George Town, Penang
George Town is the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is the core city of the George Town Conurbation, Malaysia's second largest metropolitan area with a population of 2.84 million and the second highest contributor to the country's GDP. The city proper spans an area of 306 km2 (118 sq mi) encompassing Penang Island and surrounding islets, and had a population of 794,313 as of 2020.
This article is about the city in Malaysia. For other uses, see Georgetown.
George Town
乔治市 (Simplified)
喬治市 (Traditional)
Qiáozhì shì (Pinyin)
Pho-té / Kiâu-tī-tshī (Tâi-lô)
ஜார்ஜ் டவுன்
Jārj Iḍavuṉ (Transliteration)
จอร์จทาวน์
Chogethao (RTGS)
City centre and 36 subdistricts
11 August 1786
c. 1857
1 January 1957
31 March 2015
Rajendran P. Anthony
Cheong Chee Hong
306 km2 (118 sq mi)
3,759 km2 (1,451 sq mi)
794,313
8th in Malaysia
2nd in Penang
2,596/km2 (6,720/sq mi)
2,844,214 (2nd)
760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Not observed
111xx–118xx
+604-2, +604-6, +604-8
Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca
Cultural: ii, iii, iv
2008 (32nd Session)
Initially established as an entrepôt by Francis Light in 1786, George Town serves as the commercial centre for northern Malaysia. According to Euromonitor International and the Economist Intelligence Unit, it has the highest potential for revenue growth among all Malaysian cities and contributed nearly 8% of the country's personal disposable income in 2015, second only to the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Its technological sector, anchored by hundreds of multinational companies, has made George Town the top exporter in the country. The Penang International Airport links George Town to several regional cities, while a ferry service and two road bridges connect the city to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia. Swettenham Pier is the busiest cruise terminal in the country.
George Town was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and its proximity to maritime routes along the Strait of Malacca attracted an influx of immigrants from various parts of Asia. Following rapid growth in its early years, it became the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1826, only to lose its administrative status to Singapore in 1832. The Straits Settlements became a British crown colony in 1867. Shortly before Malaya attained independence from Britain in 1957, George Town was declared a city by Queen Elizabeth II, making it the first city in the country's history. In 1974, George Town was merged with the rest of the island, throwing its city status into doubt until 2015, when its jurisdiction was reinstated and expanded to cover the entire island and adjacent islets.
The city is described by UNESCO as having a "unique architectural and cultural townscape" that is shaped by centuries of intermingling between various cultures and religions.[12] It has also gained a reputation as Malaysia's gastronomical capital for its distinct culinary scene. The preservation of these cultures contribute to the city centre's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.
Etymology[edit]
George Town was named in honour of King George III, the ruler of Great Britain and Ireland between 1760 and 1820.[13][14] Prior to the arrival of the British, the area had been known as Tanjung Penaga, due to the abundance of penaga laut trees (Calophyllum inophyllum) found at the cape (tanjung) of the city.[15]
The city is often mistakenly spelled as 'Georgetown', which was never the city's official name. This misspelling may be due to confusion with other places worldwide that share the same name.[16] In common parlance, the city of George Town is also erroneously called "Penang", which is the name of the larger state.[17][18]
Education[edit]
As of 2022, George Town is home to 111 primary schools and 49 secondary schools.[129][130] British colonial rule had encouraged the growth of mission schools throughout the city, including St. Xavier's Institution, St. George's Girls' School and Methodist Boys' School.[36] Founded in 1816, Penang Free School (PFS) is the oldest English school in Southeast Asia.[241]
In 1819, the first Chinese school in George Town was established, marking the start of Malaysia's modern Chinese education system.[242][243] While Chinese, English and mission schools have since been brought under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Ministry of Education, the Penang state government also provides annual financial assistance to aid in the maintenance of these schools.[244] George Town is also home to 12 international and expatriate schools that offer either British, American or International Baccalaureate syllabuses.[129][130][245]
In 1969, Universiti Pulau Pinang was established as Malaysia's second university and the first public tertiary institution in George Town.[65][246] It was renamed Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 1972.[247] As of 2024, the university is ranked 137th in the QS World University Rankings, second in Malaysia only to Universiti Malaya.[248] Most of the other tertiary institutions within the city are privately-run, including Wawasan Open University, Han Chiang University College of Communication, DISTED College and RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus.[249] Headquartered at Gelugor, RECSAM is one of the 26 specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization.[250]
In 2016, the state government launched Malaysia's first digital library within the grounds of PFS.[251] Conceptualised as a "library in a park" and a community space, the Penang Digital Library provides structured access to over 3,000 ebook titles.[251][252] Following the success of the Penang Digital Library, similar libraries have been built at other locations within both the city and Seberang Perai.[253]
Media[edit]
Newspapers[edit]
George Town was once the centre of Malaysia's print media. The country's first newspaper was the Prince of Wales Island Gazette, founded in the city in 1806.[258][259] The paper was shut down 21 years later, a victim of the stringent censorship that was prevalent in the early 19th century.[259] Greater press freedom eventually emerged by the middle of the century, concurrent with the perceived political freedom in Penang which stood in contrast to the stronger government apparatus in Singapore.[19][49][259]
Following Malaya's independence in 1957, several major dailies moved to Kuala Lumpur due to its importance as the country's administrative capital.[260] The Star, one of Malaysia's top English dailies, started as a regional newspaper that was first published in George Town in 1971.[261] In addition, George Town is home to the nation's oldest Chinese newspaper, Kwong Wah Yit Poh, which was established in 1910.[262]
Film and television[edit]
George Town's well-preserved colonial-era architecture has made the city a popular filming location for movies and television series that depict Asian culture.[263] Films and series that were shot within the city include Crazy Rich Asians, Anna and the King, Lust, Caution, The Little Nyonya and You Mean the World to Me; the latter was the first movie to be produced entirely in Penang Hokkien.[264] Additionally, George Town was featured as a pit-stop in The Amazing Race 16, The Amazing Race Asia 5 and The Amazing Race Australia 7.[265][266][267]
Utilities[edit]
George Town relies heavily on the Muda River, which forms the northern boundary between mainland Seberang Perai and Kedah, as its primary source of water. Treated water is delivered from the mainland to the island city via three sets of submarine pipelines.[286][287] The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) is also responsible for managing the 11 reservoirs in George Town, including two at Ayer Itam and Teluk Bahang that act as strategic reserves for the surrounding suburbs in the event of dry weather and supply disruptions from the mainland.[95][288][289]
Electricity in George Town is supplied by Tenaga Nasional (TNB), the national power company. George Town's power supply is drawn from the mainland through three cross-strait cables that connect to the 330 MW Gelugor Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant, the only power station in the city.[290][291][292] Due to the scheduled retirement of the Gelugor power plant in 2024, TNB is constructing a new RM500 million overhead power grid across the Penang Strait to cater to the anticipated demand up to 2030.[290][291] To reduce energy consumption, the Penang Island City Council and TNB replaced all 33,101 street lights throughout George Town with LED street lighting by 2023.[293]
In 2020, Penang had become the first Malaysian state to make the installation of fibre-optic communication infrastructure mandatory for all development projects.[294] In 2022, George Town saw the implementation of 5G, with the installation of the supporting spectrum infrastructure at 151 sites within the city.[295] The Penang International Airport became the first airport in Malaysia to offer public 5G services that year.[296] In 2024, DE-CIX inaugurated the Penang Internet Exchange (PIX), with internet traffic being routed through a data centre at Bayan Baru.[297][298]
George Town was the birthplace of prominent Malaysian and Singaporean personalities and professionals, including: