History of Penang | Wikipedia audio article
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Date: 2018-11-21

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
History of Penang

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SUMMARY
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The State of Penang, one of the most developed and urbanised Malaysian states, is located at the nation's northwest coast along the Malacca Strait. Unlike most Malaysian states, the history of modern Penang was shaped by British colonialism, beginning with the acquisition of Penang Island from the Sultanate of Kedah by the British East India Company in 1786. Developed into a free port, the city state was subsequently governed as part of the Straits Settlements, together with Singapore and Malacca; the state capital, George Town, briefly became the capital of this political entity between 1826 and 1832. By the end of the 19th century, George Town prospered and became one of the major entrepôts in Southeast Asia.
During World War II, Penang was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945. At the end of the war, Penang was also the first state in the Malay Peninsula to be liberated by the British, under Operation Jurist. The Straits Settlements was dissolved in the following year and Penang was merged into the Federation of Malaya. In spite of a secessionist movement within Penang, the merger with Malaya went ahead and the federation attained independence from the British Empire in 1957. Malaya later evolved into the present-day Malaysia in 1963.
Following the revocation of George Town's free port status in the 1960s, the state suffered economic decline and massive unemployment. The state government at the time led a push to reorient the economy towards hi-tech manufacturing, successfully recovering Penang's economy and lending the state its moniker the 'Silicon Valley of the East'. Growing recognition of George Town as a bustling tourist destination, particularly since the city's inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, also boosted the state's services sector, and today, both the manufacturing and services sectors are the two strongest economic pillars of Penang. Moreover, the state enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates and Gini coefficients within Malaysia, as well as the second highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita within the country after Kuala Lumpur.