ALOR STAR – After the Kedah menteri besar’s comment on Penang being “leased”, the Malaysian Historical Society’s state chapter has renewed calls for Putrajaya to review the history surrounding Sir Capt Francis Light.
Ibrahim Bakar, chairman of the group’s Kedah chapter, told a webinar that the federal government should review Penang’s history, alleging that there was no treaty signed in 1786 between Kedah and Light.
Research by local historians and International Islamic University Malaysia Prof Datuk Ahmad Murad Merican found that no treaty was inked between the then Kedah ruler Abdullah Mukarram Shah and Light, contrary to what is in history books, he said.
According to conventional history, Penang and Province Wellesley (Seberang Prai) were ceded to the now defunct British East India Company for an annual fee of 10,000 Spanish pesos in 1786 and 1800.
It is learnt that now, the federal government is supposed to pay Kedah an annual “compensation” fee of RM10 million, at the behest of Penang.
Ibrahim said the historical society has no plans for Kedah to reacquire the island state, but wants to set the record straight in terms of historical perspective.
Murad said historians have seriously erred on the formation of Penang, as no treaty was signed and the then Kedah sultan was misled by Light into believing that the occupation was just temporary.
Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is also slightly mistaken as Penang was never “leased” from Kedah, given the lack of documentation on this, he said.
“I understand that the Kedah sultan wanted British help in fighting off an invasion by Siamese forces. Hence, permission was given for the British to temporarily occupy Penang. But, the Brits did not help Kedah in the fight against the Siamese.”
In 2010, the society’s state chapter urged the relevant authorities to return Penang to Kedah, saying the former belonged to the latter prior to an agreement in 1786 with administrators of British East India, of which Light was a representative.
Its then chairman Datuk Wan Shamsudin Mohd Yusof had said the group’s objective was for Penang to be returned, and that Kedah no longer sought any increase in the royalty payment, currently at RM10,000 annually.
The amount is for the economic losses that Kedah would suffer because of the strategic loss of Penang as a trading port.
“In our minds, Penang was forcibly seized from Kedah at that time, as the Kedah sultan was preoccupied with the conflict with Siam,” said Ibrahim.
Murad said the narrative needs to be changed so that present and future generations can understand the historical context of Penang and Kedah.
The issue came to light when Sanusi recently told the Kedah assembly that Penang is a state leased from Kedah, so Penangites should not criticise its neighbour for its affairs.
“If we lease someone’s land, and then we become angry with the landlord we lease it from, that is not appropriate.” – The Vibes, September 24, 2021
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