Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia

🇲🇾 ayan Lepas is a town within the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, near the south-eastern tip of Penang Island. Founded in the 19th century, Bayan Lepas is home to the Penang International Airport and an eponymous Free Industrial Zone, dubbed the Silicon Valley of the East due to its size. Various multinational electronic and engineering firms, including Bosch, Motorola, Dell, Intel and Hewlett-Packard, have set up factories and assembly plants within the town.

History Bayan Lepas was believed to have been named after a wealthy Sumatran family who founded the town in the late 19th century. Upon coming ashore, their parakeet escaped, and was given the name Bayan Lepas, which meant 'escaped parakeet' in Malay.

The "old town" Bayan Lepas is located at the intersection of Jalan Bayan Lepas and Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim, to the west of the Penang International Airport.

The British also built a fortification at nearby Batu Maung to defend Penang Island and the RAF Butterworth Air Base on the mainland against amphibious invasion. However, the fort was abandoned after the advancing Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

Until the 1970s, Bayan Lepas was a relatively rural village, with rice farming being the main economic activity. As a result, the town was nicknamed the "rice bowl" of Penang.

In 1972, the then Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Chong Eu, opened the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone to alleviate an economic crisis and rising unemployment that was in Penang.

Manufacturing Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone and Technoplex area is the centre of electric and electronics manufacturing. Due to the presence of multinational firms in Bayan Lepas, the town has received a lot of foreign direct investment (FDI). As of 2015, Penang had nearly RM4.5 billion foreign direct investment (FDI), the largest amount in Malaysia, with significant investments going to the manufacturing sector. In addition, the Free Industrial Zone has helped propel the manufacturing sector to become one of the contributors to Penang's economy, getting 44.6% of Penang's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016.

Service outsourcing In recent years, the Penang state government has allocated investments towards the development of the Bayan Baru township into a Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) hub. These investments include the construction of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)-status infrastructure, such as SUNTECH Tower and One Precinct. A number of multinational firms, including Celestica, Keyence and Zurich Insurance, have already set up business outsourcing centres within the area as well.

Agriculture The adjacent neighbourhood of Batu Maung is home to an active fisheries industry. It contains a deepwater fishing port, as well as the headquarters of WorldFish Center, an international, non-profit fisheries research organisation, and the Fisheries Research Institute of Malaysia's Fisheries Development Authority.

Air The Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas is one of the busiest airports in Malaysia and serves as the major airport within the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. Completed in 1935 when Penang was part of the British crown colony of the Straits Settlements, it is also the oldest civilian airport in the nation.

The airport's proximity to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone allows for the easy transportation of goods to and from the factories in Bayan Lepas. Furthermore, it connects Penang and the surrounding region with several major regional cities, including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh City and Doha.

Land Bayan Lepas is conveniently connected to the Malay Peninsula via the Second Penang Bridge, which links Batu Maung on Penang Island with Batu Kawan in Seberang Perai. In addition, Bayan Lepas is connected to Penang's capital city, George Town, to the north via the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, and to Balik Pulau via Federal Route 6. Jalan Bayan Lepas, the main thoroughfare within the town, also forms part of the latter road.

Rapid Penang bus routes 302, 308, 401 and 401E include stops within Bayan Lepas proper, while the Penang International Airport is served by routes 102, 306, 401, 401E and AT. These routes link Bayan Lepas to various destinations on Penang Island, including George Town and its suburbs, as well as Balik Pulau and Teluk Kumbar. Aside from these routes, Rapid Penang operates an additional three cross-strait shuttle bus routes - BEST A, BEST B and BEST C - between the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone and Seberang Perai on the mainland; the three routes mainly cater to industrial workers who reside on the mainland.

In 2017, LinkBike, a public bicycle sharing service based in George Town, launched its southernmost station at Queensbay Mall. This, along with the Summerton station nearby, provides bikers with an alternative mode of transportation between Bayan Lepas and the capital city.

Retail Queensbay Mall, the largest shopping mall by area in Penang, is located near Bayan Baru. With a gross built-up area of 2,500,000 sq ft (230,000 m2), the mall contains more than 400 shops, including international brands such as Borders, Gap and Harvey Norman, as well as a cinema and various other entertainment options. Smaller shopping centres and hypermarkets have also been built within Bayan Baru to cater for a relatively sizeable catchment area. • Sunshine Square • Giant Bayan Baru Hypermarket • D'Piazza Mall • One Precinct • Mayang Mall (to be redeveloped as GBS@Mayang).

**Tourist attractions

**The Snake Temple is said to be the only Chinese temple in the world to be inhabited by snakes. Built in the 1850s, it has attracted species of pit vipers, which are believed to be rendered harmless by the incense. The temple is also a focal point of the annual Chinese New Year celebrations, during which a flame-watching ceremony is held to predict the fortunes of the following 12 months.[0

The Penang War Museum is located at Batu Maung near the south-eastern tip of Penang Island. This former fort was converted into a museum in 2002 and features military installations, such as bunkers, tunnels and machine-gun emplacements, as built by the British Army in the 1930s.