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Batu Kawan is a small town in Penang, Malaysia. It is situated in Seberang Perai, which is on the mainland. One of the ends of the future Penang Second Bridge is in Batu Kawan. The Batu Kawan Stadium (Penang's state stadium) is also located there.

Since Batu Kawan was chosen by the government as the site on the mainland for the second Pe- nang bridge, its development and progress have come under intense scrutiny.

But many people may not know that this tiny island has many historical gems, taking one back to the days of the British colonial masters.

Batu Kawan had sugar-cane, coconut and rubber plantations in the 1800s and was among the oldest towns in Penang.

The Batu Musang jetty was once used by tongkang (junks) transporting quarry stones from nearby hills to the island to build George Town.

Locals in Batu Kawan would have heard about Tangga Seribu (a thousand steps) which charted a path up Bukit Batu Kawan but few outsiders have knowledge about it. The steps continued to the top of the hill and down the other side, ending at the beach near Batu Musang jetty.

The steps were believed to have been built by a rich quarry owner about 200 years ago. On top of the hill, which is 776ft-high, there once sat a village and the steps were built to enable the villagers to come down to work. Forest vegetation and soil had covered up most of the steps. Only left were some stone structures to indicate that someone had tried making a pathway up the hill.

There also used to be a waterfall from the top of the hill but since rubber trees were planted 30 years ago, the waterfall had dried up.

The short strip of beach at Batu Kawan was once popularly known as the Club beach. It was due to the presence of a clubhouse in the olden days that was frequented by the Europeans who worked and lived on this island. They would go to the club to dance and dine at night.

But recently, the locals have been referring to it as Batu Musang beach. The clubhouse is no longer there and the only structure evident near this secluded beach is the newly built Batu Musang jetty.

Around the kampung (village), there are several age-old bullock-powered stone grinders that were used in the past to crush sugar cane to extract the juice. Though the stone grinders were missing, the granite base of the contraptions was still intact.

• Tiny island of historical gems, The Star, December 12, 2006.

	Penang
Districts: North East Penang Island | South West Penang Island | North Seberang Perai | Central Seberang Perai | South Seberang Perai
City: George Town (capital)
Towns: Air Itam | Bagan Ajam | Balik Pulau | Batu Ferringhi | Batu Kawan | Batu Maung | Bayan Lepas | Bukit Mertajam | Butterworth | Ceruk Tok Kun | Gelugor | Jawi | Jelutong | Juru | Kepala Batas | Nibong Tebal | Pantai Aceh | Permatang Pauh | Perai | Seberang Jaya | Sungai Ara | Sungai Bakap | Sungai Dua | Tanjung Bungah | Tanjung Tokong | Teluk Bahang | Val d'Or
Islands: Pulau Aman | Pulau Betong | Pulau Gedung | Pulau Jerejak | Pulau Kendi | Pulau Rimau | Pulau Tikus

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