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The lawn is neat and well maintained; the trees are signaged; there is some improvement to the Fern House. That, unfortunately is all that is good to be said of the Penang Botanic Gardens. Despite it being a major destination among locals and visitors alike, the Gardens a major disappointment that is far removed from what its name suggests.
Less than two months since Dataran Teratai, the waterlily square, was opened to the general public, the Amazon waterlilies appear diseased and dying. The whole pond also seems to be enveloped by lichen and algae. The waterlilies, which were alive and blooming on opening day, now appear neglected and in a sorry state. Their leaves appear shriveled.
Is the pond too hot for the Amazon waterlilies? The Amazon Waterlilies of the Penang Botanic Gardens need immediate and urgent action before they totally die out.
Bubbles in the water, Penang Botanic Gardens (31 July 2011)
© Timothy Tye using this photo
In the subsidiary ponds, air bubbles are forming on the surface and the water seems murky - they were clear two months ago. Now lichen and algae are growing thickly in the pond, and unless this is checked, they will suck out all the oxygen of the water.
If this, the centrepiece of the Gardens, should be in such a state of disgrace, the other sights at the Penang Botanic Gardens do not fare better. The Cactus House, the Bromeliad House, the Begonia House and the Perdana Conservatory are locked from public viewing. Peeping into these green house, you see caged plants that look like quarantined victims at various stages of neglect.
Perhaps the plants were kept locked to keep out the monkeys, or perhaps this is to prevent them from being abused or stolen. If this be true, then the Penang Botanic Gardens are not playing their role as a centre to educate the public on botany. If the Gardens are interested in its role, it should install doors and screens that keep monkeys out and allow humans to have close view of the plants.
Not that there's anything worth seeing. The cacti, bromeliads and begonias are not signaged. They appear no different from those in someone's neglected gardens. One would expect a botanic garden to house rare species of plants, but this is not the case at our celebrated Penang Botanic Gardens.
In its pamplet, the Penang Botanic Gardens state that the Orchidarium is the showpiece of the Gardens, where 200 species of orchids are grown. However, visiting to the Gardens' Orchidarium, one can't see the orchids for the trees. As with the other plant houses, the Orchidarium is locked. While there may be species orchids inside, these are usually small compared to hybrids, and unless they are signaged and identified, they are of no value to the visitor.
The Penang Botanic Gardens should learn a thing or two from the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Both were started by the same people, but over a hundred years later, one has become the ugly sister of the other. In particular, the Penang Botanic Gardens should improve on its orchidarium to showcase various orchids up close, similar to the Singapore Orchid Garden, which is within the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Visitors are willing to pay good money if the Penang Botanic Gardens have something good to show. While entry into the Penang Botanic Gardens itself should remain free of charge, there should be a fee charged for visiting the Orchidarium as well as the different plant houses. But of course, there should be something worth seeing for the price.
As founder of Penang Travel Tips and a major advocate of tourism in Penang, I consider the Penang Botanic Gardens a major disgrace and unworthy of its name and glorious heritage. Visitors who are serious about botany will come away feeling let down. If the Penang Botanic Gardens are unable to play a role as a botanic garden, it should be renamed the Penang Recreational Park.
  
   
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