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 19th 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.