July of 1828 Travels through Penang, Malaya. Dear Papa, It is I your daughter, Marie Elizabeth Currie writing to you, miles away in a new country. Papa I cannot tell you how happy I am that you have allowed me to travel with Father Richard, It is truly wonderful that this trip has allowed me to spread the word of God alongside Father Richard and his many missionaries. This experience has opened my eyes to a whole new world, a world that is completely different from our home in London, England. Papa I am currently in Penang, Malaya, a small city. I wish to tell you about my travels here, as you know the last time you saw me I had just left London’s port, we sailed all down to the bottom of the Union of South Africa and made a stop in Cape town where we waited for 3 days and later sailed off again. The next stop we made was in Madagascar to recheck the ship and load it with goods and food, with our last stop being in Penang, papa 180 days, close to 6 months is the time I spent aboard this ship, it was such a horrid journey, I did not know that this journey would be so tedious. I shall stop complaining now, and focus on the good I am to do here, spread the word of God. Papa I did not notice at first but as the days went by and as I write this letter I notice how there are many British businessman and people here. I now know how sheltered I was back home, It is truly eye opening to see how simple people live and how different the lives of Malays are compared to the upper class back in London. Penang is a small island off Malaya, there is a colony here established by Britain called George Town. It is so busy here, with so many workers in the fields, in the mines, and in the homes of the wealthy British. After being here for close to a year I see how much power Britain holds over the land and its people. Penang is a multi-racial community. I have seen boats full of Indian people and Chinese people disembark and be put to work. I have been told by a fellow named Paul who works for the British East India Company, he has told me that the Chinese are put to work in modern sectors and in the mining areas of tin, the Indians are put to work as labour and live in the estates of the British, while Malayas own people work in the traditional farming sector. I have asked him if the Malays are happy with foreign people coming into their country and taking over jobs, he has told me they do not mind but I am not sure that is the truth. The reason I am not sure is that I have lived amongst Malays and have talked to them and I have seen with my own eyes the true of what is happening here in Penang. I have seen how the foreigners from China and India have impacted the city. People are being socially identified by their race, it is shocking to see how they are being racially separated, it has caused social divide and disrupted racial relations and institutionalized racial ideology. I think the racial divide was brought by the British who have separated the different jobs by the race the people belong to. Even with this divide there has been profound changes, a lot of transformation has occurred socially, economically, and politically. I know there are divides between the different races but I have seen that British rule has helped Malaya socially. The British have constructed a transportation infrastructure like railways and road networks that connect the tin fields to the coast. There has been improved public health facilities which has helped reduce some of the tropical diseases and the government has established Malay and Christian schools which is where I spend much of my day, helping Father Richard in the Christian schools. The education system has improved from before, there is an english education system with opportunities for the children to pursue tertiary education. There has been a lot of infrastructure developments like the construction of roads and railways, land administration, a proper court system and formal education system, socially Malays have benefited from British rule. There is a strong influence that you might not be aware of, an influence on the politics, it is almost like Britain has taken hold of Malaya and shaped it to its ideals. I have talked to Malays and they have told me that the power of their kings has been lost since British control took over, British rule has taken control of the politics of Penang with the king having power in only the matters of Islam and Malay customs. Politically Britain has apparent influence on all the political decisions of Malaya, what do you think papa should I belief that Malays have no say in their government.? Paul has told me that since he arrived he has seen much economic prosperity, with the rubber estates and the oil palm estates and the tin mines, it has improved the economy of the Malays. He told me there has been accelerated development that can only bring positive changes to Penang with all the technology that has been introduced. He is right in saying there has been accelerated development but I am not sure the workers are the ones who are benefiting, I have a feeling that the ones making the most money are the British and I know you have told me before not to mind the business of men, that I am a woman and I should only worry about looking pretty but papa I do not think everything that is happening is fair. The reason I say this is because I met a man, his name is Zikri, Zikri works in the oil palm plantations, he was born in Penang. He has told me that his life is different, the peace he used to live with has been taken away from him. He said that they are told what work they have to do compared to before when all they did was keep small agricultural crops and lived off those, by either selling them or eating them, now they have to work in the oil palm estates. He says it is hard work compared to what he was used to. I asked him what he thought about the new infrastructures, he said he does like them but not the christian schools because he does not want his kids to convert to Christianity, his faith lies in Islam, so do his childrens and he does not want that to be tainted. Zikri has also told me his family has benefited from the small hospitals that have been built, his small daughter was sick and without the medication she would not of survived. Personally papa I do not know how to feel, if I even should feel anything about the control of Britain over Malaya, please tell me what you think. I do know one thing that I know where we get the resources for the new factories that make all of the goods we get. During my time here I have seen the natural resources of Malaya be taken with no limits. Those resources I have been told are being sent to Britain as the colonies serve as a supply of raw materials for the goods being produced for the British consumers. I now know the impact we as consumers, someone like me, who buys goods back in London like no tomorrow, has on the colonies, whether good or bad. Papa, is this where you are getting your resources? from colonies like Malaya for your cotton factory? I never stopped to think about those things, you have always sheltered me but I am starting to see now. I saw how you shifted from agricultural to manufacturing production very quickly. I have heard of injustices that the Malay people face in their work, are you just with your workers? Is what I heard from people back in London true, that they live in bad conditions and that the work in the factories is hard and unjust. Are the ghettos in London so horrible that 8-10 people have to share one room, papa I do not know what to think anymore I wish I was back in London not having to worry about feeble things like this. I wish I was back in my sheltered home, Even though people here still have to work hard, they are in the open air with their freedom intact unlike in London where the streets are dirty and they do not work in the open space. They do not live in ghettos, they live in their humble but clean homes. I know from what I have seen that Britain does have a strong hold over Penang and I would not doubt over the rest of Malaya. There has been profound changes affecting the estates, socially, politically and economically. There are improved facilities, improved government and improved education systems. All things that benefit the Malays, although there is a clear divide between the races, but from what I am seeing papa the workers are much better off here in Malaya than back home. They are given better facilities than the ones the workers back in England have, I belief that so far Britain is having a positive impact on Malaya, will it continue to be so?, I do not know. I hope you are doing well papa and I hope to hear back from you soon, I also hope you are able to bring answers to my troubles. May your health be well as well as those of my brothers. I send all my regards from Penang, Malaya. All my love, Marie Elizabeth Currie.