Batu Kawan

Batu Kawan is an island with a small town in the area of Penang, Malaysia. The island is situated off Seberang Perai, which is on the mainland.

Batu Kawan was long considered a quiet backwater, noted for sugar-cane, coconut and rubber plantations in the 19th century, before changing to oil palm plantations in the middle 20th century, which have now mainly fallen into disrepair. It was among the oldest towns in Penang, accessible only by ferry from the Bukit Tambun. Development of the island has come under intense scrutiny after the government chose Batu Kawan as the mainland site for the future Penang Second Bridge. The island is also the location for the Batu Kawan Stadium (Penang's state stadium). The tiny island has many hidden historical gems, dating back to the days of the British colonial masters.

Tangga Seribu

Locals in Batu Kawan would have heard about Tangga Seribu (a thousand steps) which charted a path up Bukit Batu Kawan but few outsiders have knowledge about it.

The steps continued to the top of the hill and down the other side. They were believed to have been built by a rich quarry owner about 200 years ago. At the summit of the 776 ft-high hill there once sat a village, for whose villagers the steps had been built. The waterfall near the summit has dried up since the plantation of rubber trees.

The ruins of the steps are now covered by forest vegetation and soil, and there remain only some stone structures to indicate the position of the old pathway, which ends at the beach near Batu Musang jetty.

Batu Musang Jetty

The Batu Musang jetty was once used by tongkang (junks) to transport quarry stones from nearby hills to build George Town. A new jetty was built around 2004, connecting a boat service to Pulau Aman.

Club Beach

The short strip of beach at Batu Kawan was once popularly known as the Club beach. There was a clubhouse frequented by Europeans who worked and lived on the island, where they danced and dined at night. The clubhouse is long gone, and locals refer to it as Batu Musang beach. The only structure now in the vicinity of this secluded beach is the newly built Batu Musang jetty.

Batu Kawan Kampung

Around the kampung (village), there are several age-old bullock-powered stone grinders that were used in the past to crush sugar cane to extract the juice. Though the grinding stones are missing, the granite bases of the contraptions remain intact.

Golf

There is a project underway to build what is expected to be the most expensive mixed-development golf project in the state. This is a cooperative project with Korean investors. It is expected to be completed in 2013.

Biodiversity

Of minor biological note is the comment that cobras of Batu Kawan, separated from the mainland by a small waterway, have a unique marking on the hood.

References

• Tiny island of historical gems, The Star, December 12, 2006.