Chew Jetty

We stopped at Chew Jetty on our way back to the hotel from the museum. This was one of 6 remaining wooden jetties on the quay side in George Town and used since the late 19th century for loading/unloading cargo before the bigger seaport opened. Over time Chinese groups sharing geographical origin and dialect, formed clans, took over control of each of these jetties and charged fees to use the jetty. As well as a Chew Jetty, which is controlled by the Chew Clan, there were also jetties controlled by Lim, Tan, Lee, Yeoh, and Koay clans. Each clan also had a temple in town. The late 19th Century was a period of often violent rivalry between different Chinese immigrant groups for control of economic resources in Penang and the jetties were at the forefront of these conflicts.

Chew Jetty remains in something of an historical time warp. Running water and electricity were introduced in 1957 but the people still live on the jetty in wooden houses on stilts, sell things in shops opening on to the main walk way, and largely live as they have done for over 100 years.

The Chew Clan’s continued survival as a community on the Jetty is uncertain. The city government does not recognize their rights as land owners, indeed the residents are not taxed by the local government as technically speaking they do not reside on Penang Island but live on the water.

There is a Taoist temple just inside the entrance to Chew Jetty, which is dedicated to the God of Heaven, the most important of all the deities worshipped in the Taoist religion. There is also a temple at the end of the main jetty dedicated to the Taoist Sea Deity, Haisen.Read more