What's in a Name?: The Many Lives of Penang's Roads

FOR ANY VISITOR, George Town’s colonial footprint is easily evident in the names of roads, named after European administrators, merchants and notable personalities during the British colonial period. Light Street, for example, was named after Francis Light, Penang’s first superintendent, who had named this street after himself in 1786 after clearing a forested land that would later form Penang’s Esplanade.

While such British names may point to the island’s colonial beginnings, oftentimes they also signify a biased retelling of the history and origins of places. It is often forgotten until recently, for example, that the same Francis Light, who has been credited as the “founder” of Penang, had taken over the island in a series of dishonest dealings between both the sultan of Kedah and the East India Company. Penang’s road names, in indicating the place’s colonial legacy, can also obscure the stories of those who came before.