Penang defends need for newly reopened state museum

PENANG has defended the newly reopened state museum exhibit on colonial era figure Francis Light, following criticism that there were hardly any references accorded to the figure listed as instrumental in the development of the state.

State executive councillor for tourism, Wong Hon Wai, said contrary to claims by some quarters, the information about the historical figure is spread across three premises, which document the history of Penang.

Namely, at the state museum (Farquhar Street), the state museum branch (Macalister Road) and Fort Cornwallis, where a lifelike statue of Francis Light is placed within the grounds of the sprawling fort which dots the Esplanade here.

There is a board and much data about the colonial-era person, which is in the audiovisual form at the museum, said Wong.

"The history of the British administration in Penang (started with Francis Light) is in the colonial room (1st floor) of the museum. It is represented in an audiovisual montage."

Wong said that the museum curators also displayed the "Light letter," which was not on display previously.

A spokesperson with the Penang Heritage Trust shared that more references should be made not because there is a need to glorify the colonial era, but to highlight the state's storied history, which laid the base to how Penang has evolved.

"There are question marks surrounding the limited details displayed about Light," he said.

Meanwhile, former Tanjong Member of Parliament Ng Wei Aik has called for the state to recognise August 11 as Penang Founding Day, as the date was supposedly when Light landed on the Penang shores near the Esplanade.

Light was instrumental in getting the then colonial powerhouse, the British East India Company, to erect the fort, which was recently reopened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"There is no need to taint nor glorify the past. We just want to recognise a defining part of the island state's history. It fundamentally shaped the development of modern Penang," said Ng.

He has written to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow about the proposal to enact August 11 as a historical day for the state. - August 5, 2026.