Permatang Damar Laut is a coastal

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

within the city of George Town in the

Malaysian state Malaysia is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories, which form the primary administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territories are part of Peninsular Malaysia, while two states and one territory ...

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 at the southern tip of

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 ...

, about 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 ...

, making it the southernmost human settlement on the island. The village is hemmed in between 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 ...

to the north and the

Malacca Strait The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...

to the south.

Etymology

The Malay word '''Permatang''' refers to the village's geographic landform, as it is situated on a ridge surrounded by mangrove swamps. '''Damar''' in Malay means

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

whilst Laut''' is the Malay word for the sea; the village was purportedly where resin-producing trees once grew along the shore, hence the phrase '''Damar Laut'''.

History

According to historians in

Universiti Sains Malaysia Universiti Sains Malaysia ( 'University of Science Malaysia'; abbreviated as USM) is a public research university in Malaysia. Founded on 1 June 1969 as a statutory body with its own constitution, it is the oldest institute of higher learning ...

, the village of Permatang Damar Laut was founded in the late 18th century by three pioneers of

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

origin - Pah Kechil, Jamaluddin and Nakhoda Che Salleh. The village was one of the handful of autonomous Malay settlements that were established at the south of

at the time.

Transportation

The main road within Permatang Damar Laut is Jalan Permatang Damar Laut, which forms part of the Federal Route 6. The thoroughfare cuts through the village, linking it with

Batu Maung Batu Maung is a residential neighbourhood in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. It is located south of the Central George Town, Penang, city centre, adjacent to Bayan Lepas and the Penang International Airp ...

to the east and the old town of

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 ...

to the west. Permatang Damar Laut is also the southern terminus of

Rapid Penang Rapid Penang (stylised as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand operating within the George Town Conurbation in Malaysia. Established in 2007 as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it serves as the main public transport system within the sta ...

's bus route 302, which connects the village with several destinations along the eastern half of

, such as Batu Maung, Bayan Lepas,

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 ...

and the

. To alleviate worsening traffic congestion in the area, the

Malaysian Public Works Department The Malaysian Public Works Department (; Jawi: ) is the federal government department in Malaysia under Ministry of Works Malaysia (MOW) which is responsible for construction and maintenance of public infrastructure in West Malaysia and Labu ...

has widened a stretch of the road leading to the village in 2017. The project also included the construction of a flyover and an elevated U-turn.

Education

Permatang Damar Laut is served by a single

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 ...

- SRK Permatang Damar Laut.

Health care

The village contains a

haemodialysis Hemodialysis, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply ''"'dialysis'"'', is a process of filtering the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as c ...

centre operated by the Penang Fo Yi Haemodialysis Society. Opened in 2017, the Fo Yi Medicare Centre is equipped with 30 dialysis machines, which allow it to treat 180 kidney patients per month.

Alleged effect of Silicon Island reclamation

In November 2024,

Silicon Island Silicon Island is a Artificial island, man-made islet currently under Land reclamation, reclamation off the southern coast of Penang Island in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. It is located off the shorel ...

reclamation works were suggested by the state housing and environment committee chairman to have caused pollution and

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in fresh water or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...

at nearby Pantai Esen beach. The Penang infrastructure, transport and digital committee chairman, however, claimed lack of evidence to prove that it was because of reclamation and instead blamed it on agricultural activity and sewage treatment.http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/11/23/no-evidence-pantai-esen-pollution-due-to-silicon-island-reclamation-works-says-exco-rep

References

{{Penang Southwest Penang Island District Villages in Penang