Conversion of Rice Fields to Urban Use

The rice fields shown in the map have all been converted to urban use, mainly housing and roads. This discussion focuses on reasons for this conversion. The main reason was probably rising land prices resulting from proximity to Georgetown, the second largest city in the country. While large tracts on the western side of the island are part of Malay Reserve Land, constitutionally protected from transfer to non-Malays, land in Bayan Lepas is not so protected.

A secondary reason is indicated by the type of irrigation practiced in Bayan Lepas. This can be inferred from the topographic map together with what I refer to as the "Hound of the Baskervilles Hypothesis", from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mystery in which the dog did not bark. I questioned a former director of water supply for Penang (now retired) about the termination of water supply to the irrigation system at Bayan Lepas and redirection of the water for urban use. He said he had never heard of either action. This suggests that the transition from rice fields to urban uses was uneventful. The flow of irrigation water was not transfered to urban use because the irrigation system used did not depend upon water impounded in reservoirs. Inspection of the topographic map reveals no structures for water impoundment, but does show the symbol for a railway embankment along the coast where there has never been a railway. This appears to be co-option of a British map symbol to represent an embankment between the land and the coastal marshes.

The Irrigation System in 1969

The irrigation system in 1969 relied on natural flooding impounded by coastal embankments. The "drains" shown in the map were both supply channels and drains depending on whether or not control gates at the coast were open or closed. Overflow from the "drains" into secondary distribution channels supplied water for irrigation. (See photograph of drain.). At the appropriate time control gates would have been opened to allow water to drain from the land into the sea in preparation for harvest. A similar system was used on the west coast where disused control gates can still be seen. The irrigation system was easily convertible to an urban drainage system.

About 5,000 years ago, sea level was 2 to 3 meters higher than now. Low lying land was submerged under lagoons behind coastal ridges (Kamaludin, 1989 and map, Bosch,1989). The irrigation system that existed in 1969 may be seen as an attempt to simulate similar flooded conditions using an embankment and control gates near the mouth of the river.

Rice Farming

Rainfall at Bayan Lepas would have been sufficient for one rice crop late in the year. (See: Rainfall.). Rice farming in Bayan Lepas may have declined because it was no longer able to provide a satisfactory livelihood. Other employment, both in Penang and other states, would have appeared attractive. This is confirmed by the near-disappearance of rice farming on the western side of the island where there is little urban development. By contrast, in the Muda Authority area in Kedah State, two rice crops a year are grown using water from large reservoirs. While the land cannot be sold to non-Malays, many Malay families appear to prefer employment in urban centers, contracting out the fields to large-scale operators.

Urban Employment

By 2000, the population of Bayan Lepas had grown to 90,000, 27% higher than in 1991 compared with 20% for the state as a whole. Malays made up 53% of the population in Bayan Lepas compared with 39% for Penang State and only 22% for Georgetown, the state capital. (Sources: Statistical Handbook Malaysia; Census of Malaysia, 1970.) While detailed data were not available at the time of writing, the data cited above suggests that industrialization and urbanization enabled many Malay families to stay in Bayan Lepas finding jobs locally rather than having to move elsewhere in the state or to other states.

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