Abstract
This chapter traces the unfolding of the toponymic politics in George Town, Malaysia in the context of the country’s postcolonial multiculturalism. It investigates the ways in which place names have been imbricated in the larger project of post-Independence nation-building as Malaysia struggles to forge its multicultural identity throughout three key historical periods. First, under the British colonial rule, the streets in the early town plan were named after colonial authorities, places in the Metropole, and other places in the larger British Empire. After the Independence, the government of Malaysia reinstated its national language policy that saw street renaming across Malaysian cities. However, when George Town was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008, local actors crafted a narrative of multiculturalism against the national backdrop of simmering racial antagonism, affirmative action, and Malay dominance. Places and streets in George Town today are re-narrated as embodiment of multicultural ideals, but the renaming, official and colloquial, is not without contestation. By looking at various toponymic sites in this multi-ethic city, the chapter foregrounds the toponymic politics of place names, exposing various levels of conflict: Empire and Colony, dominant and minority races, cartesian cartography and popular perception, official language and everyday parlance.
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Notes
- 1.
Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak named after Malaysia’s second prime minister.
- 2.
The local council was MPPP (Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang) or the Penang Island Municipal Council is the local authority of Penang. In 2014, it was upgraded to Penang Island City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang).
- 3.
See Planning Strategy 7.3.2 in the Structure Plan (MPPP, 1986).
- 4.
Lebuh is a street in Malay.
- 5.
Strategy 14.3.1 in the planning objective of Urban Form, Townscape, and Landscape.
- 6.
The suggested areas included ‘the areas broadly bounded by Pengkalan Weld, Gat Lebuh China, Lebuh Pantai, Lebuh Aceh, Lebuh Chulia, Lorong Love, Lebuh Muntri and Lebuh Light, and the area bounded by Jalan Magazine, Jalan Brick Kiln and Jalan C.Y. Choy. Areas of pleasant residential environment and old grand mansions, such as those along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Jalan Utama and Jalan Macalister’ (MPPP, 1987a, 1987b, p. 99).
- 7.
The areas suggested as ‘Conservation Areas’ included ‘the areas broadly bounded by Pengkalan Weld, Gat Lebuh China, Lebuh Pantai, Lebuh Aceh, Lebuh Chulia, Lorong Love, Lebuh Muntri and Lebuh Light, and the area bounded by Jalan Magazine, Jalan Brick Kiln and Jalan C.Y. Choy. Areas of pleasant residential environment and old grand mansions, such as those along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Jalan Utama and Jalan Macalister’.
- 8.
The official title is Design Guidelines for Conservation Areas in the Inner City Area of George Town.
- 9.
- 10.
International Training Workshop on Strategic Areal Development Approaches for Implementing Metropolitan Development Conservation organized by United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCR).
- 11.
The report’s title was Case study of Lebuh Aceh - Lebuh Armenian Area, George Town, Penang - Planning for Conservation of Historical and Cultural Enclave. The taskforce consisted of MPPP planners and university lecturers from Universiti Sains Malaysia.
- 12.
Lebuh Aceh and Lebuh Armenian in Malay.
- 13.
The plan area is about 4.2 hectares, consisting of 290 buildings and 139 housing units, with a population of 1500 (MPPP, 1991, p. 2).
- 14.
Proposal for the Development and Conservation of a Historical and Cultural Enclave at Acheen Street - Armenian Street Area, George Town, Penang.
- 15.
South Australian Heritage Consultants and Contractors Group.
- 16.
The incentives included (1) permitting higher densities and plot ratios for Bumiputera developers and landowners; (2) exemption in planning/development fees and charges; (3) priority in processing planning permission and the like; (4) technical assistance in development projects (MPPP, 1987a, 1987b, p. 106).
- 17.
In fact, Penang is the Malaysian state with the highest percentage of Chinese population. (source: Population Distribution and Basic Demographic Characteristics, Department of Statistics, Malaysia).
- 18.
Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling in Malay.
- 19.
Among them are St. George’s Church, Kuan Yin Temple, Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kapitan Keling Mosque, Khoo Kongsi Aceh Street Mosque.
- 20.
Anecdotally, though no less illustratively, I once interviewed George Town planning officers asking, quite naively, about ‘Seven Street Precincts’. They looked at one another, being bemused, as they had no idea what I was referring to. Their confusion speaks volumes about this mundane, sleepy neighborhood that lies, in fact, right behind their office building.
- 21.
Jalan Magazine in Malay (jalan is Malay for ‘road’).
- 22.
Interview, George Town heritage management officer (May, 2015).
- 23.
Interview, a conservation architect (June, 2018).
- 24.
Planning Permission No. MPPP/OSC/PP3293/14.
- 25.
The Clan Jetties consist of Lim, Chew, Tan, Yeoh, Koay, Lee family names.
- 26.
the Tans, the Yeohs, the Lims, the Cheahs and the Khoos.
- 27.
Clan Jetties was mentioned in the 1992 tourism taskforce report. However, here, the taskforce’s main attempt was to diversify Penang’s tourism ‘products’. The jetties were included as part of the ‘Waterfront historic area’, dominated by the architecture of Penang’s early financial district, such as banks, godowns, and other commercial institutions.
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Acknowledgments
The book chapter is based on a graduate research project funded by Rackham International Research Awards, Rackham Graduate School, the University of Michigan. An earlier version was presented at the Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference in Seattle, USA, April 2016.
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Rugkhapan, N.T. (2022). Between Toponymy and Cartography: An Evolving Geography of Heritage in George Town, Malaysia. In: Niedt, G. (eds) New Directions in Linguistic Geography. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3663-0_13
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