
The Old Fisherman mural at Balik Pulau town.
An Islander's Perspective of Penang
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all those who celebrate it.
Today marks the first day of Hari Raya in Malaysia. Hari Raya Aidilfitri (or The Festival of the Breaking of the Fast) is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims here, and elsewhere in the world, it is also known as Eid al-Fitr.
Locals here usually go back to their hometowns for family gathering and house visit , but this year, it is different. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions are in place to prevent the risk of infection including travel limitation in the country.
Two art murals featured at the facade of a containers setup located amidst the paddy fields of Kampung Terang, Balik Pulau. The murals are for the Penang International Container Art Festival (PICAF).
For the rest of the PICAF art works, please go HERE.
A wall mural painted in 2018 at the Balik Pulau branch office of local political party PKR, depicting the political figures Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad.
A large art mural depicting an egret (or Bangau in Malay), this artwork was painted by local artist Acit Raman Abdullah in conjunction with the Balik Pulau Festival. The mural was named ‘The Keeper’ and painted after the name of the flat. It can be found at Taman Desa Genting flats in Balik Pulau.
Part of the Balik Pulau Festival, these murals depicts the two most popular and commonly found fruits in Balik Pulau; the nutmeg and the durian. These murals were painted by local artist Nash Arts. These murals can be found at the Tingkat Seri Genting flats.
It was found that the old agricultural town of Balik Pulau was established in the 1790s by the British East India Company. Located at the southwest of Penang Island, Balik Pulau is a Malay name which refers to ‘the back of the island’ in Malay. The town was so named due to its location situated at the western side of the Penang Island, separated from George Town by the island’s central hills. The British East India Company at that time established the first clove and nutmeg plantations in the area, hoping to turn Penang island as the center for spice production in Southeast Asia and competing against the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade during that period.