Batu Kawan
Encyclopedia
Batu Kawan is an island with a small town in the area of Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

, Malaysia. The island is situated off Seberang Perai
Seberang Perai
Seberang Perai / Beseran Darul Hidayah, formerly Province Wellesley, is a narrow hinterland opposite Penang island on the Malay Peninsula, which together with the island forms the Malaysian state of Penang. Its principal town is Butterworth...

, which is on the mainland
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

. One of the ends of the future Penang Second Bridge
Penang Second Bridge
The Penang Second Bridge is a new bridge under construction in Penang, Malaysia. It will connect Batu Kawan on the mainland Seberang Perai and Batu Maung on Penang Island. It will be the second bridge to link the island to the mainland after Penang Bridge...

 is in Batu Kawan. The Batu Kawan Stadium (Penang's state stadium) is also located there.

Batu Kawan was long considered a quiet backwater, noted for sugar-cane, coconut and rubber plantations in the 19th century. It was among the oldest towns in Penang. Since the government chose Batu Kawan as the mainland site for the Penang Second Bridge
Penang Second Bridge
The Penang Second Bridge is a new bridge under construction in Penang, Malaysia. It will connect Batu Kawan on the mainland Seberang Perai and Batu Maung on Penang Island. It will be the second bridge to link the island to the mainland after Penang Bridge...

, its development and progress have come under intense scrutiny.

Local History

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. This is new jetty built around 2004. This jetty are connect to Pulau Aman by boat.

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 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 stone grinders were missing, the granite base of the contraptions was still 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 small interest is the comment that cobras of Batu Kawan have a unique marking on the hood.
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