Monuments & Memorials

The Cenotopah at the Esplanade to remember the dead in world war 1



Clocktower to commerorate the reign of King Edward

Victoria Green to commerorate the reign of Queen Victoria

Padang Brown to remember the Brown Family (landed gentry in Penang)

Ranong Grounds (where Dewan Seri Pinang is located) next to the Esplanade to remember Penangite Khaw Soo Cheang who became the Governor of Ranong in Thailand

Ayer Itam Memorial to remember those slaughtered by the Japanese in WW2


All these ought to give people in Penang their sense of place....their history....their pride...and engender their love for their home....I bet you not many people in Penang especially the students in schools know their local history....even the people running the City Council do not know their local history...they even name the hawker square behind Dewan Sri Pinang in the Ranong Grounds as "Taman Renung"....ha ha...maybe its the Thai connection they don't like....but the story of Khaw Soo Cheang is the stuff of legends...if I have the money...i will probably ask Yasmin Ahmad to make a film on it....

What i am getting at is, the state must get the local history recorded, publicised and disseminated to people especially to penangites, young and old...especially the young, those in school....I am aware that the Penang Heritage Trust had a project on the peoples of Penang....the arabs, achinese, armenians, eurasian, gujaratis, tamils ... chinese...and it had recieved nationawide publicity through the press and their website....i wished and hope that the project will be expanded or if its dead because of lack of funds, be revived....there should also be school outreaches...i know PHT had done it...but then again, i believed the lack of $$$$ probably had stifled it....

My love for my home is the result of my father...relating to me his perspective of Penang...he was born in 1897 in Nibong Tebal and had his education in Nibong Tebal Anglo-Tamil School (later known as Anglo-Chinese School and subsequently Mehodist School) and later in Penang Free School where he had Mr. Cheeseman as his form teacher and Pinhorn as his headmaster

My love for penang is further deepened by school and scout activities, we used to hike to pg hill from many starting points besides the moongate; hikes to pantai keracut and muka head; camping along the beaches...

Penangites imbibed with a sense of history and know their place, have pride in their home will do their utmost to protect their environment, their oikos...they decry the wanton destruction of trees, landscapes and waterways.....to them penang its not just a place to make a living...its their home...their oikos...