Royal couple in Penang
> Prince Charles, Camilla visit places of worship on multi-religious island
GEORGE TOWN: Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, began their maiden visit to Penang by visiting places of worship in George Town, a Unesco World Heritage site.
The British royal couple were on a one-day visit to Penang, which was originally named “Prince of Wales Island”. Their first stop was St George’s Church, the oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia built in 1818.
They were greeted by Bishop Charles Samuel before they spent some time admiring the church’s new pipe organ inside the church which was declared a national heritage in 2007.
Prince Charles and Camilla were presented with an oil painting in conjunction with the church’s bicentenary celebration before they proceeded to visit the Kapitan Keling Mosque which was only 1km away.
Built in 1801 by Penang’s first Indian Muslim settlers, the mosque located at the junction of Lebuh Buckingham and Lebuh Pitt, is one of the largest on the island.
Earlier, hundreds of people from all walks of life holding the Jalur Gemilang and Union Jack, had gathered along the streets under tight security to catch a glimpse of the British royals, and some were lucky enough to get a handshake.
At the mosque, the royal couple were greeted by its chairman, Datuk Meera Mydin Mastan, who later accompanied them to participate in a tree planting event to commemorate their visit.
They then signed the guest book before leaving on foot to the Han Jiang Ancestral Temple, about 100m away.
Han Jiang Ancestral Temple, or previously known as Teochew Kongsi, in Chulia Street was built in 1890 by Teochew migrants from Chaozhou prefecture, on the eastern part of Guangdong province in China.
The prince and duchess spent about 15 minutes enjoying the lion dance troupe at the temple before they strolled across the street to the Sri Mahamariamman Temple on Queen Street.
Sri Mahamariamman is the oldest Hindu temple in George Town. Built in 1833, it was extensively renovated in 1933 with a prominent dome and entrance tower.
The two proceeded to the Seven Terraces, a contiguous row of Anglo-Chinese terrace houses located just behind the Goddess of Mercy Temple in Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling.
Their visit to Malaysia is part of a tour of Singapore, Malaysia and India. – Bernama