The life and soul of George Town
Philip Chee
Subject: Star : The Penang Story - The life and soul of George Town
Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2002 09:30:29 +0800
From The Star
9 February 2002
The Penang Story - The life and soul of George Town
By ANDREW SIA
Pictures by ZAINUDIN AHAD, ERIC LEE and ANDREW SIA
WHAT does it mean to walk through the living heritage of George Town,
Penang? The many historic buildings, the hardware if you will, of this
old city have been very much in the conservation spotlight lately. But
what about the people behind them, the historic software?
This dimension is what gives that added ummph to the Inner City Trails
of George Town — a series of walking tours promoted by the Penang
Heritage Trust (PHT). As the brochure explains:
The historic city of George Town . . . consists of living
neighbourhoods and urban villages. With over 200 years of
multi-cultural history, its streets are waiting to be rediscovered.
Tours start from the PHT office at 26A, Lorong Stewart, which was
formerly a lodge for Hainanese sailors. From this base, there is a
choice of three walking trails: the Spice Trail — around Little India;
Heritage Trail 2 — St George’s Church, Penang Museum, Love Lane, the
Carpenters Guild, Hainan Temple, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion etc; Harmony
Trail — Yap Kongsi, Khoo Kongsi, Acheen Street Mosque, Syed Alatas
Mansion, Sun Yat Sen’s base etc.
WeekEnder was invited to a combination tour of all three trails
recently. Ample explanations are of course provided as visitors
sightsee the various historical buildings. But what’s truly special is
the vivid feel of heritage delivered through the senses of touch,
sound, taste and smell.
Teresa Capol, a specialist Penang heritage tour guide, started us off
on this aspect of living heritage just opposite the PHT office. Here,
at Ong Kok Wan’s shop, the mixing machines churned away as the rich,
heady aroma of coffee beans roasted with butter, sugar, salt and even
sesame oil greeted us. We got to feel, literally, Sumatran Arabica
beans in our hands and even tasted the “top blend” of Eagle Brand
Coffee.
Australia may have its winery tours, but we in Penang have our own
coffee roasting tour! But this was just the beginning. Next, we
visited Lee Beng Chuan’s shop where joss-sticks are still handmade and
sun-dried.
“Nowadays joss-sticks are mass produced by dipping them in tubs layer
by layer. But it doesn’t come out nice and thick like when it’s
handmade. I use real sandalwood, unlike the factories which use
sawdust and chemicals,” he explained.
Since the repeal of the Rent Control Act two years ago, his rent has
increased from RM18 to RM345 per month.
“I’ve been staying here since I was nine years old. I’m now 73. The
rent will increase every two years, maybe by about 10%. For now I can
still take it. If the rent shoots up too much, I will have to retire
from my craft,” he said.
And with that, another facet of Penang’s heritage-in-the-flesh would
disappear.
From there, we proceeded to Jalan Masjid Kapitan Kling (Pitt Street).
Anyone who thinks that Malaysia might have been the launching pad for
the attacks on Manhattan’s Twin Towers need only witness how the
various houses of worship co-exist so closely in Penang.
“Pitt Street is also called Harmony Street,” said Teresa. “We have the
Kapitan Kling Mosque, the Goddess of Mercy Temple, St George’s Church
and the Sri Mariamman Temple. Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and
Hindus all on one street.”
Spiritualism extends beyond these formal sites into the realm of the
ordinary. At the roadside, to be exact, Teresa pointed out three
trees: a bodhi, neem and fig.
“The bodhi tree is significant to Buddhists, of course, since Buddha
achieved enlightenment while sitting under one, and under this fig
tree you can see the image of Lord Ganesha. There are a lot of neem
trees because many municipal council workers were Indians in those
days. Its leaves are used during Thaipusam. It’s also a traditional
remedy for so many ailments including purifying the blood and curing
chicken pox.”
She added that the roadside flower shops served both the Hindu and
Chinese temples as well as those inclined to the cross-cultural
practice of mandi bunga — a bath with flower-soaked water.
Besides coffee roasting and joss-stick making, the walking tour visits
many traditional craftsmen — all endangered by the raising of rentals
within George Town. These include:
M. Mani, a traditional Indian jeweller, continues his work with tap
hammers and handfilers along Queen Street.
Just opposite, Kok Chan Chew chisels away on traditional Chinese
signboards.
Ng Gee Swee’s workshop at Armenian Street churns out old-style beaded
Nyonya slippers — as well as ballet and ballroom shoes!
“The rent has gone up by 10%. If it goes up too much, I will have to
relocate elsewhere,” said Ng.
Death dissolves artificial barriers and the “proof” of this can be
seen at Teik Hin along Acheen Street. Here, Chong Yee Phun has been
chiselling away on all sorts of gravestones — Chinese, Christian,
Muslim and Hindu — since 1965.
V. Kaleespari, 70-year-old “pioneer grinder” at Market Street,
provides a service to Indian restaurants as far as Bukit Mertajam.
“These restaurants have their own special formula of curry powder,”
explained S. Samynathan, the manager. “Some housewives also want curry
powder tailor-made to their taste. They bring their spices and we only
charge RM2 to grind two kilos.”
Who comes for these tours? According to Joann Khaw, another heritage
guide, “Sometimes during conferences, companies engage us to take
their foreign guests for a walk. I have even taken some locals who
want their children to learn about their heritage.”
Our tour ended amidst the delights of Little India. The rip-roaring
rhythms of Bollywood movie songs blasted out of music shops — the
perfect backdrop for the hectic glitter of silk sarees, glass bangles
and polished brass goblets.
“At the end of my walking tours, my guests usually tell me, ‘Take me
back to Little India.’ Then I’ll sit with them in the streetside
stalls for a cup of tea. Or sometimes, we’ll have lunch at a banana
leaf rice restaurant,” said Teresa.
“There’s so much to see here. That shop for instance sells vegetables
such as snake gourd and bottle melons. Indians use them for cooking
and they are difficult to find elsewhere.”
The array of sights, sounds and smells was indeed dizzying. Wigs of
real and synthetic hair, RM1,500 gold embroidered Kanchipuram sarees,
traditional pottus (stuck on the forehead to represent the Third Eye)
made of turmeric mixed with lime as well as their modern stick-on
versions, the burning of camphor, the string of mango leaves across
doorways and the sweet whiff of spices.
During Christmas, one always hears about how frankincense was a gift
from the Three Wise Men. Here at an extensive spice shop, this writer
saw some for the first time.
“Western tourists may eat mustard and cinnamon, but they have never
seen the real thing, like mustard seeds. My guests are also fascinated
with these long cinnamon sticks,” she pointed out.
“They buy back loads. For Christmas decorations, they say.”
Teresa underlined that street hawkers are important for tourism.
“They add to the atmosphere of Penang. They should not be chased off.
The authorities should just provide them with proper running water and
garbage disposal facilities.”
Cultural tourism in Malaysia has long been about watching, well,
slightly fake, traditional dances complete with shiny sequinned
costumes and glittery bunga manggar. What about the real life, yes
gritty, traditional craftsmen of a great multi-cultural city?
Tourists pay top dollar to see sheep-shearing in Australia,
glass-blowing in Germany and jewellery-making in Holland. Singapore’s
Little India is being skillfully promoted with spice shopping,
“how-to-wear a saree” lessons and henna painting. Let’s face it,
marketing is one of the pillars of New Economy and the more developed
countries know how to do it.
Of course, not everybody fancies becoming a “tourist product” but if
it brings in solid cash during these uncertain economic times, why
not? Tourism is not just about the hardware of new airports, bridges
and hotels but also about the software, the brain power, of skilled
people.
With the decontrol of rentals in George Town, we stand to lose
traditional signboard carvers, jewellers, slipper makers, coffee
roasters, stone sculptors and joss-stick makers in one fell swoop.
When will we begin to value what we have?
For further enquiries on these walking tours, contact Penang Heritage
Trust at (04) 264 2631.
**************From Uncle Yap**************
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Philip Chee: Tasek Corporation Berhad, P.O.Box 254, 30908 Ipoh, MALAYSIA
e-mail: phi...@aleytys.pc.my Voice:+60.5.291.1011 Fax:+60.5.291.9932
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