Penang, Pearl of the Orient (Part 3)

Like gnarled fingers that claw the sea, clan jetties line the water front of Georgetown. Here, we find a community that has existed for over a hundred years, suspended in time above the tide lines. Today, however, encroaching development poses a formidable threat to the very existence of this unique waterborne community.

The Clan Jetties consist of seven sets of wooden piers. They are home to seven clans who migrated from China: the Lims, Chews, Tans, Lees, Yeohs, Koays and one mixed jetty.

I didn’t manage to visit all seven clan jetties, but I’ve visited 3 jetties. Lim Jetty, Chew Jetty and Lee Jetty.

My surname is Lim, so let’s start with Lim Jetty. Lim Jetty is one of the existing clan jetties in Georgetown. Also known as ‘Seh Lim Kio’ in Penang Hokkien, it is the clan jetty nearest to the Pengkalan Raja Tun Uda, the ferry terminal. The first wooden jetty is Lim's Jetty. The residents settled here during the early 1900s. They migrated from southern China, the Hokkien's province. Mainly local fishermen. They end up here working as cheap hard labours along wharf known to local as 'kooli'. Most of the residents still living here are from Lim's clan. The houses were built on stilts, timber flooring, wood panellings and corrugated zinc roofings. In the early sixties, most roofs were made of 'attap' leaves cost only 20 cents, the same 'attap'leaves now is selling at RM 8.00 now. 

Chew Jetty ,’Seh  Chew Kio’ is the biggest of the waterfront settlements in Georgetown, Penang. It was created in the middle of the 19^th Century, in a very different Penang from what it is today. The last community jetties, the Peng Aun and the ‘Cap She Kio’, were only established in the 1960’s. Each of the clan jetties has a small shrine to pay homage to the sea deities. Chew Jetty is the only clan jetty left that continues to have observe the once a year annual worship of its Temple Deity and the Jade Emperor.

 

Lee Jetty is one of the clan jetties of Georgetown. It is the fourth jetty from the north, located between Tan Jetty and Mixed Clan Jetty. It is also known in Penang Hokkien as Seh Lee Kio.

The Lee Jetty housed the people of the Lee clan. They are the descendents of coolies who migrated to Penang from the village of Dui Shan Chan, in Tong Aun district, Quan Zhou Prefecture, in Fujian Province, China, during the late 19th century. That was when George Town experienced a boom in its economy, and the eastern shore of George Town was reclaimed to create the new port area and the new waterfront road called Weld Quay.