EACH time I return home to Penang, I try to eat at the Tai Hin coffeeshop at the junction of Melaka Street and Anson Road.

The corner coffeeshop is operated out of a pre-war house, one of many that dot George Town.

It isn’t the best coffeeshop in town but has its regular patrons. I have been eating at the same wantan mee stall since I was about 10 years old.

Over the years, I have seen some of the stall operators, including a char koay teow seller who was very popular back then, pass on.

The wantan mee seller is probably now in his mid-60s and I reckon he would soon give up the business.

His wantan mee is served mostly in dry form, with thick soya sauce and sesame oil, and topped with char siew or barbecued pork, and boiled vegetables. It comes with two small meat dumplings.

Older Penangites sometimes refer to wantan mee as tok tok mee, so called because in the old days, wantan mee hawkers would signal their arrival by hitting two bamboo sticks together, making the distinctive tok tok sound.

His sister runs another wantan mee stall at the famous Seow Fong Lye coffeeshop at Macalister Lane which is famous for its Penang-style chee cheong fun or rice rolls that come with blackish prawn paste, sweet sauce and chilli.

Each time I am at the Tai Hin coffeeshop sipping the thick coffee with condensed milk, memories of old Penang would come flooding back.

I remember how my classmate, Choong Keng Hooi, now a hairstylist in Penang, used to buy me a packet of fried mee or economy noodles, from the wet market in Anson Road.

As a growing teenager in my secondary school days, I was constantly hungry and it was sometimes impossible to control my urge to eat before recess at 11am.

By around 10am, I would smuggle out my packet of noodles, stealing bites, even as the teacher was still conducting the lesson in the classroom!

I guess with my kind of behaviour, the school already knew that I was not prefect material, nor a class monitor. In fact, the school didn’t think that I should even be a traffic warden!

I suppose the former students who eventually rise to high positions are those who hold such responsible positions in their schooldays.

So, it was with some satisfaction when I returned to my alma mater, St Xavier’s Institution, years later as the guest-of-honour at the school’s Speech Day or prize-giving day.

It was to be the first and last time as the Brother Principal looked on disapprovingly when I advised the students, “Be the best in what you do. If you are a doctor, be the best. If you are a waiter, be the best waiter, and if you end up as a criminal, be remembered like Botak Chin.”

The students applauded loudly but I doubt if the principal and the other Brothers shared the same enthusiasm.

But Anson Road is our main concern here because it is a major road connecting Macalister Road, Burmah Road and Perak Road.

Anson Road is named after Colonel (later Major) Archibald Edward Harbord Anson, the Lieutenant Governor of Penang from 1867 to 1871.

Born in Devonshire, England, he was also Acting Governor of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements in 1877

A British army commander, he served in England, Ireland, Scotland, Mauritius and Madagascar, according to a report.

It has been reported that he also wrote a memoir, About Others and Myself, 1745-1920, where he described the feeling of depression upon his appointment as Penang’s Resident Councillor.

At the time he was in Penang, he negotiated in the Penang Riots that broke out between the Cantonese-speaking Ghee Hin-White Flag and the Hakka-speaking Hai San-Red Flag gangs.

During the nine days of fierce clashes in 1867, which saw heavy street fighting and bloodshed between the two secret societies, the British had to bring in reinforcements from Singapore while the Europeans who were staying in Penang were roped in to help.

The fiercest fight was near Cannon Street at the Khoo Kongsi building where a cannon was fired, resulting in a big hole on the road, hence its name to this day.

It was essentially a quarrel between the triad leaders over tin mining rights and other lucrative business deals.

As a highly respected figure, Anson has also been honoured with a road that is named after him in Singapore, which is located at its central business district.

Then there is Teluk Intan in Perak — which was formerly known as Teluk Anson or Anson Bay.

In fact, until the British named the town after Anson, the town was originally called Teluk Mak Intan, after a woman Mandailing trader from Sumatra, Indonesia.

It was here the Perak rulers held court from 1528 until Kuala Kangsar became the royal town in 1877.

The British renamed the town after Anson as he was responsible for drawing up the town’s planning.

Teluk Intan is famous for its iconic colonial style structures including the 5m-high Clock Tower, known as the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan.

Apart from keeping time, the tower is also used to store water for the locals during drought season or in case of fire.

For sure, Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson has left his mark not only in Penang but other parts of the Straits Settlement.

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Peaceful enclave: Pre-war houses in Argus Lane have not diminished in historical value as early Eurasians made the area their own.

STUDYING in St Xavier’s Institution (SXI) in Penang, it is almost impossible not to have a classmate, or at least a schoolmate, from the Eurasian community.

In any case, there were many Eurasian teachers in the Catholic school. The Eurasians were referred to as the Seranis colloquially.

There were plenty of students and teachers with surnames such as Rozells, Boyle, Robless, Nonis, Cornelius, James, Capel, Barbosa, Danker, Foley, Jeremiah, Green, Reutens, Coombs, Andrew, Aeria, Beltram, Moreira, Gomes, Rozario, Mcintyre, Scully, Cardoza and Byrne.

Across the road, there was the Convent Light Street (CLS), which also had a strong Eurasian population, as did Convent Pulau Tikus (CPT) located further away.

As a teenager, I spent a lot of time at Solok Serani or Eurasian Close, which is a minor street off Kelawei Road in Pulau Tikus.

Having many Eurasian friends, it was only natural that I would meet up with my schoolmates there.

Needless to say, that included meeting up with friends from the opposite sex, namely the girls from CPT, whenever we had Boy Scouts-Girl Guides joint activities!

But there was also a more serious side — I had personal tuition in Mathematics from a classmate, Tony Mariadass, who stayed in Kampung Serani, behind the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the area.

I was completely hopeless in maths, excelling better in languages and arts-related subjects, and the late Tony guided me in that tricky subject.

In my time, we had to sit for the Lower Certificate of Education, now known as the Penilaian Menengah Rendah, and failing maths meant getting kicked out of school.

There was no such thing as continuing one’s study until Form Five if one failed the compulsory Bahasa Malaysia or Maths papers in Form Three.

Maths was also an important subject in the Malaysian Certificate of Education exam or the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.

So, I had to depend a lot on Tony to teach me in the afternoons before I sought divine intervention inside the church sanctuary.

Today, the Penang Eurasian Association building stands proudly at the end of the road.

Heritage: The Church of Immaculate Conception was the focal point of the Eurasian Catholic community in Pulau Tikus. Although the building’s facade have been upgraded, the church still stands.

The first group of Eurasians arrived in Penang from Phuket with founder Captain Francis Light in 1786. The group included his Eurasian wife, Martina Rozells.

These Eurasian settlers had escaped from the Burmese who had targeted the Catholics in their attacks in Phuket.

Settling down in George Town around China Street and Bishop Street, they built a wooden church called the Assumption Church.

According to researcher Eustace Nonis, it was in 1810 that the pioneer group of Portugese Eurasians relocated from Phuket to Penang, where they chose Pulau Tikus to build their settlement.

The focal point, he wrote, was the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which they built.

A school commonly known as the “Noah’s Ark” was built to serve the community with the entire area eventually known as Kampung Serani.

Because of their fluency in English, in later life, many were recruited into the civil service including the then City Council of Penang. Many also became teachers.

The community also played a major role in the development of two premier schools — SXI and CLS — as well as the Church of the Assumption in Farquhar Street.

SXI teacher Jimmy Boyle created history when he composed Putera Puteri and Kemegahan Negara Ku — which were played at midnight in 1963 when Malaysia was born. As a true Xaverian, he returned to teach in his alma mater after graduating from the Raffles College in Singapore.

Another SXI teacher from the community was the late Colin Rozells.

Born and bred in Penang, Rozells taught Math and English at SXI and was best remembered as a discipline master.

Rozells was also remembered by those in the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, an organisation he was most passionate about.

After he retired from teaching, he worked at the Malaysian Red Crescent Society headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Sweet sounds : (From left) Sweet September band members Dean Yusoff and Ignatius James in musical tribute for the late lead singer Antonio Vincent held recently.

The school also produced a famous 1980s local band, The Sweet September, which included founding members who were mostly Eurasians.

The late Michel Barbosa taught at SXI and went on to coach the national badminton team.

In The Star newspaper, my predecessor, Michael Aeria, was also from SXI and dedicated his life to being a newspaperman.

A colleague, Ronald Bryne, who wrote a similar column on the street names of Penang in the 1980s, is today based at our headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

Then, there is another long-time colleague, Ian McIntyre, in Penang.

Some of the early Eurasian settlers chose to make Argus Lane their home, which is near the Cathedral of the Assumption.

Interestingly, the island’s first independent newspaper, the Pinang Argus, was published from 1867 to 1873 while the country’s first newspaper Prince of Wales Island Gazette was published in Penang in 1805.

According to Boon Raymond, who writes extensively on Penang history, there were 27 English newspapers published in Penang between 1806 and the 1970s.

The Star, of course, was also founded in Penang by KS Choong with its first office at Weld Quay, before moving to its current office in Pitt Street or Jalan Mesjid Keling.

From education to professional jobs, certainly Penang has a rich history, much of which was contributed by the Eurasian community.

Remembered: Named after Sir Hussein Hasanally Abdoolcader who is also known as Malaya’s First Indian Knight, Jalan Sir Hussein is a quiet road off Jalan Mesjid Negeri.

Jalan Sir Hussein

IT IS one of the least known roads in Penang. After all, it is just a minor road, hidden from the busy Jalan Mesjid Negeri and further blocked from public view by several bungalows and government quarters.

But there are plenty of stories behind Jalan Sir Hussein, which is named after Sir Hussein Hasanally Abdoolcader, a prominent Penang lawyer in the early 20th century.

Before I go further, I would like to relate a most recent incident which prompted me to write about this particular road.

Lovebirds : Eusoffe and Haseenah in their younger days

I was in Kota Kinabalu last week and stayed at the Sutera Harbour Hotel. I met up with the food and beverage director, who introduced himself as Salim.

When I told him that Penang is my hometown and that I work in The Star, he got very excited.

In his very fluent Hokkien, he told me that he has been following MyStory and I should write about his grandfather’s road.

I looked a bit startled and he reiterated that the small road named Jalan Sir Hussein is named after his grandfather.

“I can really say it is my grandfather’s road,” he said.

We had a good time after that as he shared with me the stories of the Abdoolcaders, giving me personal anecdotes of the legendary family.

Sir Hussein was born in historic town of Surat, India in 1890. He was brought up in Malaya, where he received his early education at both the Raffles Institution in Singapore and the Penang Free School in Penang.

He went on to read law in Cambridge and soon returned to Penang to become a prominent lawyer, a community leader and politician.

Hussein was a member of the Straits Settlements Legislative Council and a member of the Advisory Council to the Governor of the Malayan Union.

Saying goodbye: Haseenah’s granddaughter Christina (left) and daughter Julie placing flowers on her grave on the third anniversary of her death.

He held positions in various organisations, including the Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Mohammedan Football Association of Malaya.

Historian Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim, in an article about the Indian Muslims, wrote that the Abdoolcaders were one of the most prominent families in the state. Others included the Ghulams and the Ghows, while in Singapore, they included the Munshis.

Their strong presence matched that of the Arab clans which included names like Alsagoff in Singapore and Hashim, Merican and Ariff, all prominent Jawi Peranakan families in Penang.

Hussein also made a name for himself in the Straits Settlement as the first Malaya Indian to be knighted by King George VI in 1948.

While the present generation of Malaysians, including those in their 50s and 60s, are unlikely to have met Hussein in real life, many would have come across, or at least, read about his son — the late Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader.

There is a book written on the legacy of the Abdoolcaders entitled Malaya’s Forgotten Sons: The Abdoolcaders of Hindostan in Malaya.

Like his father, Eusoffe also went to London to read law, graduating with a first class honours, before returning to Malaya to practise for 24 years before he was appointed as a judge. Salim, the Abdoolcader I met in Kota Kinabalu, is a nephew of the judge.

A former president of the Malaysian Bar, Hendon Mohamed, wrote: “The late Tan Sri Eusoff lived up to all that he promised. His years as a Judge brought an added, indeed glorious, dimension to the judicial pronouncements of the Court. His judgments were often hailed as literary works, his mastery of the English language, and of Latin, enhancing his deep but clear, lucid reasoning, no matter how complex the issues litigated before him. His life was one complete and total commitment to the law.”

As a reporter, who occasionally had to attend court hearings, I had the opportunity to follow some of cases presided over by Eusoffe.

Like everyone else, both lawyers and reporters, we were awed by his brilliance and intellectual prowess. But it was the aura behind the man that made him larger than life.

We are talking about an era when lawyers and judges still wore the horse-haired wigs and they all spoke impeccable English.

I can safely say these lawyers and reporters were terrified of Eusoffe as he would openly admonish anyone who failed to perform their duties.

In the case of reporters, anyone who did not report accurately the proceedings of the court would have to face his wrath.

The errant reporters, cringing in embarrassment, would be asked to stand up in open court and given a lecture in front of everyone.

In the case of lawyers, if they did not prepare their cases properly, “we would be chewed up alive by Eusoffe” as one lawyer recalled.

But there was a sad ending to his life and career. He is best-known as one of the five senior judge who were suspended in the 1988 judicial crisis as they crossed swords with then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

To many, their suspension was seen as an end to Malaysia’s judicial independence although supporters of Dr Mahathir claimed they were not impartial in the first place.

In 2008, in what was seen as a step to heal the wounds, then PM Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced an ex-gratia goodwill payment to those judges suspended or sacked during the crisis.

Sadly, Eusoffe was no longer alive. In 1996, he committed suicide, apparently because he was profoundly depressed following the death of his dear Chinese wife, Haseenah in 1993.

Many of us would recall that Eusoffe used to place full-page advertisements in newspapers dedicating love poems, often in Latin, to his beloved wife.

But there is another well-known Abdoolcader — in this case, the infamous Siroj Hussein Abdoolcader, the late judge’s brother.

Like Eusoffe, he was sent to London to read law but Siroj ended up being arrested by the British for spying for the Russians, supposedly providing details of vehicles used by diplomats.

Siroj, who was working as a clerk at the Greater London Council, was accused of leaving messages at a tombstone in Portsmouth, England, for a Russian.

Siroj was jailed for three years and is said to be the first Malaysian to be jailed for espionage.

When Penangites pass by the minor road, they should take a second look at the road sign because Sir Hussein was certainly a major character in the history of Penang and the country.

Readers write

YOUR article on Pulau Jerejak revived memories of my working days there. Allow me to add a few interesting points. Although the inmates were of dubious background, I must stay they were generally a well-disciplined lot and followed the rehabilitative programme with much enthusiasm.

Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting made an official visit to the centre during my tenure there, when he was then the parliamentary secretary with the Home Ministry.

Volunteers from various religious bodies came passionately week after week to ensure inmates receive spiritual guidance. In hindsight, I wish to thank them for their valuable and often unnoticed contribution in this area.

The black dot of its penal history occured on Jan 5 and 6, 1982 when the inmates went on a rampage and burnt several dormitories. But, the riot was successfully quelled with the quick help from the police.

The centre was closed sometime in early 1992 when the inmates were transferred to Batu Gajah and Simpang Renggam Detention Centres to make way for tourism.

It is regretted that in their haste to develop Pulau Jerejak as a tourist resort, they neglected to preserve a portion of the said penal colony for future posterity. Hence, Malaysia has lost an important chapter of its penal history.

Donald Wee May Keun
P. P. A. Pulau Jerejak director
(January 1989 – December 1991)

TO MANY Penangites living on the island, Penang simply means the island. The sad truth is that many islanders lose their way when they are on the mainland.

This writer pleads guilty to such ignorance. But we must acknowledge that the mainland is very much part of Penang state.

I have been reminded by several readers of this column that I need to write about the names of streets on the mainland, too.

Butterworth, the main town of Seberang Prai or previously known as Province Wellesley, is named after William John Butterworth. He was the Governor of the Straits Settlements based in Singapore from 1843 to 1855.

Butterworth was set up in the mid-19th century as a landing point across the channel from George Town.

The scene back then would probably be of boats and sampan criss-crossing the sea.

In 1920, the ferry service was started. The Penang ferry is the oldest ferry service in the country and some Penangites who have moved on to stay in other states, especially in the Klang Valley, will still say that it is more meaningful and nostalgic to enter the island by ferry.

The ferry rides across the north channel back then were quite an experience. The waters were clearer and we could see fishes and jellyfish swimming by. On lucky days, we would be able to spot dolphins or even flying fish above the water, which created great excitement.

Long before the Penang Bridge was built, taking the ferry was the only option.

Come the festive periods, the long queues that built up were a real test of one’s patience.

After all, there was a limit on the number of cars that could be ferried across on each ferry.

Butterworth was a major transit point and transportation hub. Although express buses can now head into the island using the bridge, it was here at the very busy bus terminal that the Penangites would catch a bus to go to other states.

And of course, from the ferry terminal is a direct link to the iconic railway station, where we go to board the train.

When Penang was a free port, Butterworth was, by extension, an extremely busy place. The free port status was revoked in 1969 by the Federal Government after Penang was lost to then opposition Gerakan.

Cars leaving Penang for the mainland had to be inspected by the Customs at the checkpoint near the pier to ensure no one was carrying duty-free goods.

To the local Malays, Butterworth was always referred to as bagan or jetty. It is still called by that name and the parliamentary constituency held by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has rightfully retained the name.

Butterworth also gained regional prominence when it was home to the Royal Australian Air Force base.

While Seberang Prai or just Prai it is better known to Penangites, the older generation still remembers the mainland as Province Wellesley.

It was named after Richard Wellesley, the Governor of Madras and Governor General of Bengal in India.

A distinguished character, he was also an Anglo-Irish Member of Parliament, but some reports had it as he would not hesitate to use force and annexation to enlarge the British Empire.

In Penang, there is a primary school named after Wellesley at Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, formerly called Northam Road.

While the Wellesley Primary School does not enjoy the kind of prestige that other premier schools in Penang have, it is interesting to note that during the early days, the school was one of the main feeder schools for the well-known Penang Free School.

More interestingly, the school had a reputation then for its many Eurasian teachers, who were most certainly proficient in the English language.

According to Eustace A. Nonis, the Eurasian teachers included names such as Tony Foley, Barbara Robles, Glen Johnson and Alexander Nonis.

Nonis, a retired economist and a prominent member of the Eurasian community, wrote that his father later went on to become the headmaster of the Ayer Itam English School and then, Glugor English School.

The Wellesley school surely has one of the best colonial styles in the state.

The state registration department used to be located in the building next to the school.

It was there on Feb 14, 1990, that I officially registered my marriage. By a twist of faith, it was witnessed by the registrar, Michael Ng, who was my mate at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

It was a day of joy for me and my wife, but it also was a fiasco of sorts. I turned up with a camera but forgot the film! The special occasion was never recorded.

Those were the days before the digital cameras and smartphones with built-in cameras that could easily capture such precious moments as photographs and video clips.

Prai has today continued to be the gateway to the northern states of Kedah and Perlis, keeping its standing as a transportation hub.

But I wish more efforts are made to educate, rather than to simply remind Penangites, of who Butterworth is, at least.

Wellesley is not much used by Penangites and for the younger Penangites, Province Wellesley would not even ring a bell.

But the various Penang groups, which still continue to preserve our heritage, must find ways to keep the streets of Penang, on the island or on the mainland, alive by telling the stories behind the names of these roads.

Many tales to tell: Despite its potential today, Jerejak is viewed by many as simply an island where people were once sent to because they were either lepers or hardened criminals.

IT IS an island that is just a short ferry hop away. Along the promenade fronting the very busy Queensbay Mall — flanked by the Penang Bridge to the left and the almost completed Second Bridge to the right — one can practically reach out and touch the island.

Almost every Penangite is aware of Pulau Jerejak but among the older generations, it is spoken about in whispers. Even among the young, few can find good reason to go over to the island, even though there is now a recreactional and spa facility there.

One can imagine how the Singaporeans might look at this 362ha island and transform it into another Sentosa island. But for Penangites, perhaps the stigma associated with the island still remains strong after all these years.

Many of us still associate Jerejak with the leper colony and later on, as a detention centre. It is simply viewed as an island where people were sent away to be out of sight, and out of mind, either because they were lepers or because they were hardened criminals.

Construction of the leper colony started in 1868 and the centre was opened in 1871. The patients came from the Straits Settlements but in the 1960s, the centre was closed down.

I came across an interesting account of Jerejak, once named the Leper Island, by George Bilainkin, the British editor of The Straits Echo.

He recalled “the sound of the Tamil lepers’ band” when he arrived to witness the consecration of a Hindu temple for the islanders there.

It must be understood that leprosy was a much dreaded disease at that time and due to a lack of understanding, the patients were treated as “outcasts”. We still recall stories of how the lepers had to wear bells so that the people could hear them coming and move aside.

A short ferry hop away: Pulau Jerejak seen from the Bayan Lepas coastal road.

Today, of course, we know that leprosy is not a contagious disease and cannot spread through contact.

But at that time, all leprosy patients were literally isolated and kept away from society, with little forgiveness and understanding from the public.

“Much could be said, of course, of the revolting side of the affliction, consisting as it does of the putrefaction of the extremities. It affects the head, hands and all parts of the body. If the disease is caught in the early stages, the treatment may bring about a cure,” wrote Bilainkin.

But what caught his attention were an English woman and her Australian husband who had dedicated their life to care for the lepers.

When Bilainkin met the couple, they spoke of having to chase away snakes which often entered their compound, including “one that measured 16 feet”.

They had lived in Malaya for 10 years then and even though work had kept them busy, loneliness crept into their life, according to Bilainkin in his book, Hail Penang!

The leprosarium was closed in 1960s and the inmates were transferred to the Sungai Buloh Leper Settlement/Leprosarium. This has also closed down and today, people go to that part of Sungai Buloh mainly to buy plants and other nursery items.

But after the lepers left the island, the sad story continued with the opening of the Jerejak Rehabilitation Centre as a maximum security prison, earning the island the moniker, the Alcatraz of Penang.

The prison was only closed in August 1993.

In remembr ance: The monument for the Russian sailors, who died when their cruiser ‘Zhemchug’ was sunk by the Germans in the Battle of Penang, at the Western Road Christian cemetary.

Because it was a penal island, security was tight and entry was forbidden except on special grounds. Which is why I am thankful to lawyer Karpal Singh for bringing me along to visit Pulau Jerejak.

I had joined The Star office in Pitt Street, Penang then and was covering Karpal both as a lawyer and politician.

One day, I told him that I had never visited the island. He offered me an opportunity to visit the place on condition that I carry his bags, posing as an assistant from his legal firm.

Interestingly, the boat that was to ferry us across broke down and we had to use another boat, loaded with watermelons, for the inmates of the centre.

In the boat were a few inmates, who happily cut the fruits and offered them to us as we travelled to the island.

On the island, we had to wait at the visitors section, where inmates could meet their relatives or lawyers. We later adjourned to an office — and there I saw what must be the most perfect office administrator.

Each time, the officer stood up and walked off, the inmate would push the seat in. He would carry out this task without stop, like a robot, in a mechanical fashion but always with a smile on his face.

But like the infamous Alcatraz of San Francisco, Jerejak also had its list of attempted escapes. Until its closure in 1993, there were seven inmates who reportedly escaped.

In the racial riots of May 13, 1969, those who were caught taking part were arrested and detained in Jerejak.

But I do wish I could come up with some stories about the island that would bring smiles to readers.

Much earlier on, Jerejak was the scene of a fierce sea battle between the Russians and the Germans in what is dubbed as the Battle of Penang on Oct 28, 1914.

A memorial was built on the island for two crew members of the Imperial Russian Navy who died when their cruiser Zhemchug was sunk by the cruiser SMS Emden belonging to the Germans. There is also a monument for the Russian sailors in the Western Road Christian cemetery.

Just outside the Penang Museum is an anchor which belonged to the French destroyer Mousquet, which stands as a memorial to the dramatic sea battle.

Not many Penangites, including the older ones, are aware of the sea battle which saw the Mousquet sinking off Muka Head after being attacked by the Germans.

There is no mention of this historic event in our history schools, at primary and secondary level, and nor did I learn about this as a history student in university.

It was only much later, as a working adult with a great interest in the history of Penang, that I picked up details of this historic event.

The Battle of Penang, written by J.R. Robertson, is certainly one of the best works available.

The book offers a detailed story of how the global imperial forces of Russian, French and German warships fought each other in Penang in 1914.

Jerejak has so many stories to tell. They may not be happy tales but Penangites must know more about this island.

It was also reportedly Captain Francis Light’s first stop before he landed on Penang island proper. That itself is a story worth exploring.