Our heritage, our story
Long before Butterworth grew into a town, Kampung Kota was the seat of a Kedah prince. In the early 1800s Tunku Sulaiman, brother of Sultan Abdullah of Kedah, ruled from here; a canal was dug through Kampung Terus to shorten the boat journey to the river port at Labuh Banting, and the royal tombs at Kampung Kota still mark the family’s place in the history of Penang’s mainland.
Kota Warisan Perai brings that history back to life. Five kampung along Sungai Perai (Kampung Kota, Kampung Terus, Kampung Labuh Banting, Kampung Pengkalan Machang and Kampung Air Hitam Dalam) now present themselves to visitors as one heritage and eco-tourism destination, run with and for the people who live there.
Three projects, one destination
- Telling the history (SPG188): research, archive work and oral-history interviews with residents produced two heritage interpretation panels, a documentary, a history brochure and the e-book Kota Perai dalam Sejarah Pulau Pinang (1786–1874), plus a plan for a future Kota Perai History Gallery.
- Building the destination (SPG236): nine tourism signs installed by the community, each with a QR code linking to stories on the new Kota Warisan Perai website. A community pre-launch in November 2025 brought together about 100 residents for heritage sharing, a river clean-up and tree planting, and the Chief Minister of Penang officially launched Kota Warisan Perai on 8 February 2026.
- Bringing in visitors (SPG266): PENBUMI, the Penang association of Bumiputera travel agents, produced the visitor guidebook and brochure, a promotional video, and a two-day familiarisation trip in July 2026 for 60 travel agents, students and tourism operators, with village tours, the canopy walk, traditional food demonstrations and kampung games.
What to see
- The Kedah royal tomb complex at Kampung Kota.
- The old canal at Kampung Terus and the historic river port at Labuh Banting.
- Kelulut (stingless bee) honey, traditional dodol and kampung games such as Cakplong and Senapang Bemban.
- The peat swamp forest, canopy walk and watch tower at Air Hitam Dalam.
- The fishermen’s jetty and agrotourism centre at Pengkalan Machang, and boat trips on Sungai Perai.
Download the guidebook, brochure and history e-book: Kota Warisan Perai guides and history.
Partners
Penang State Government, Majlis Bandaraya Seberang Perai (MBSP), PERDA, MOTAC Penang, Tourism Malaysia, the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Persatuan Kerabat Diraja Kedah, local village committees (MPKK) and community organisations, with students from USM, Penang Matriculation College and UMT.
