GEORGE TOWN – Penang historian Marcus Langdon urged the authorities to locate the original documents signed between the British and the Kedah sultanate, adding that it is hard to believe that there was no treaty between both parties when Penang was given to the colonial powers.
He believes that there must have been a signed document between the two powers when Penang was handed over to Francis Light.
“The relevant department, museum, and the librarians should take the initiative to locate the original document signed between the Kedah sultanate and the British rulers,” he said when asked to comment over the raging Kedah-Penang treaty debate.
“It is hard to believe the claim that the British took over Penang without a signed document and as a historian and knowing the administrative style of the British rulers, they should have signed an agreement to officially state the handing over of Penang island. I believe it could have happened in the 1800s.”
Born in England and having moved to Australia later, Langdon who now resides in Penang is widely acknowledged as one of the leading authorities on the island’s history after it was seized through gunboat diplomacy by the East India Company.
So far, he has published in scholarly journals and his research findings have been widely cited by heritage advocates, architects, conservationists, and local historians.
Commenting on the border stones found in the midst of paddy fields in Seberang Prai Utara, along Sg Muda which separates Kedah and Penang, he added there could have been more boundary stones along the river and farmers could have removed or destroyed them unknowingly.
A border stone was found in Pinang Tunggal in Seberang Prai Utara early this year, which was inscribed in Malay, English and Siamese.
Marcus added more such border stones could be located if the authorities take the effort to search for them.
Professor Datuk Ahmad Murad Merican had recently said that there were no lease documents or royalty payment agreements between Penang and Kedah in 1786,
In this regard, the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation-International Islamic University Malaysia professor of social and intellectual history said the narrative that there is, in fact, a lease agreement between the states is just a myth.
“I do not know what agreement was referred to by the Kedah menteri besar on the issue of lease payment but in 1786, there were no documents at all about the lease of Penang from Kedah.
“This lease issue is a misunderstanding in the country’s history and many believe in the existence of the lease agreement...(but) it did not happen in the first place,” he said.
Kedah MB continues to press for RM100 million for Penang
Meanwhile, in Kulim, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor today reiterated his stance that Penang is a leased state from Kedah, and will continue its efforts to demand a lease royalty payment of RM100 million.
He said the payment of lease royalties made by the federal government previously were strong evidence that Penang was a leased state of Kedah.
“If Penang is not a leased state of Kedah, where did the payment of RM10,000 and RM10 million before this come from?
“Do you think (the state government) simply wants to give money to us? Do you think they are so kind as to give such amounts to us? There must be a cause,” he said when met after the ground breaking ceremony for the AT&S industrial plant at Kulim Hi-Tech Park here today.
Commenting on the RM100 million lease royalty claim which was not mentioned in the announcement of the 2022 budget yesterday, Sanusi said he hoped the matter could be reconsidered by the federal government.
“Maybe it is not considered anymore. Sometimes it is not stated directly, but we hope there is.
“There should be. It doesn’t matter if it’s not clearly stated. The promise must be RM100 million,” he said.
Sanusi had previously said that Kedah would demand payment of Penang’s lease royalty of RM100 million a year from the Federal Government after finding that it had never been revalued since 1786.
The demand is among the Kedah government’s applications in the 2022 budget.
He said the state government currently only receives a special payment of RM10 million a year since 2018 and a lease royalty of RM10,000 a year.
However, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in his response said Penang will not pay a single sen to Kedah and urged the federal government to ignore the request from Kedah.
In the meantime, Sanusi said he would set up a team comprising historians, academicians, and representatives of historical associations to reach a view on the true history of Kedah and Penang.
“Basically, Penang is leased from Kedah, because that is why they used to pay us RM10,000.
“I want Penang to know that it is a leased state,” he said – The Vibes, October 30, 2021
Additional reporting by Sofia Nasir
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