Flag of Penang

The flag of Penang consists of three vertical bands and an areca-nut palm on a grassy mount in the centre. All three bands are of equal width. From left to right, the colour of each band is light blue, white and yellow.

Penang
UseCivil and state flag
Proportion1:2
Adopted1957
DesignA triband of light blue, white and yellow; an areca nut palm tree within the middle white band.
Designed byC.K. Fook

The colours of the flag are derived from the tinctures of the coat of arms of Penang that was granted by King George VI in the 1940s. Light blue denotes the sea that surrounds Penang Island, white represents peace and yellow for the prosperity of the state.[1]

The areca-nut palm, known as pokok pinang in Malay, symbolises the tree from which Penang got its name. The tree and its grassy mount is centred within the middle white band.

The flag was slightly modified to its present form in the 1960s by removing a torse of blue and white at the bottom of the grassy mount.[2]

History

On 23 November 1949, the British resident commissioner A.V. Aston asserted that the Union Jack remained the official flag of Penang amidst doubts over its status after the Settlement Council adopted a crest to represent the colony.[3] A flag badge[lower-alpha 1] depicting the Prince of Wales's feathers was adopted on 17 June 1952 by the Settlement Council.[4]

A few months before Malayan independence, the Settlement Government announced a competition on 17 May 1957 to design a new state flag for Penang.[5] The winner, a C.K. Fook of 434, Chulia Street, was awarded $500 for his design on 20 August. The final modified design differed on the shade of blue submitted by Fook, but it was decided to award the prize to him regardless.[6]

The new state flag of Penang was raised at noon on 30 August 1957 at the Padang[lower-alpha 2] in the presence of the new governor Raja Uda and the last resident commissioner Robert Porter Bingham.[7][9][10] That evening, the Union Jack was lowered for the final time at 6:45 pm near Fort Cornwallis, George Town, marking the end of 171 years of British rule.[11][12][13]

On 24 December 1957, nominated member Koh Sin Hock told the State Council that the flag's areca-nut palm did not resemble a real one, likening it to a coconut palm, and that he hoped a more realistic depiction could be used instead.[14]

Historical flags
Flag Duration Political Entity Description
1904-1925 Straits Settlements Adopted when Penang was part of the Straits Settlements.
1925-1946
1952-1957 Crown Colony of Penang Flag badge depicting the areca-nut palm adopted on 17 June 1952 by the Settlement Council.
1957-1965 State of Penang Adopted in 1957 with Malayan independence. This original flag continued to be used up to 1965, when it was modified to its present form.

City flags

The State of Penang is divided between two local governments. The Penang Island City Council administers Penang's capital city of George Town and the entirety of Penang Island, whilst the Seberang Perai City Council governs Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula.[15]

Local government Penang Island City Council Seberang Perai City Council
Flag
Municipality Penang Island Seberang Perai

Previously, the city of George Town also had its own flag, which dated back to the grant of city status to the George Town City Council in 1957.[16] The City Council was eventually merged with the Penang Island Rural District Council in 1974 to form the Penang Island Municipal Council,[17] which subsequently became the Penang Island City Council in 2015.[15]

Notes
  1. A flag badge refers to the emblem on British colonial flags identifying the colony.
  2. The Sunday Standard reported that the "state flag" was flown during the ceremony.[7] The same newspaper referred to the flag representing Malaya as the "federation flag".[8]

References
  1. "Penang Flag". Southwest Penang Island District Land Office.
  2. "Penang (Malaysia)". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. "Union Jack still Penang's flag". The Straits Times. 24 November 1949. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. "Penang adopts a flag badge". The Straits Times. 17 June 1952. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  5. "$500 prize for flag design". Straits Budget. 23 May 1957.
  6. "Flag Designer Gets Prize". Singapore Standard. 21 August 1957.
  7. "Raja Uda Takes Over in Penang". Sunday Standard. 1 September 1957.
  8. "George Town-A 'Fairyland' of Light". Sunday Standard. 1 September 1957.
  9. "Bendera baharu Pulau Pinang akan berkibar dalam istiadat" [The new flag of Penang will fly in the ceremony]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 20 August 1957. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  10. "The tricolour flag of a new State will fly over historic ceremony". The Straits Times. 20 August 1957. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  11. "Selemat Berpisah Bagi Union Jack" [Happy farewell to Union Jack]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 31 August 1957. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  12. "Union Jack given back after 171 years". The Straits Times. 31 August 1957. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  13. "Bingham receives flag". Sunday Standard. 1 September 1957.
  14. "That's not a real pinang tree, says councillor". The Straits Times. 25 December 1957. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  15. "Seberang Prai attains city status". New Straits Times. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  16. "George Town: Malaysia's first local democracy – Penang Institute". Penang Institute. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  17. "Penang's a City". Penang Global Tourism. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
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