Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, George Town

The Esplanade / Fort Road

Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah is a coastal road in the inner city of George Town. It starts at the Queen Victoria Memorial Clocktower and ends at Light Street in front of the Penang Supreme Court.

Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah Location Map

Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah was named after Tun Tan Sri Syed Sheh Al-Haj bin Syed Hassan Barakbah, a Kedahan of Arab-Malay descent who served for two terms as the third Governor of Penang between February 1969 until February 1975. The road that was renamed in his honour was known before that by two names: Fort Road, which runs from the clocktower to the bend at Fort Cornwallis, and The Esplanade, from the bend at Fort Cornwallis to the Esplanade Road, now known as Jalan Padang Kota Lama. That bend of Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah was historically known as Fort Point.

Coastal scene at Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah (30 November 2008)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Getting there

Take Rapid Penang Free Shuttle Bus, get down at Station No. 4 (Imigresen). From there, cross Light Street in the direction of the clocktower and you will arrive at the start of Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah.

Sights along Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah

Queen Victoria Memorial Clocktower

Sights within immediate vicinity

City Hall

Logan Memorial

Penang Supreme Court

In Other Words ...

Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah is also known in Hokkien as Kuan'a Kak, meaning "Checkpoint Corner" or Koo Kuan'a Kak (Old Checkpoint Corner), and as Phak Kew Por or "Cricket (lit. playing ball) Field".