Penang’s Gold and Jewellery Trade: A Generational Shift is at Hand
By William Tham
November 2021 FEATURE
THE SUDDEN MARCH rush to buy gold took even Penang’s seasoned jewellers and goldsmiths by surprise. A few timely factors had converged, such as the loosening of some of the stricter regulations of the second MCO, the i-Sinar programme introduced to help citizens afflicted by the pandemic-induced recession, and the general loss of income leading to their right to withdraw money from EPF savings. But most importantly, as pointed out by Teh De Jack, a third-generation jeweller at KOMTAR Gem...
References
- William Tham, August 2020, “Keeping Alive Penang’s Reputation as a Jewellery Design Centre”, Penang Monthly.
- Nur Hanani Azman, 24 March 2021, “Malaysians using i-Sinar for investment”, The Malaysian Reserve. Gold is priced differently across Malaysia, with Penang’s gold prices relatively lower, especially when compared to Singapore.
- Deutsche Welle, “Malaysia's Mahathir rekindles gold standard debate”
William Tham
His novel, The Last Days, is set in 1981 and covers the continuing legacy of the Malayan Emergency. He is currently an editor-at-large with Wasifiri and also an MA candidate at Universiti Malaya.
