What is the origin of the name of Batu Ferringhi in Penang

How Malaysian are you #3?

When I first visited Penang, I stayed at one of the hotels on Batu Ferringhi and was quite curious as to how the place got the name.

Apparently, Ferringhi was originally a Malay term for the Portuguese people but was later used to refer to all Westerners. Batu refers to rock and according to what I read, it was probably the place where Westerners first landed and settled on Penang Island.

However, I have to mention that this is just one hypothesis and not confirmed.

What is the origin of the name 'Bukit Nanas'?

How Malaysian are you #4?

Most commentators on my FB page guessed correctly, Bukit Nanas is so named because it once had a lot of pineapples covering it.

It was once named as Bukit Gombak and historians think that it is one of the oldest settlements in Kuala Lumpur. There was once a fort on top of the hill and pineapples were planted to serve as natural defenses and the place came to be known as Bukit Nanas.

In 1872, during the Klang War or Selangor Civil War, the fort at Bukit Nanas was held by Tengku Kudin's forces including 500 soldiers, various mercenaries including Europeans and Chinese including the famous Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy. The pineapples did not help and after a seige by Raja Mahadi and his Mandailing forces, the Bukit was captured. Yap Ah Loy managed to escape to Klang.
This war was quite significant in Malaysian history because, it lead to direct British involvement in the affairs of the Malay states.

Convent Bukit Nanas established in 1899 and it's brother institution,St John's Institution, established in 1904, are among the oldest schools in Malaysia.

The Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve was gazetted in 1906, but its size has shrunk from 17.5ha to 9.3ha.

What is the oldest recorded Kingdom in the Malaysian peninsula?

This is the 2nd quiz question I ran on my Facebook page. A few got it right.

Well the answer is Langkasuka which covered Kedah and parts of Patani (now in Thailand).

Historians believe the kingdom to have been founded around 1-2 AD. That's about 1400 years before the Malacca Sultanate.

Records of Langkasuka was found in the Book of Liang (Liáng Shū) compiled by a Yao Silian from the Chinese Liang Dynasty (502-557).

Archologists also refer to Kedah Tua to a civilization that existed in Kedah, which may be related to Langkasuka. Besides the famous ruins in the Bujang Valley, archeologists are now slowly uncovering relics from this ancient civilizations including ships and other amazing stuff.

However, not much is known about this civilization. In fact, not many Malaysians know that the Bujang Valley complex was declared as the home of the oldest civilization in South-East Asia.

Name the only Malaysian state which was once ruled by a Queen?

Many of my Malaysian friends are quite surprised when they find out that I know so many obscure fact about Malaysia even though I was not born here. So I thought it would be a great idea to share what I know about this beautiful country by asking you a Quiz about Malaysia regularly. This was my first quiz on my Facebook page.

The answer is Kelantan. It was the only place in Malaysia to ever have a Queen as a ruler - Cik Siti Wan Kembang. Here is a pic.
Also, Kelantan is the only place in Malaysia where the King was killed by his wife in anger. Puteri Saadong who was the adopted daughter of Cik Siti Wan Kembang, killed her husband Raja Abdullah with her hair pin, for not keeping his promise.

Sorry, I do not have a higher resolution image. Please let me know if have one.