GEORGE TOWN – The 152-year-old border stone along Sg Muda, Pinang Tunggal, in north Seberang Prai will be conserved and protected to remind Penangites about the reality and facts behind the history of their home state.
In a statement yesterday, the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) stated the 1869 border stone will clearly outline the history of Penang following a recent dispute by Kedah over claims that the island-state had been leased out to the British.
PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said the 152-year-old stone marks the historical boundary between Penang and Kedah.
“The Penang government will conserve and protect the boundary marker stone in Pinang Tunggal, Seberang Prai Utara, as a valuable historical relic
This stone is not known to many people. Nevertheless, its existence serves as a reminder of the events that led to the formation of Malaysia as a nation, and Penang as one of its component states.”
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and Penang-based Thai Consul-General Raschada Jiwalai had visited Pinang Tunggal to view the stone yesterday.
They were accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy, Seberang Prai Mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud, and Jaseni.
Jaseni said the inscription on the stone reads: “British and Siamese boundary” in English, Thai and Jawi.
“It is believed to have been set up by the British in 1869, following a treaty respecting Kedah as between Great Britain and Siam.”
“At that time, Penang was known as the Brits’ ‘straits settlement’, while Kedah was under the influence of the Siamese kingdom.
Besides defining a historical boundary, the stone may be regarded as an important marker in the history of Penang and Malaysia.”
The state water company also presented a summarised chronology of events post-1869 when the Siamese kingdom, as Thailand was known back then, signed the Anglo-Siamese treaty on March 10, 1909, with Great Britain in Bangkok, transferring to the British government “all rights of suzerainty, protection, administration and control whatsoever which they possess over the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis and the adjacent islands”.
“Fundamentally, the 1909 treaty established the modern Malaysia-Thailand border.”
On February 1, 1948, the Federation of Malaya was formed, with nine Malay states and the two straits settlements, including Penang and Melaka, in which all states were mentioned individually.
On August 31, 1957, the Federation of Malaya gained independence from Britain and on September 16, 1963, independent Malaya united with the then British Crown Colonies of North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore to become “Malaysia”.
On August 9, 1965, Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent and sovereign state.
PBAPP added that Article 1(2) in Part 1 of the federal constitution of Malaysia states: “The states of the Federation shall be Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu.”
As such, the company pointed out that this is the clearest indication yet of Penang’s status as a standalone state in Malaysia, which is not only enshrined in the federal constitution, but has been inscribed on the stone since 1869. – The Vibes, December 17, 2021
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