Not too far from the Northam Road cemetery in Georgetown Penang is the site of the former Shih Chung Branch school.

I had driven past this location a few times previously when using different taxi services and was always intrigued by the appearance of this derelict and dilapidated building. What was the history of that site? What function had it served? What experiences may have played out there? What stories might be told of this location?

Surrounded by high-rise buildings and situated in the middle of seemingly vacant land (that was, in parts though, being used as a parking lot) the sight of this decaying shell of a school building served as a focal point in the midst of that environment.

The eye couldn’t help but be drawn in to its presence.

The remnants of its architecture and external walls were visually captivating (as was the sight of nature making progress in its reclamation of the structure with various plants and trees sprouting from inside different areas of the structure). The faded paintwork, exposed brickwork, damaged window arches, missing sections of the building and overall worn, weathered and broken appearance was, in a strange and inexplicable way, quite enchanting to see - even if only from a distance and whilst passing in traffic.

I promised myself that I would make time to visit this location, to see it up close, before I left Penang.

A few days later I got to do just that and I was not disappointed by the experience. Despite being surrounded by a 6 foot high steel barricade that prevents entry to the building (for obvious safety reasons - as the structure looks like it could collapse in many parts at any moment) the remnants of the school were impressive to see - particularly the extent of the dilapidation and decay that had taken place (and was, of course, continuing to manifest).

I would have loved to have been able to enter into the shell of the building and see that from the inside. I imagine the remnants of the building’s interior would have been equally as visually captivating (and who knows what ‘treasures’ - visual or otherwise - may have been yielded by time spent wandering inside there…although the possibility of ticks and fleas being present isn’t too inviting to contemplate).

Sadly an interior visit just wasn’t possible - and would have been foolhardy to attempt (even without the presence of the barricade) as the roof, and some of the upper walls, had clearly collapsed in parts.

A brief history

According to what I have managed to glean from various online sources the site was originally built in the 1880’s by a wealthy Penang Hokkien businessman Cheah Tek Soon and his brother to serve as their family residence. Over the years the building would, apparently serve as the Chinese Consulate (from around 1908 - 1910), a hotel (allegedly changing names on a frequent basis between 1910 - 1915), a girls’ primary school (apparently between 1915 - 1920) and an English school before being used as the Shih Chung Branch school from 1938 until 1994 (with the exception of the war years seeing the building occupied first by the British, then the Japanese before finally being reclaimed for use as the Shih Chung Branch school in 1950).

Since 1994 the building has been left abandoned and subsequently exposed to the elements. This is kind of sad to see as it would be interesting were some investors to come forward and help restore that landmark to its once former glory. Given its prominence in local history surely there’s a good case for that?

Haunted Penang

I came to learn, unsurprisingly, that the building has many ghost stories associated with its history - particularly during the Japanese occupation of then British Malaya during WW2.

It’s alleged that the Japanese used the basement of the school building to house prisoners and the stories surrounding their treatment - which are reminiscent of those with Semarang’s Lawang Sewu - are anything but positive.

Similar stories concerning suicides and a fire that took place within the building also exist but I cannot confirm any of these. I think it’s fairly common for such locations to have similar stories associated with their existence (whether said stories happen to be true or not).