Simon Soon
Gudang Aceh is one of the oldest buildings along Lebuh Pantai, having appeared in the 1803 map of George Town. With its thick walls and small windows, it was originally built as a jail. Therefore, it would've been an important site from which convicts introduced the Muharram celebrations to Penang.
Later, it became the office and godown for acehnese trader Tengku Syed Hussain. Aceh was producing more than half of the world's pepper in the early 19th century, and Penang became an important port for the distribution of pepper to the world market. Syed Hussain was connected to the Acehnese court and was backed by a contingent of Achenese chieftains to contend for the Acehnese throne. With the backing of the rebel chiefs, he was able to crown his own son, Syed Abdullah in 1813. The deposed Sultan Jahaur Al-Alam then sailed to Penang to sought redress from British Officials
Trade and political contestation therefore suggest a strong Acehnese cultural presence in Penang during the early years of the colony. Syed Hussain funded the construction of the Malay Mosque further up the street. An avenue through which the Muharram celebrations reached Penang was also through the Achenese ties. This is absent from prevailing scholarship that tended to attribute the introduction of the Muharram celebrations to the native infantries (Sepoys) and the convict labourers. In Aceh, the Muharram is known as 'bueleun Asan-Usen'. There are visual evidences that suggest some of the cultural features of Aceh's Muharram celebration informed the Penang's celebration.
The building is known in Malay as 'Rumah Tinggi' or amongst the Chinese as 'Koan-Lau-A (高樓仔). The value of the building was at one point valued at 6,000 Spanish Dollars. Much of Acheen street and its surroundings used to belong to Tengku Syed Hussain and his friends, and these premises were used for storing, processing and trading of pepper, betel-nut, rattan and rice. This section of Beach Street was also known by locals as Tuan Ilo-Sun Kay meaning, 'Tuan Hussain's Street'.
NOTES:
Khoo Su Nin. 1990. 'The Legacy of Tengku Syed Hussain' Pulau Pinang 2:2. 12.
