Simon Soon
Prisoners from Madras, Bengal and Bombay were transported to Penang from 1795 onwards, and they worked as much-needed construction labours. When Bengkulu was handed to the Dutch in 1824 upon the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, Penang, Singapore and Malacca began receiving all of its felons. The convicts from both India and Bengkulu played a contributing role in introducing the Muharram celebrations to Penang.
In this penal system, the prisoners acted as their own warders Prisoners cleared the jungle, filled in the marshes and surveyed the land. They built numerous roads outward from the grid and carved up properties for sale and taxation. Prisoners were stationed in commands or large stockades out i the provinces. The stockade, was used to protect prisoners from attack of wild animals.
Within the stockade, built in wattle-and-daub construction, was a dormitory, a cooking place and sheds for bullocks. An average of thirty prisoners lived in each command and were locked in at night by a 'convict warder'. A monthly roster brought them to the colonial jail at the town centre.
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