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"Which city once had the smallest trolley-bus in the world? Where do you find the first funicular railway in Southeast Asia? How do you recognize a trolley-bus pole? Where is Tramway Road?" "With over 100 old photographs, maps and illustrations, this book gives an overview of the various forms of public transport used in George Town from 1880s to 1963, and the role this transport played in the development of the growth of George Town and Penang." "Penang was one of the first urban centres in Southeast Asia to operate steam trams, horse trams, electric trams and trolleybuses. When the Municipal Commission established its own electric supply, it took over the tram service and started the electric trams in George Town in 1906. This gave the local population excellent public transport around George Town, with one line going up to Ayer Itam. In the late 1920s, the Municipality replaced trams with trolley-buses, experimenting for a while with re-conditioned double-deckers from London Transport!" "The Municipality also operated two railways - firstly, the Penang Hill Railway which was considered an engineering marvel when it was first built, and secondly, the electric railway which transported supplies and tin ingots for Penang's foremost smelting works."--BOOK JACKET.
The island of Penang and its city, George Town, are home to some 10,000 surviving pre-war buildings, more than any other centre in Malaysia. Mansions, villas and Peranakan town- and shophouses stand cheek by jowl with Hindu and Chinese temples and shrines
In George Town, the capital of Penang, the Pearl of the Orient and a Malaysian island hugely popular with domestic and international tourists, trishaws ply the streets ferrying tourists between colonial buildings, temples, food spots and bars. The more enterprising trishaw drivers offer sightseeing with sex, sometimes with unexpected results. Through candid interviews with sources in the sex industry, as well as Penang’s trishaw riders, the author discovers shocking scams, pitiful repentances and happy-ending massages that don’t end happy. Penang Undercover also looks beyond Penang to the neon lights of neighbouring Hatyai and Bangkok in Thailand to expose the shenanigans of mamasans, bargirls, dream-makers and liars. Finally, the author unearths a few hidden nuggets from his hometown of Kuala Lumpur and the subject of his fi rst two books in the Undercover series. Typical of his style, this book is written with wit and candour.
However impressive the economic success of Penang has been over the past four decades, structural conditions in the region call for a fundamental reconfiguration of this Malaysian state’s competitive advantage. In the 1970s, the ageing entrepôt transformed itself into a manufacturing hub for the electronics industry and a well-known tourist site. This outward-looking model of economic growth has underpinned Penang’s economic development up until the present. The question that now arises is whether Penang’s present mode of development will continue to be effective, or whether it will have to transform itself. First, Malaysia in general, and Penang in particular are caught in a middle-income trap. Second, while the evolving weight of the global economy is shifting towards Asia, many of its emerging powers are competing with Penang in areas where it formerly excelled. Third, Penang is a state within a federation, and its capital, George Town, is a secondary city. Neither can rival Kuala Lumpur in terms of size or facilities, and thus must offer investors other attributes. Effectively meeting these challenges while retaining Penang’s vibrant and living culture are the key issues that are dealt with in this second volume of the Penang Studies Series.
The development of George Town's historic commercial and civic precincts occurred under two distinct administrative phases: 1) under the British East India Company (EIC) (1786-1858) 2) under British Crown rule which lasted until just after the Japanese Occupation (1941-1945) during World War II (WWII). Beach Street was one of the first thoroughfares established in George Town and once literally ran along the seafront, with mercantile businesses hugging the seaward side. Business was derived from visiting EIC ships on the Britain to China trade route as well as free 'country traders' and local and regional trade. The owners of these properties gradually extended them seawards leading to a 'defacto' reclamation of seafront land for which owners of property along Beach Street were issued grants in 1870. A second reclamation was undertaken by the government between 1883 and 1889. This land too was granted to the adjoining landholders at nominal cost. In the early years British and other European merchants tended to dominate the northern end of Beach Street with Chinese, Indian, Arab and Malays the balance. On the mainland tin had long been mined by the Malay sultans and had formed a valuable part of their trade with the Dutch and British East India Companies. Chinese immigrants slowly dominated the industry by the mid-1800s, some taking controlling interests and amassing huge fortunes. As large-scale industrial techniques were introduced concessions were bought out, mainly by British companies, leading to a boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rubber was also first planted around the end of the 19th century and rapidly became the next boom. Penang's location at the top of the Straits 3 of Malacca made it an ideal port location which in turn drove the mercantile boom of the early 1900s when many of the prominent buildings we see today were constructed. Significantly, the Hokkien Chinese call the section of Beach Street between the Clock Tower and China Street 'Ang Mor Thau Kay' which translates as 'European Commercial Street'. Despite this name, by the end of the 19th century many of the buildings in this sector were owned by Chinese tin and rubber tycoons who leased them to the foreign companies. Sadly, many of these were destroyed by Japanese and allied aerial bombing during WWII, leaving George Town today deprived of some of its grandeur of 100 years ago. This guide aims to assist visitors to better understand and enjoy many of the remaining buildings which comprise George Town's Historic Commercial and Civic Precincts.