GEORGE TOWN: Established in the mid-19th century, Penang’s ‘clan jetties’, or Chinese water villages, are part of George Town’s gems that earned the city recognition as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008.
A living heritage with valuable cultural and historical significance, these Chinese settlements provide us with a snapshot of the country’s past.
Located along the southern stretch of the island’s Weld Quay, the settlements still retain the clustered attap-roofed wooden houses on stilts, the anchored sampan swaying gently on the water evoking a sense of tranquillity.
It conjures up images and sounds of the past — clogs clacking on the wooden flooring as women in samfoo go about their chores and children laughing as they run past the men who just got home after a day working as coolies, fishing or ferrying passengers or goods from nearby ships.
In the 19th century, Chinese immigrants mostly came from the Tong An district in China’s Fujian province, and they arrived in Penang seeking a better life.
From more than 20 clan jetties back in the day, there are only seven left — Chew, Ong, Lim, Tan, Yeoh, Lee and the New Jetty (mixed clan). Two clan jetties — Koay, whose residents were Chinese Muslims, and Peng Aun — were demolished in 2006 to make way for development.
Of the seven remaining jetties saved by the Unesco listing, a number are struggling to keep up with the pace of modernity and some even had to compromise on their identities.
The wooden houses on stilts that extend out to the sea are still there, but many are now sporting zinc roofs.
Life in Chew Jetty has taken a turn. Gone are lazy afternoons with residents napping on the porch or the sight of batik sarong-wrapped elderly ladies strolling past or the sound of lively chatter when a mother gives a haircut to her children on the porch.
Now, the main passage of the oldest jetty with attached houses has been converted into business outlets, with residents selling everything from cream puffs, bowls of noodles, hats of every shape and size, souvenirs and drinks to specialty ice cream.
At Lee Jetty, the narrow boardwalk is decorated with colourful neon lights, making the jetty look like a theme park at night.
The jarring changes came in the wake of the Unesco World Heritage site recognition, which led to an influx of tourists.
A resident, 74, who declined to be named, says he and his wife, 64, now sit at the back of their house, which has a porch, to hide from the busy front.
During the interview, he sat on a reclining chair in the back porch (which has a faded blue tarp to block the sun) munching on milk biscuits as his wife sat by a small table in the kitchen, dunking her biscuits in a cup of steaming black coffee.
The back passageway is quiet and removed from the din of vendors hawking their wares and tourists milling about at the main path.
The only sounds here are of the tarp flapping in the breeze and waves crashing against the wooden and concrete stilts.
“It is too crowded in front. We do not mind the tourists as we know it helps our neighbours make money.
“But, it’s a bit galling when tourists gawk at us and take our pictures as if they have never seen two elderly people eating biscuits in the afternoon,” he says at his home in Chew Jetty.
Another resident, who wished to be known as Chew, 62, owns a sundry shop in a double-storey wooden house that has been in business for two generations.
“It started with my grandparents selling small knick-knacks and necessities imported from China.
“My father expanded the business by setting up a proper shop with lined shelves at the front portion of the house, while we lived in the back and top parts.”
She says growing up, her four siblings and her used to help her father in the shop after school.
“Business used to be good when many residents of the clan jetties shopped at our premises.
“My younger sister moved out of the jetty after getting married, while my two younger brothers moved out for better jobs. So my elder sister, 64, and I took over the business from our father.”
Chew says her business has been affected following the Unesco recognition in 2008, which brought more competition and window shoppers.
These stories raise the question of whether the Unesco listing has brought more harm than good as it has evidently changed the identity of the villages and the lives of their residents.
Fourth-generation resident Chew Chean Chai, 68, says the Unesco listing has helped the dying village survive.
“Before the listing, there was not much appreciation for this village and residents were struggling to maintain their homes.”
Chean Chai, the second of seven children, says maintaining the wooden houses on stilts was a costly affair as they have to reinforce the stilts every five years.
“Some residents turn to using concrete poured into huge pipes to reinforce the building as it is cheaper than using wooden stilts, which can cost up to RM2,000 per stilt,” he says, adding that residents have been barred from using concrete since the Unesco listing.
He says seawater and breeze cause damage to more than the stilts, including shorting their electricity connection regularly.
“The Unesco status did not only bring new business opportunities to residents, which has helped them maintain their homes, but has also led to stricter maintenance requirements.
“This has preserved the village and its residents’ culture.”
Chean Chai acknowledges that the facade of the village at the main passageway has changed drastically, but he sees it as part of modernisation and evolution.
“Yes, there have been changes, but do you expect us to still be coolies and operators of sampan?
“Do not forget that it was the loss of Penang’s free-port status in 1969 that forced many of us to look to other ways to make money.
“Times have changed. People are finding new ways to earn an income. Why begrudge change?”
Chean Chai does not live at the jetty anymore and only runs his shop there.
Another resident, Chan Ang Leng, 48, who moved into Chew Jetty after marrying his wife, Chew Ai Ling, 37, says the village, with some 66 families, is still a very close-knit community.
“The village is still here, the structures are still intact, with strict rules on maintenance.
“Residents are still here living a way of life that has withstood the pressures of modernisation and urbanisation.”
Walking around the back passageway of the jetty confirms Chan’s words, but this does not diminish the drastic changes that have happened to the village.
Most of the other jetties are relatively untouched and remain largely residential, without too many businesses.
Residents of Lim Jetty have vowed to maintain the character and integrity of the village.
The houses, some as big as a bungalow, have maintained their simplicity despite the modern trappings of running water, electricity, air conditioning and cable television.
Only the sanitary services hark back to the 19th century, with separate cubicles for the bathing area and the toilet, with waste discharged directly into the sea.
Chan jokes that because of this, the fish taste better, but admits that it is a problem that cannot be solved easily without jeopardising the structure of the houses.