AS IT IS today, Pulau Tikus may not be as densely filled with shophouses as George Town is, but what is clear is that it was very much a direct outgrowth of the city centre. One of Penang's longest streets, Jalan Burma, used to seamlessly join the two townships before the redirecting of heavy traffic made that journey the zig-zag undertaking that it is today. In full, Jalan Burma stretches eastwards from the middle part of Jalan Penang for about 3.7km, till it hits Jalan Gottlieb at Penang Chinese Girls' High School.
While George Town was illustriously named after King George III (1738-1820) of Great Britain, Pulau Tikus more enticingly means Mouse Island. According to the records of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the place was first populated by Thai-Portuguese Catholics fleeing religious persecution in Phuket, Thailand in 1810 by the invading Burmese.
Dato' Dr. Anthony E. Sibert, one of only a few Eurasians left living in the area, told Penang Monthly in 2015 that these early residents of Pulau Tikus arrived on sampans and crossed dunes on the beach that looked like a string of mice – hence, Mouse Island.1
