Sam Poh Footprint Temple
Batu Maung, Penang

Tokong Jejak Kaki Sam Poh

The Sam Poh Footprint Temple is a small, recently-built temple close to the water's edge at the small fishing village of Batu Maung, on the southeast tip of Penang Island. The temple, which grew out of a shrine over the water's edge, was built to venerate a "footprint" in the rock. The footprint is believed by devotees to have been that of Sam Poh, the local name for Admiral Zhenghe, the Muslim eunuch that travelled here from the 15th century on behalf of the Chinese emperor.

For many years, the footprint was neglected, save for an altar and a few joss sticks. Recently however, a new temple was built over it. The footprint measures 0.85 meters - a colossal 33 inches. There were indeed historical accounts that Cheng Ho was a giant of a man.

While the local Chinese community believe the footprint belongs to Sam Poh, local Indians believed that it was that of Hanuman, the monkey god, who left it in Batu Maung when he was leaping over the Indian Ocean. Local Malays however believed that the footprint belonged to Gedembai, a giant that was feared by the local people. It was just one of four Gedembai footprints in Penang, the other ones are behind the Kampung Mesjid in Bayan Lepas, another at Pulau Aman, and one more at Pulau Jerejak. It is believed that six hundred years ago, Admiral Cheng Ho left the port at Suzhou and set sail for the Nanyang (southern seas) and discover the world in a mighty flotilla of giant ships. Unlike Western powers, the Chinese did not intend to colonise but rather to ensure the various principalities paid tribute to the Chinese emperor and acknowledge his sovereignty over the lands. Cheng Ho made several voyages between 1405 and 1433, and there is great likelihood that Parameswara met him when he stopped at Malacca, as is documented in the History of Malacca in AsiaExplorers.

The Sam Poh Footprint Temple was built over the original altar around 1993-1994 at a cost of RM300,000. It is just one of many temples in Malaysia attributed to the legendery Muslim eunich from China. Other Sam Poh temples include the Poh San Teng Temple in Malacca which I believe has been erroneously attributed to Admiral Cheng Ho, and the Sam Poh Tong Cave Temple in Ipoh, and the Sam Poh Temple in Cameron Highlands.

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