Simon Soon
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Acheen Street Malay Mosque was built in 1808 by Tunku Sayiid Hussain Al-Aidid, a wealthy spice trader of Arab descent who was from the Aceh royal family. An agreement between Francis Light and Tunku Sayyid Hussain made on 27 November 1791 granted Tunku Sayyid some measure of autonomy over his people and the right to conduct business in tin ore freely in the country. This suggests that Tunku Sayyid and his followers were the first settlers of this area.
The architecture is classical, a combination of Moorish and Chinese architecture.
NOTES:
Hand Book of the Mohamedan and Hindu Endowments Board, Penang (1932),
Historical Survey of the Mosques and Kramats on Penang Islands (1974)
