Butterworth, Penang

Geography

Butterworth sits in the southernmost tip of the North Seberang Perai district. The town is bounded by the Prai River to its south and east, and faces the Penang Strait, which separates Penang Island and Seberang Perai, along its western coastline.

The western coastline of Butterworth that faces Penang Island is lined with sandy beaches, while the northern banks of the Prai River is covered with mangrove swamps.

To the south of Butterworth proper is the industrial town of Perai, where a huge concentration of factories, oil refineries and assembly plants have been set up due to its proximity to the Port of Penang's cargo terminal. Seberang Jaya, a new residential township, lies to the east of Butterworth, while the agricultural town of Kepala Batas is located to the north of Butterworth.

History

When the British East India Company acquired Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai) in 1798, Butterworth did not exist as a settlement. Rather, at the time, a small riverine settlement by the name of Bagan stood at the site where Butterworth is now located. The name Bagan referred to the wooden piers and jetties that jut out of the coast and along the Prai River.

Butterworth was developed much later by the British. When the settlement was founded in the mid-19th century, it was named after the then Governor of the Straits Settlements, William John Butterworth, who served between 1843 and 1855. Butterworth was intended to be Province Wellesley's answer to the booming George Town on Penang Island across the Penang Strait.

Furthermore, Butterworth was established as a major transportation hub, where cross-strait ferry, shipping, train and road networks all have their terminus, thus facilitating the movement of goods and people across the Penang Strait. The construction of the Butterworth railway station in the late 19th century allowed for the transportation of tin ore from Taiping to Butterworth, where the tin would then be loaded onto steam ships docked at Butterworth's wharves. Conversely, railway passengers from George Town were transferred to the railway ferry which took them to the train.

After Malaya's independence in 1957, as part of an effort to advocate import substitution industries in the 1960s, the Penang state government under the Alliance led by Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee developed Mak Mandin as the first industrial estate in Penang. In the 1970s, industrial estates were also established in Perai to the south of Butterworth. Also, the Port of Penang shifted its cargo and container services from George Town to Butterworth in 1974, substantially boosting the town's economy.

In 1953, the Butterworth Town Board was upgraded to a town council with elected councillors. Nine years later, the Butterworth Town Council was amalgamated with the Rural District Council to form the District Council North. In 1974, the Penang state government under the leadership of Lim Chong Eu merged all three district councils in Seberang Perai into a management board, which was subsequently transformed into the Seberang Perai Municipal Council in 1976.

Besides being the seat of the local council, Butterworth also played host to many government offices and facilities, including the district police headquarters, a hospital and the district land office. As a result, the town's boundaries were enlarged and the population grew from 3,900 in 1911 to about 43,000 in 1957. By 1980, there were 77,000 people living in Butterworth.

However, since then, many of these government offices have been moved to Kepala Batas, the district hospital to Seberang Jaya, and the Seberang Perai Municipal Council headquarters to Bukit Mertajam. As a result of the relocation of administrative and commercial centres to the nearby towns and suburbs, Butterworth is a town suffering from decentralisation.

On 31 July 1988, the passenger platform of the Sultan Abdul Hamid Ferry Terminal collapsed, injuring more than 1,600 persons and killing 32. This tragedy was due to the excessive crowding of worshippers heading to two separate religious festivities, which is the Kwan Yin Goddess festival in George Town and St. Anne's Feast in Bukit Mertajam. In 2001, a fire destroyed a three-storey bus station cum shopping centre near the ferry terminal.

More recently, the RM2 billion Penang Sentral project was proposed and is currently underway at the present site of the ferry terminal, bus terminal and railway station. Intended to serve as the modern transportation hub for the state of Penang, the first phase of the project, which includes the main 10-storey building housing ticketing counters for bus, rail and ferry services, is scheduled for completion by 2017.

Suburbs

Landmarks

Also known as the Seberang Perai Municipal Council field, this public open space in Butterworth town centre is a popular venue for major events such as the National Day parade and the festive open houses organised by the Penang state government. Also located in this field is Dewan Dato' Haji Ahmad Badawi.

This sandy beach is located in Bagan Ajam. It is a popular picnic spot among locals.

Situated in Seberang Jaya, it boasts a collection of over 300 species of birds with enormous walk-in aviaries and is the first and largest bird park of its kind in Malaysia. Popular among bird enthusiasts, the park was built in a garden landscaping concept with natural ponds and a vast collection of flora and several other wildlife including mousedeer, giant alaipaima fish, phytons and monitor lizards.

It is a beautiful 1.85 km-long cable stayed bridge which connects Butterworth and Perai across the Prai River, which forms part of the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR). Its distinctive feature are the twin 40m-tall concrete pylon which resembles the Penang Bridge.

A flea market in Taman Selat where antique goods such as old coins, watches, iron are sold. Local food stalls and boutiques are also located there.

Recently, a speaker's corner, known as Taman Tugu Demokrasi is opened to the public by the Penang state government in Taman Cantik, Mak Mandin to enable the members of the public to express their thoughts and feelings on state affairs. The 0.6-hectar park consists of a children's playground, exercising equipment and a gazebo for relaxing.

Also known as Nine Emperor Gods Temple, the large Taoist temple complex was completed in 2000 with a flamboyant entrance arch completed in 2008. The temple is located in Jalan Raja Uda consists of a Front Prayer Hall, Sacred Prayer Hall, inner courtyard and the Dou Mu Prayer Hall. The annual Nine Emperor Gods Festival is being held there for nine days in the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

A protected freshwater marshland in Sungai Dua managed by the Penang State Forestry Department which offers a myriad of flora and fauna. Visitors walk on boardwalks, suspension bridges through the forest and view from the observation towers and gazebos while enjoying the natural surroundings.

Sree Maha Mariamman Devasthanam Temple is a Hindu temple in Bagan Luar. It is in fact the biggest and probably oldest Hindu temple in Butterworth. Maha Mariamman Devasthanam, a temple dedicated to the mother deity Amman, is the temple for the Hindu community that dwells along Jalan Jeti Lama. The area within the vicinity is a Hindu settlement called Kampung Benggali. Today, there is still a substantial Hindu population living in the area, and businesses such as the Sri Ananda Bharvan Banana Leaf Restaurant is a reflection of the Hindu presence. The Hindus are mostly associated with the Butterworth port. They either worked directly there, or provided supporting trades such as opening sundry shop and food outlets.

Transportation

Butterworth's location by the Penang Strait and its close proximity to George Town on Penang Island has made the town the major transportation hub within the state of Penang, and by extension, the Northern Corridor Economic Region that also encompasses the states of Kedah, Perlis and Perak.

In addition to the Port of Penang, which operates vital services out of Butterworth, the town is connected to George Town by the Penang Ferry Service. In 1985, the Penang Bridge, which links Perai to the south of Butterworth with Penang Island, was also opened. The two cross-strait routes also made Butterworth the final stopover on the Malay Peninsula before crossing over to Penang Island, where the Penang International Airport, one of the busiest airports in Malaysia, is located.

To facilitate the transportation of goods and people to the harbours of Butterworth, the Butterworth railway station was built in the late 19th century and has since become the major train station within northern Malaysia, with services to Bangkok and Singapore.

Sea

In 1974, the Port of Penang moved its cargo and container operations from George Town on Penang Island to Butterworth. Currently the most important harbour within northern Malaysia and one of the largest in the country, the Port of Penang now operates seven facilities around Butterworth.

The Port of Penang handled more than 1.1 million TEU of cargo in 2010, the second largest amount in Malaysia. In 2013, that figure rose to over 1.2 million TEU. The Port's strategic location enabled it to service not just northern Malaysia, but also southern Thailand.

The Penang Port Commission also runs the cross-strait Penang Ferry Service, which links Butterworth and George Town. The oldest ferry service in Malaysia commenced operations in 1920, and to this day, serves as a convenient mode of transportation across the Penang Strait for the residents of Butterworth. At present, four ferries ply the Penang Strait between the Sultan Abdul Hamid Ferry Terminal in Butterworth and George Town daily.

Land

The Butterworth railway station is one of the major stations along the Malayan Railway's west coast route. As such, connections are available to other cities along the western states of Peninsular Malaysia, including Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Johor Bahru, as well as on to Woodlands in northern Singapore.

Aside from the regular Malayan Railway services along the western states of Peninsular Malaysia, the Butterworth railway station is also the terminus of the State Railway of Thailand's Southern Line (via Padang Besar) and the International Express from Bangkok. Notably, the train station is one of the main stops of the Eastern and Oriental Express service between Bangkok and Singapore as well.

In recent years, the Penang Sentral project has been underway at a site adjacent to both the Butterworth railway station and Sultan Abdul Hamid Ferry Terminal. Mooted as the main transportation hub in the state of Penang and as Penang's answer to Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Penang Sentral is intended to serve as the termini for ferry, bus and train services. The first phase of the project is slated for completion in 2017.

Butterworth is also connected to Penang Island by the 13.5 km (8.4 mi) long Penang Bridge, which was the longest bridge in Southeast Asia when opened in 1985. The bridge starts at Perai to the south of Butterworth and is accessible via the North–South Expressway.

Meanwhile, the Butterworth Outer Ring Road was completed in 2005 in order to reduce traffic congestion along the North–South Expressway, as well as facilitating traffic dispersion within Butterworth itself.

Military

A Royal Malaysian Air Force base - RMAF Butterworth - is located to the north of Butterworth proper. Completed by the British in 1941 just prior to the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the airbase served both the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force squadrons tasked with defending the airspace over Penang. However, the Japanese immediately gained air superiority, damaging the Butterworth air base in the process. The airbase was then captured by the Imperial Japanese 25th Army on 20 December 1941.

During the post-war period, the Butterworth air base was put to use by the Royal Air Force, and subsequently, the Royal Australian Air Force, to combat the communist threat in Malaya at the time. The Australian squadrons based in Butterworth also saw action during the Indonesian Confrontation in the 1960s.

In 1988, the Butterworth airbase was handed over to the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Now renamed as RMAF Butterworth, the airbase also houses the headquarters of the Integrated Area Defence System that covers both Malaysia and Singapore under the Five Power Defence Arrangements.