)^[14]
• Medan, Indonesia^[15]
• Taipei, Taiwan^[16] (March 2011)
• Bangkok, Thailand^[17] (April 2012)
• Liverpool, UK

• 
  Beach Street
• 
  Fort Cornwallis, the first British settlement on Penang
• 
  Kek Lok Si Temple
• 
  Kapitan Keling Mosque
• 
  Islamic Museum
• 
  Khoo Kongsi Temple
• 
  The colonial Eastern & Oriental Hotel
• 
  Jewish Cemetery on Jalan Zainal Abidin (former Jalan Yahudi or Jewish Street)
• 
  St. George's Church, the oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia, recently renovated
• 
  Komtar Tower the highest building of George Town and the state of Penang
• 
  Penang Road

• Architecture of Penang
• City Hall, Penang
• Penang Museum and Art Gallery

• Khoo Salma Nasution. More Than Merchants: A History of the German-speaking Community in Penang, 1800s-1940s. Areca Books. (2006). ISBN 978-983-42834-1-4

Media related to George Town, Penang at Wikimedia Commons

• Georgetown travel guide from Wikivoyage