Penang’s old name literally made them number one
We know Penang as the state we escape to for good food, and the state that Penangites are trying to escape because of bad drivers. But as anyone who’s been there knows, Penang (especially George Town) has a rich colonial past, having been the seat of the British government for centuries.
But it existed long before the Brits made port, and unbeknownst to many a Malaysian, it was known under different names before it was given the name ‘Penang’.
Penang was originally called ‘Pulau Ka-Satu’ by a sailor named Nakhoda Ragam
Nakhoda Ragam is an interesting character in himself. He was depicted as a singing seafarer in the cartoon movie ‘Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal’. Image from: Penang Kini FB
Detailed in W.E. Maxwell’s ‘Notes and Queries’ (1887), legendary sailor Nakhoda Ragam is said to have named the island ‘Pulau Ka-Satu’ (First Island), as it was the only large and isolated island he found during his travels between Lingga (today part of Sarawak) and Kedah. In keeping with this theme, the Siamese also called it by this name (‘Koh Maak’ – number one island). So yes, #PenangOneMemangBetter.
Interestingly, it may have been Chinese sailors who first ‘officially’ gave Penang its modern name
The areca nut tree (pokok pinang) still features on the state flag of Penang to this day. Image from: Wikipedia
The famous Admiral Cheng Ho cultivated trade ties with the island on behalf of China in the 1400s, and charted the island as ‘Ping-Lang-Seu’ (literally ‘areca nut island’) after the areca nut trees cultivated there (yes, this is that betel nut that makes your teeth red and gives you cancer, apparently). Portuguese sailor Manoel Godinho de Eredia took after this name as well, calling it ‘Pulo Pinam’ in the ‘Description of Malacca’ (1613). Eventually it was Malay-nised to ‘Pulau Pinang’, which is of course the name still in use today.
However, locals called it by a different name: while Penang was under the kingdom of Kedah, it was known as Tanjung Penaga (named after a tree that grew in abundance at the base of Fort Cornwallis) which was in official use as late as 1800. In fact, up until today, some locals still refer to Penang as ‘Tanjung’.
If you want to discover more interesting origins of our states’ names, pick one from the list below!
Kedah | Terengganu | Kelantan | Perlis | Johor
Selangor | Penang | Perak | Pahang | Malacca
Negeri Sembilan | Sabah | Sarawak | Federal Territories
