{"id":49881,"date":"2026-05-05T08:24:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T00:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=49881"},"modified":"2026-05-05T08:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T00:24:38","slug":"penangs-cemetery-tours-spur-interest-in-pioneers-colonial-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=49881","title":{"rendered":"Penang\u2019s cemetery tours spur interest in pioneers, colonial history"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
The sounds of passing cars and birds chirping broke the morning stillness at Penang<\/span>\u2019s Northam Road Protestant Cemetery as visitors began filtering in after 8am.<\/div>\n
Tour guide Zul Harris arrived in a purple shirt, grey trousers and a black flat cap to greet seven tourists waiting at the gate.<\/p>\n
Inside, a narrow laterite path ran through the cemetery beneath old frangipani trees, whose dense canopy cast a muted green light over weathered headstones tilting at uneven angles.<\/p>\n
Zul was leading a cemetery tour in George Town, where one of Penang\u2019s oldest burial grounds is drawing attention as a historical site with unique heritage features.<\/p>\n
\n
\n\n
<\/div>Tour guide Zul Harris calls for the preservation of Penang\u2019s colonial-era history in Malaysia. Photo: Ushar Daniele<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Interest is growing in such tours as visitors seek out the island\u2019s darker and lesser-known histories, beyond the food, shophouses and architecture that are core to Penang\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian<\/span> state recorded 7.2 million passenger movements through its airport in the first 11 months of 2025, according to official data.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Tour](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/05\/04\/0da6e2ad-74c3-4845-abf6-29dcadb96c78_53933fe2.jpg\" "\\"Tour")
<\/div>