THE ISLAND

Pulau Jerejak gained its alias as The Alcatraz of Malaysia, because of the Jerejak Prison. Located towards the south eastern tip of Penang Main Island, this 362ha island is rich with history, flora and fauna.

This island, though not as famous compared to other islands in Malaysia, has had its fair share of auspicious historical events. Francis Light, founder of Penang was said to have arrived in Pulau Jerejak in early 1786 before heading on to Penang.

As a result of Francis Light's earlier ruling whereby immigrants were allowed to claim whatever land they could clear Penang became flooded with immigrants. As a precaution step these immigrants were sent to Jerejak's health inspection centre before they were deported to Penang.

Later in the late 1930's, the British Empire built a hospital that could house 150 Tuberculosis patients at a time. This was located at the eastern part of the island.