Batu Maung is a residential

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in the Malaysian state of

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. It is located south of the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

, adjacent to

Bayan Lepas Bayan Lepas is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located near the southeastern tip of Penang Island, south of the city centre, it is home to the Penang International Airport, the third busiest airport in Malaysia, as we ...

and the

Penang International Airport Penang International Airport (PIA) is an international airport in George Town, Penang, George Town, the capital city of the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. The airport is located at the southeastern tip of ...

. Batu Maung is home to the island terminus of the Second Penang Bridge and the southern end of the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway. It is also surrounded by fishing villages such as Permatang Damar Laut and Teluk Tempoyak. Formerly an agricultural village, the development of Batu Maung into a residential neighbourhood began in the late 20th century. Part of the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone actually lies within the township, which also houses the headquarters of WorldFish Center and a deepwater fishing port.

Economy

Batu Maung is home to an active fisheries industry. It contains a deepwater fishing port, as well as the headquarters of WorldFish Center, an international, non-profit fisheries research organisation, and the Fisheries Research Institute of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

's Fisheries Development Authority.

Transportation

Batu Maung is linked to the

via the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, which has its southern end within Batu Maung itself. In addition, the Second Penang Bridge connects the neighbourhood with

Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located on the Malay Peninsula and separated from Penang Island by the Penang Strait, it shares borders with Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. The city spans an are ...

, the mainland half of the State of Penang. Opened in 2014, the long bridge is currently the longest in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The major roads within Batu Maung are Jalan Batu Maung and Jalan Permatang Damar Laut. Due to the worsening traffic congestion, road-widening projects have commenced along stretches of these roads. Rapid Penang bus routes 302, 305 and 307 include stops within Batu Maung, linking the neighbourhood with

Bayan Baru Bayan Baru is a neighbourhood of George Town, Penang, George Town in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. Located south of the Central George Town, Penang, city centre, it lies within the suburb of Bayan Lepa ...

, Sungai Nibong and the

Education

Batu Maung is served by two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s and a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. Primary school * SRK Batu Maung * SRJK (C) Wen Khai High school * SMK Batu Maung

Infrastructure

Batu Maung is home to an active fisheries industry and a deepwater fishing port. As a hub for the fisheries industry, Batu Maung contains the headquarters of WorldFish Center, an international, non-profit fisheries research organisation, as well as the Fisheries Research Institute of

's Fisheries Development Authority. Plans have been mooted by the

Malaysian federal government The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia (; Jawi: ), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a federation comp ...

to develop Batu Maung into an international

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

fishing port. However, the construction of the tuna port eventually stalled in 2011 and has never been completed to this day. Following the completion of the Second Penang Bridge in 2014, land prices at Batu Maung have increased tremendously, luring property developers to launch more residential projects within the neighbourhood.

Tourist attractions

Located at Batu Maung, the Penang War Museum was originally a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

fort built in the 1930s. However, when the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

invaded

in December 1941, the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces, led by Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, evacuated

Penang Island Penang Island is the main constituent island of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located off the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Malacca Strait, with the Penang Strait separating the island from Seberang Perai on the mainla ...

without a shot being fired. The abandoned fort was subsequently captured and put to use by the Japanese during the war. Following the war's end, the fort was left forgotten until its eventual conversion into a war museum in 2002. The Penang War Museum still retains the original military structures and equipment left behind by the British forces, such as bunkers, tunnels and machine-gun emplacements. The museum also serves as a venue for

paintball Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that b ...

activities.

References