People's Court | |
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Neighbourhood of George Town | |
Other transcription(s) | |
• Mandarin | 生活公市(Simplified) 生活公市(Traditional) Shēnghuó gōng shì(Pinyin) |
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Coordinates: 5°25′2.658″N100°20′2.274″E / 5.41740500°N 100.33396500°E | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
City | ![]() |
Founded | 1961 |
Government | |
• Local government | Penang Island City Council |
• Mayor of Penang Island | Rajendran P. Anthony |
• Komtar State Assemblyman | Teh Lai Heng (DAP) |
• Tanjong Member of Parliament | Lim Hui Ying (DAP) |
Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
• Summer (DST) | Not observed |
Postal code | 10200 |
Website | mbpp |
People's Court is a residential neighbourhood within the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Situated within the city's central business district, it comprises three four-storey blocks of walk-up flats. [1] Built in 1961, it was the first low-cost public housing in Malaysia and remains one of the few populated residential pockets within the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. [2] [3]
After Malaya's independence in 1957, the George Town City Council (predecessor to the present-day Penang Island City Council) faced the challenge of providing affordable housing for the urban poor. A significant number of the city's residents lived in substandard houses within urban kampongs and shophouses. According to a councillor at the time, "there are about 30 kampongs within George Town's limits with about 5,539 substandard houses inhabited by approximately 50,153 people. In about 19 kampongs the Malays are predominant and in the rest there is a mixture of Malays/Chinese and Malays/Indians." [4]
The George Town City Council sought to address affordable housing as a crucial electoral issue, particularly after the Labour Party retained control in the 1959 local election. [1] [5] As part of their efforts, the city government initiated People's Court, the first low-cost public housing project in Malaya. The project consisted of three blocks of four-storey walk-up flats arranged in an 'L' shape within the city centre's Chinatown. [1] [2] [4] These blocks include 26 shoplots, ranging from 136 sq ft (12.6 m2) to 582 sq ft (54.1 m2), along with 79 residential units, ranging between 438 sq ft (40.7 m2) to 506 sq ft (47.0 m2). [6]
Since its completion in 1961, People's Court has served as a major source of low-cost housing within George Town's central business district. [1] [4] [5] In spite of the continuing depopulation of the city centre, People's Court remains one of the few inhabited residential areas within the locality. [3] The three blocks are currently owned and managed by the Penang Island City Council. [1] [6]
Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. These two halves are physically connected by the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The state shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south.
George Town is the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is the core city of the George Town Conurbation, Malaysia's second largest metropolitan area with a population of 2.84 million and the second highest contributor to the country's GDP. The city proper spans an area of 306 km2 (118 sq mi) encompassing Penang Island and surrounding islets, and had a population of 794,313 as of 2020.
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George Town, the capital city of the State of Penang, is the second largest city in Malaysia and the economic centre of the country's northern region. The history of George Town began with its establishment by Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company in 1786. Founded as a free port, George Town became the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and prospered in the 19th century as one of the vital British entrepôts within the region. It briefly became the capital of the Straits Settlements, a British crown colony which also consisted of Singapore and Malacca.
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