Penang’s cemetery tours spur interest in pioneers, colonial history

Tour guide Zul Harris, in a purple shirt, grey trousers, and a black flat cap, greeted seven tourists at the gate of one of Penang’s oldest burial grounds in George Town. The cemetery, with its narrow laterite path under old frangipani trees casting muted green light on weathered headstones, is drawing attention as a historical site with unique heritage features. As interest in Penang’s darker and lesser-known histories grows, such tours attract visitors beyond the typical appeal of food, shophouses, and architecture.