Penang Expat

On Saturday my wife awoke and decided that she wanted to climb Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera). The last time she made a decision like this was when we were holidaying in Kota Kinabalu and she decided that she wanted to climb Mount Kinabalu. At that time I wasn’t consulting guidebooks and the hotel leaflet said that it was a “walk in the park”. So I said sure, lets go.

While researching through the net for interesting articles, I found this article about the Japanese in Penang before the outbreak of war. Since I am married to a Japanese and we have bought a house in Kampung Malabar that is mentioned it was even more interesting. I am wondering what might be the history of the house we now own?

One of the significant minorities who made their presence in Penang from the late 19th to early 20th centuries came from Japan. In 1910, the official census counted 207 Japanese residents in Penang alone. Unlike the present day Japanese expatriates living in Penang, those early-day Japanese settlers were much poorer in comparison and in fact more than half of the Japanese residents then were involved in the 'flesh' trade.

Opening a bank account in Malaysia is not as difficult as it looks. There are some do’s and don’t and there are also rules and regulations regarding opening an account that you should be made aware of before you arrive or before going to a local bank to open an account.

Depending on your circumstances leaving your money in an offshore account is also an option but you will be subject to foreign exchange currency fluctuations, and these can be volatile, and of course fees will apply when drawing on your funds from an ATM. The foreign banks in Penang only have one branch and consequently their ATM’s are based where the branch is situated. For example the Penang Citibank branch is on Jalan Perusahaan, in George Town. If your only account is with Citibank and you live in Batu Farringhi, it’s a 25 to 45min drive depending on the traffic and the time of day, to access your funds. This can be a little frustrating.

There is normally a glut of information when arriving in a new country and although most of us don’t like to think about accidents or emergencies in an unfamiliar place, especially when we are surrounded by new customs and procedures and languages, some advance planning is a good thing.

The local language is Bahasa Melayu, but English is spoken widely throughout Penang and the Emergency Service personnel will be able to understand you and help you find the service that you need.