ALOR STAR: The people of Kedah have not forgotten the leasing of the island of Penang and Seberang Perai, previously known as Province Wellesley, to the British in 1791 and 1800, respectively.
The matter remains a topic of research and debate among historians in Kedah as well as outside the ‘rice bowl’ state, even after more than 200 years.
Will the two territories be returned to Kedah is no longer the question, said Datuk Dr Wan Shamsuddin Mohd Yusof, chairman of the Kedah branch of the Malaysian Historical Society. The question is “when“, he stressed.
The island of Penang was leased to the British by the Kedah Sultanate in 1791 for an annual payment of 6,000 Spanish Dollars, and Seberang Perai in 1800 for 4,000 Spanish Dollars.
After the then Malaya gained independence, Kedah continued to receive RM10,000 as the annual lease payment from the federal government.
Wan Shamsuddin said it was time for Kedah to check the economic “losses” it had been experiencing as a result of the two lease agreements.
“The agreements have to be reviewed or Penang and Seberang Perai must be returned to Kedah,” he told Bernama on the sidelines of a recent seminar on Kedah-Siam Relations.
He said the RM10,000 lease payment being made to Kedah by the federal government was not equivalent to the 10,000 Spanish Dollars the state was paid then.
A study should be conducted to determine the equivalent value so that the new lease amount could be a source of revenue for Kedah, he added.
He said the association would organise a seminar to discuss the lease agreements.
Another member of the association, Dr Ibrahim Bakar, said the agreements had become null and void due to the failure of the British to comply with the terms of the accords.
He said that under the agreements, the British promised to protect Kedah against Siamese invasion, but had failed to do so.
The British allowed Siam to attack Kedah, he said, adding that this information was contained in the book, ‘The Blockade of Kedah 1838’, written by Sherard Osborn.
Prof Ahmad Jelani Halimi of the Centre for General Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, said however he foresaw problems in getting Penang to be returned to Kedah as it would involve the Federal Constitution.
He said efforts should focus on increasing the lease amount to a more reasonable rate. – BERNAMA