Seri Teratai is the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

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 ...

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

, the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

. Located at Macalister Road within George Town's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

, the mansion was built in 1926. Since Malaya's independence in 1957, Seri Teratai has served as the residence for three of the five Chief Ministers of Penang.

History

The building, originally known as the "State Guest House", was commissioned by Macalister & Co. in 1919 and designed by German-born architect Henry Alfred Neubronner. Situated on a site at Macalister Road, it was completed by 1926. The building reflects the prevalent

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...

of the period, featuring an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

with rustication and keystone detailing on the ground floor, and a Tuscan

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

on the first floor, which includes single, paired and triplet columns, along with turned

balustrades A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

. Rectangular in shape, the mansion has a protruding front entrance that includes a

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; ; ; ) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which originally a ...

topped with a

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

. After Malaya's independence in 1957, the mansion was renamed in Malay as ''Rumah Tetamu''. A annex was subsequently added, along with two separate structures designated for the house's caretaker and staff. The veranda was also repurposed into a meeting room enclosed by glass windows. The first

Wong Pow Nee Wong Pow Nee (7 October 1911 – 31 August 2002) was a Malaysian politician and diplomat. He was Penang's first Chief Minister,Ng 2007 serving from 1957 to 1969 and Malaysia's first Ambassador to Rome. Early history He was born in Bukit Mert ...

, resided at the mansion throughout his tenure. His successor,

Lim Chong Eu Lim Chong Eu (; 28 May 1919 – 24 November 2010) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang from May 1969 to October 1990 and the longest serving Chief Minister of Penang. He was also the founding president of ...

, occupied the mansion for the first ten years of his 21-year term. By this time, the condition of the building had deteriorated. Upon assuming office in 1990, the third Chief Minister

Koh Tsu Koon Koh Tsu Koon (born 26 August 1949; ) is a Malaysians, Malaysian politician. He was the Chief Minister of Penang from 1990 to 2008, Dewan Rakyat, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong (federal constituency), Tanjong from 1982 to 1986 and was ap ...

stayed at the building "not even for a day, and not overnight", preferring his own residence for the rest of his tenure. In the 2008 state election,

Pakatan Rakyat Pakatan Rakyat (PR; ) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Par ...

(predecessor of the present-day

Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...

coalition) seized power from the incumbent

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

coalition. Newly-elected Chief Minister

Lim Guan Eng Lim Guan Eng (; born 8 December 1960) is a Malaysian politician and accountant who served as the Minister of Finance of Malaysia from 2018 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), he has served as the party's second advisor si ...

initially expressed reservations about residing at Seri Teratai, citing a desire to conserve state finances. Lim nonetheless stayed at the mansion until 2009, when a termite infestation necessitated his relocation to a rented house at Pinhorn Road, which would later become the subject of a politically-motivated corruption case. Throughout the remainder of Lim's tenure, Seri Teratai remained unoccupied but continued to be maintained daily by staff, with regular checks conducted to address the termite issue. After taking office in 2018, Lim's successor

Chow Kon Yeow Chow Kon Yeow ( zh, s=曹观友, t=曹觀友, p=Cáo Guānyǒu, c=, poj=Chô Kuan-iú; born 14 November 1958) is a Malaysian politician, lawyer and journalist who has served as the 5th Chief Minister of Penang since May 2018, Member of the P ...

advocated for the restoration of Seri Teratai and planned to move into the residence, although the assessed repair costs had reached RM1.2 million. In 2019, a six-month renovation project was undertaken, which included upgrades to the interior, fixtures and piping, furniture repairs, and the installation of three layers of termite protection. The total cost of the renovation was RM1.05 million. Chow officially moved into the mansion in July that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Residency, Penang Official residences of Malaysian state leaders Buildings and structures in George Town, Penang

History

See also

References