Masjid Jamek Batu Uban

Masjid Jamek Batu Uban (13 May 2012)


Masjid Jamek Batu Uban (GPS: 5.35041, 100.30917) is said to be the oldest mosque in Penang. It was built in 1734, pre-dating the establishment of George Town in 1786 by Captain Francis Light. The mosque began as a surau, or prayer hall, erected by Haji Mohammed Saleh, popularly known as Nakhoda Intan Nam Tunku Patis Batang, a Muslim leader from Buadi Village in Paya Kumbu, Sumatra.

Haji Mohammed Saleh and his followers arrived in Penang, which was then still densely covered in jungle, and established a settlement by the coast. It was named Batu Uban, meaning "grey hair rock", after a sea boulder with some dried grass clinging onto it, which seemed to resemble white hair. The boulder is said to be somewhere in the sea between Penang Island and Pulau Jerejak.

Over time, the surau was eventually replaced by a mosque for the Malay settlement, or kampung, that was established in Batu Uban. They lived mostly as fishermen, largely undisturbed by the opening of Penang Island as a British trading port.

Masjid Jamek Batu Uban (22 September 2009)


There are claims that Batu Uban was a transit point for Muslim traders and missionaries from India, Pakistan and the Middle East, but this has not been fully verified, and even if it were to have taken place, would have comprised an insignificant number compared to the amount of Muslim trade that took place through George Town following the latter's establishment.

The descendents of the original Sumatran settlers continue to live in Batu Uban, where they depend on fishing as their livelihood. Until recently (2009), some have their sampans docked along the coastal expressway at Sungai Gelugor. With the land reclamation (for the Light Waterfront), the fishermen have been relocated.

In terms of aesthetics, there is nothing outstanding of Masjid Jamek Batu Uban. However, the architectural style of the pyramidal roof is similar to mosques in Malacca, such as Masjid Kampung Hulu, which derived its design from Sumatra.

Signboard showing year the mosque was established (22 September 2009)

Video of Batu Uban

Nearby Sights

Getting there

From George Town, take Rapid Penang Bus No. 301, 303 and 304 to Batu Uban. From Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, enter Jalan Batu Uban, with E-Park on your left, and Sunny Ville and N-Park on your right. Turn left just before E-Park, and continue down the road until you reach the mosque at the end of the road.

If you are driving along the Bayan Lepas Expressway towards Penang Bridge, you can see the mosque immediately after the turning in to N-Park.

Masjid Jamek Batu Uban is on the Map of Batu Uban and on the Map of Gelugor, Penang

List of Mosques in Penang and Mosques in Malaysia

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap