Chew Jetty
George Town, Penang

   




Your base for this sight is the city of Penang. For useful travel tips about Penang, visit Penang Travel Tips. To read about the tourist attractions in Penang, go through the George Town Travel Guide and Penang Travel Guide. For budget accommodation in Penang, use the Penang Budget Accommodation Map to find suitable places to spend the night.


Chew Jetty, or Seh Chew Keo, is the biggest of the waterfront settlements in George Town, Penang. It was created in the middle of the 19th Century, in a very different Penang from what it is today. The last community jetties, the Peng Aun and the Chap Seh Keo, were only established in the 1960's. Each of the clan jetties has a small shrine to pay homage to the sea deities. Chew Jetty is the only clan jetty left that continues to have observe the once a year annual worship of its Temple Deity and the Jade Emperor (Thnee Kong, or "god of the skies")



Chew Jetty at dusk.


Like gnarled fingers that claw the sea, clan jetties line the water front of Georgetown. Here, we find a community that has existed for over a hundred years, suspended in time above the tide lines. Today, however, encroaching development poses a formidable threat to the very existence of this unique waterborne community.

On March 20, 2004, members of AsiaExplorers paid a visit to Chew Jetty. It was part of our exploration to better appreciate the heritage sites of Penang. For the unfamiliar, the Clan Jetties consist of seven sets of wooden piers. They are home to seven clans who migrated from China: the Lims, Chews, Tans, Lees, Yeohs, Koays and one mixed jetty. The visit was hosted by Chew Siew Pheng, an AE member who happens to be a resident of her namesake jetty.

AsiaExplorers is pleased to publish an Academic Paper on the Clan Jetties by Chan Lean Heng, PhD. It was presented at the Penang Story International Conference in 2002, and is reproduced here with the author's kind permission.


Chew Jetty Photo Gallery


Time to unwind.



In the cool of the evening.



City life: an otter relaxes at Chew jetty, within view of the second busiest harbour in Malaysia.



Plankway leads to a home with a family altar.



Members of AsiaExplorers participating in the Chew Jetty visit on 14 March, 2004.



Members of AsiaExplorers participating in the Chew Jetty visit on 15 July, 2006.


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How much have you explored Penang? Through AsiaExplorers and its associate website, Penang Travel Tips, you can now explore the these places in Penang from the comfort of your desk: Penang, , George Town, ABN-Amro Bank Building, Acheen Street Mosque, Aquarium Pulau Pinang, Arulmigu Karumariamman Temple, Balathandayuthapani Temple, Balik Pulau, Balik Pulau Durian, Ban Hin Lee Bank Building, Baobab Tree of Penang, Batu Ferringhi, Batu Kawan, Batu Maung, Blissful Memorial Park, Boon San Tong Khoo Kongsi, Botanical Garden Waterfall, Brown Memorial, Butterworth Outer Ring Road, Cathedral of the Assumption, Cenotaph, Cheah Kongsi, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Chew Jetty, Chinese Chamber of Commerce Building, Chor Soo Kong Temple, Chung Keng Kwee Temple, Chung Ling High School, Church of Immaculate Conception, Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Balik Pulau, Church Street Pier, City Hall, Clan Jetties, Clan Jetties Academic Paper, Convent Light Street, Dewan Mahatma Gandhi, Dhammikarama Burmese Temple, Durians of Balik Pulau, Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Eng Tai Hoay Kuan, Foo Tye Sin Mansion, Fort Cornwallis, Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse, Francis Light Biography / Grave, Francis Light Memorial, Francis Light Statue, George Town, Gertak Sanggul, Gurney Drive, Gurney Plaza, Hai Kee Chan @ Pinang Peranakan Museum, Han Jiang Teochew Ancestral Temple, Hock Teik Cheng Sin @ Hokkien Tua Pek Kong Temple, Homestead, HSBC Bank Building, India House, Jabatan Agama Islam Pulau Pinang, Jabatan Immigresen, Jelutong Expressway, Kapitan Keling Mosque, Kee Poh Huat Kongsi, Kek Lok Si Temple @ Temple of Supreme Bliss, Koh Seang Tat Fountain, Kongsoon House, Kuan Yin Teng @ Temple of the Goddess of Mercy, Khoo Kongsi - Boon San Tong, Khoo Kongsi - Leong San Tong, Komtar, Lim Kongsi @ Kew Leong Tong, Logan Memorial, Loke Mansion, Lover's Isle, Mahamariamman Temple, Moon Gate, Muka Head, Mukim Kongsi Mosque, Balik Pulau, Nagore Shrine, Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Ng Fook Thong Temple, Nine Emperor Gods Temple of Butterworth, Nine Emperor Gods Temple of Penang, Ong Kongsi, P. Ramlee's Birth House, Pasir Panjang, Penang Aquarium, Penang Beaches, Penang Bird Park, Penang Bridge, Penang Buddhist Association, Penang Channel Tidal Islands, Penang Chinese Anti-War Memorial, Penang Chinese Girls' High School, Penang Chinese Temples, Penang Churches, Penang Free School, Penang Heritage Sites, Penang Heritage Trust, Penang Hill, Penang Hindu Temples, Penang Mosques, Penang Philomatic Union, Penang Schools, Penang State Assembly, Penang State Mosque, Penang State Museum, Penang State Stadium, Penang Turf Club, Penang War Museum, Permatang Damar Laut, Pulau Aman, Pulau Gedung, Pulau Jerejak, Pulau Kendi, Pulau Tikus, Queen Victoria Memorial Clocktower, Queensbay Mall, Runnymede (Wisma Persekutuan), Sam Poh Footprint Temple, San Wooi Wooi Koon, Seng Ong Beow Temple, Sheikh Al-Hadi's Residence, Sheikh Omar Basheer Mausoleum, Snake Temple, Sri Krishna Bagawan Alayam Temple, Sri Kunj Bihari Temple, Sri Meenakshi Sundraeswar Temple, Sri Rama Temple, St. Anne's Sanctuary, St. George's Anglican Church, St. Joseph's Novitiate, St. Xavier's Institution, Standard Chartered Building, Strawberry Hill, Suffolk House, Sungai Batu, Sungai Pinang, Sungai Prai Bridge, Sun Qiang Temple, Sun Yat Sen's Penang Base, Supreme Court Building, Syed Sheikh Al-Hadi's Residence, Tan Kongsi - Eng Chuan Tong, Tanjong Tokong, Tanjong Tokong Tua Pek Kong Temple, Teluk Bahang, Teluk Kumbar, Teluk Tempoyak, Thean Hock Keong Temple, Thni Kong Tnua @ the Jade Emperor's Pavilion, Titi Kerawang, Town Hall, VTM Chettiar Temple, Balik Pulau, Wadda Gurdwara Sahib, Wat Chaiyamangkalaram, Wat Pinbang-Onn, Woodville, Zemschug Grave Marker


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