Acheen Street Penang

Acheen Street was entirely different from Pitt Street or Chulia Street in the sense that it had many Indonesian migrants namely Acehnese, and even Arabs from Indonesia. It will be of interest to touch on the illustrated lives of some prominent Indonesians before I venture into the street of Acheen.   

 Long before Francis Light set foot on Penang Island, there were many fortune seekers from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, who came to Pe       nang to try their luck.
A trio of brothers of the Minangkabau Royal family were one such group who landed in Penang after seeking permission from the Sultan of Kedah, the ruler of the island, who himself was also a descendent of Minangkabau. The three brothers were Nakhoda Bayan, Nakhoda Intan, and Nakhoda Kechil. Theses brothers controlled Bayan Lepas, Balik Pulau, Glugor, and the site of present day George Town.

Batu Uban Mosque

Early Achenese settlers in Batu Uban

Nakhoda Intan opened up a settlement at Batu Uban and founded the Batu Uban Mosque, the oldest in Penang. To this day, Nakhoda Intan's grave is considered a ‘kramat’- a holy shrine.

Another prominent Minangkabau Islamic modernist and nationalist reformist was Sheikh Tahir Jaluluddin. His son, Tun Hamdan Sheikh Tahir was once the governor of Penang.

Sheikh Tahir Jaluluddin

The majority of Indonesian migrants in the early days of Penang were Acehnese. Syed Hussain, the grandson of Sultan Jamal Syah of Aceh, who married the daughter of Sultanah of Aceh, was invited by Light to boost the economy of Penang. At this time many Arab migrants from Acheh too came and settled around Acheen Street. The Acehnese and Bugis who used Sungai Pinang to sail into Penang were also responsible for building the Sungai Pinang Mosque along Jelutong.

Tun Hamdan Sheikh Tahir

The Acheen Street Mosque was built in 1808 on land donated by the Acehnese aristocrat, Tengku Syed Hussain Al-Aidid

The wealthy Chinese migrants bought slaves from Bali, Java, Nias and even Toba and Karo from Medan. On the other hand, Chinese and Indian (Tamil) coolies were taken to the Dutch plantations in East Sumatra from Penang. The masala mix then brought about progenitors of the Baba and Nyonyas.

Chong Ah Fie of Medan and Cheong Fat Tze of Penang were related, as is the case with many of the Cina Peranakan in Penang with the Cina Peranakan in Medan. The former chief minister of Penang, Tan Sri Koh Su Koon, himself grew up and was educated in Medan. That is one of the reasons why he is fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.

Another notable family from Rao in Indonesia is the Rawo, commonly pronounced as Rawa in Penang, They came in at about 1860 and also had their business based in Acheen Street. The Rawa’s traded in spices, publish religious materials and also facilitated pilgrims to perform the hajj in Mecca.
Amongst the more well known Rawas include former International Trade and Industry minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, the wife of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, former Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Muhammad Taib, the late Yusof Rawa of PAS and his son Dato’ Dr. Mujahid Yusof Rawa (Present MP for Parit Buntar)

Another Acehnese, Tengku Nyak Putih who was married to Cik Mah, had a son. The son not only became an actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer, and producer but also an icon of Malay movies and entertainments. He was none other than Tenku Zakaria who later became known as P.Ramlee.

At times, when I lie on the sofa in solitude and redirect my past along the memory lane, Acheen Street will remind me of the time when I went for Friday prayers at the beautiful ancient Acheen Mosque. Prayers were conducted on alternate weeks so as to take turns with Masjid Kapitan Keling.

Collecting empty bottles and selling in the Chettiar shop, 
close to the mosque where the present Islamic Museum stands was another weekly affair. The few cents I get will go along way especially in the school canteen. A plate of ‘nasi kandar’ with a piece of beef and half a boiled egg drizzled with mixed curries was only 15 cents. For an extra 5 cents you can get a glass of ‘teh tarik’.

Acheen Street’s Muslim settlement continued to thrive and was at one time referred to as the Second Jeddah. Pilgrims from Thailand, Sumatera, and parts of Peninsular congregate here before departing to Mecca by sea. Every time the Haj season began, pilgrims and their families thronged the street. However, all this ended with the establishment of the Lembaga Tabung Haji in the 1970s and the introduction of air travel.

Many Indonesians of Mandailing origin too monopolised the Pilgrimage business. A Mandailing Sheihk haji by the name of Pak Ma’som was the foremost pilgrim broker on Acheen Street in the 1860’s. He had his own shipping agency and was said to be the richest man on Acheen Street. Another successful Mandailing pilgrimage broker was Shaikh Jalid. Probably you will be wondering what is Mandailing.
Well, Mandailing is a traditional cultural group in Southeast Asia. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Most Mandailing people are wet rice farmers. A Mandailing person who leaves home will look for land and a house as expressed in the proverb "halului anak halului tana" (children and land). Children and land are viewed as sources of personal pride (sahala hasangapon) that cause one to receive status and respect. Someone who successfully settles in another area is esteemed very highly.

Acheen Street with its famed mosque was an ideal place for pilgrims to Mecca to get their needs not only to Mecca but for the long ship journey as well. There were shops along the street catering for the needs of the pilgrims.

The Acheen Mosque was built in 1808 on land donated by an Acehnese aristocrat, Tengku Syed Hussain Al-Aidid. It all began in 1792 when Tengku Syed Hussain opened a Muslim settlement in the area near Lebuh Acheh. Over the following years, this settlement became the centre of Islamic studies in Penang, frequented by traders from the surrounding Malay Archipelago, Arabia and India

The mosque has an Arab-style minaret with an Achehnese roof. The difference between this mosque and the other one, the Kapitan Kling nearby, is that the Acheen Street Mosque was built by a Achehnese, whereas the Kapitan Kling Mosque was built by the Indian Muslims with themes suited to them.

Next to the mosque lies the cemetery of the mosque's original benefactor, Tengku Syed Hussain Al-Aidid and members of his family. The houses surrounding the mosque today are part of the original Muslim settlement of the mid 19th century.

Many Muslim traders as well as those involved in the Haj Pilgrimage lived in Lumut Lane on Acheen Street. It was the path into a Malay village of Kampung Wakaf and was built on endowment land of the Acheen Street mosque. Syeikh Omar Basheer Al-Khalidy who lived here was the Imam for the Acheh Mosque and a religious teacher for the local community. During the Penang riots, the British sought the help of Syeikh Omar Basheer to defuse the situation. The Malays, numbering about 7000, who were involved in secret societies, went to swear in front of him. Sheikh Omar who came from Yemen was a well-known philosopher, reformer and a scholar. The family and descendants of Sheikh Omar Basheer Al-Khalidy had warehouses and business premises there. He died in 1881 and had the biggest Muslim mausoleum in Penang, in Kampung Melayu, Air Itam, where he was also a religious teacher of the Air Itam Mosque.

Another notable person was Syed Mohd Alatas, a leader of the Malay community of Acheen Street. It is quite interesting about his character. He had two wives; one Malay and the other a Chinese of the Khoo Kongsi. This made him to be associated with Khoo Kongsi. He became the leader of the Red Flag secret society, which was connected to Khoo Kongsi.

Khoo Kongsi Temple

He was also a defender of Acheh against the Dutch aggression. He provided firearms and his mansion was a clandestine base to Acehnese resistance. The mansion eventually became the property of Penang Municipal council and it has been now transformed into a handsome Islamic Museum.

Acheen Street was the first street in Penang to be given street signs in different languages, when Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng gave the green light to make the change, as a means to promote greater appreciation of local heritage.

Today, there are no shops belonging to the Malays- I mean the Acehnese, the Arabs and other Indonesians who monopolised this street. What are left today of the sweat of those great businessmen are only the mosque, and a few decendents in the mosque compound under the wakaf land. The identity of the Acehnese is lost in Acheen Street. It is now more a Chinese dominant street. Probably the street can now be called Achinese Street instead of Acheen Street.