GEORGE TOWN: Penang's rich colonial history will be in the spotlight this weekend during the George Town Festival at a talk on prominent British-era personalities: Francis Light, William Light and the intriguing Martina Rozells.
'Connecting the Lights', to be held on Sunday afternoon at The Royale Bintang Penang, will feature four historians addressing the audience, followed by a panel discussion.
"Penang has a fascinating colonial history," said GTF director Joe Sidek.
"With this talk, we hope Penangites and visitors have a newfound appreciation for the state's rich past.”
Penang-based private researcher Dr Marcus Langdon who has examined records created by the East India Company’s (EIC) administrators said: "Who was Francis Light, the person?
At the panel discussion, I will be speaking about his formative years and the events that equipped him to be the founder and superintendent of the EIC settlement in Penang."
"We will also discuss the story of the woman behind the man, Martina Rozells, and their family together.”
"The Lights," said local historian, author and heritage advocate and moderator of the event Khoo Salma Nasution, "are progenitors of one of Southeast Asia’s pioneering families.
"Their history ties the fortunes of the old empires to the new," she added.
Other experts who will be coming together for the first time via the talk to decipher the lives of the historical figures include National Trust of South Australia and of the Nature Conservation Society of South Australia Inc committee member Kelly Henderson.
Retired Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Datuk Dr Anthony Sibert and former Kedah administrative officer, Chief of Protocol for the 1998 Commonwealth Games and author Datuk Wira Mohd Shariff Abu Samah are the other two panelists.