Penang Penang

Over a dozen million pages mentioning "Penang" according to Google Search!
(and about a third for the Malay version of the island or northern state in Malaysia - "Pulau Pinang"):

There's just gotta be an easier way to follow everything Penang... And thanks to various RSS feeds and scripts that can be embedded into sites like blogger today, we're going to attempt to follow things "Penang Penang" here -- noticed the double "Penang" as that would only return under a million pages by Google Search, supposedly the pages that really focus on talking about Penang. After all, Malaysians are so used to uttering repeats of several words like "come, come", "hey hey", "go, go lah" etc., as influenced by pluralism in Malay language - eg. "mari-mari", "dua-dua" etc.

To start, let's see what definitions we have for "Penang" or "Pulau Pinang":-

BRITANNICA:

Island (pop., 2005 est.: 1,468,800), Malaysia. It lies in the Strait of Malacca off the northwestern coast of West (Peninsular) Malaysia, part of the state of Pulau Pinang. The capital and chief port is George Town (pop., 2000: 180,573), in the northeast. British colonization began in 1786. In 1826 Penang (known until 1867 as Prince of Wales Island) combined with Malacca and Singapore to form the Straits Settlements. From the mid-19th century it was a market for tin and rubber. In 1948 it became part of the Federation of Malaya, later Malaysia. In the late 20th century it became one of Malaysia's prime tourist centres, with resort hotels mainly on the northern coast at Batu Feringgi.

COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA:

Penang (pənăng') , state (1991 pop. 1,065,075), c.400 sq mi (1,040 sq km), Malaysia, on the Strait of Malacca. It consists of Pulau Pinang (an island of 108 sq mi/280 sq km), formerly known as Georgetown; and Province Wellesley (292 sq mi/756 sq km), a strip of territory on the Malay Peninsula adjacent to Pulau Pinang. On the island is the capital, the city of Pinang, also known as Georgetown (1991 pop. 219,376); it is Malaysia's second-busiest port. It was founded in 1786 by British merchants and was ruled by Great Britain until it became part of what is now Malaysia in 1957. The island has large tin-smelting works, and large areas are devoted to rice and rubber. Well over half the inhabitants of the state are Chinese. Indians are less numerous; less than a third are Malays. Pinang Island was the first British settlement on the Malay Peninsula. It was occupied in 1786 by Francis Light of the British East India Company with the permission of the sultan of Kedah. After an unsuccessful attempt to retake the island (1791), the sultan agreed on a settlement from the British of an annual stipend, and in 1800 he also ceded Province Wellesley. Pinang, together with Province Wellesley, Malacca, and Singapore, became known as the Straits Settlements. Under the British, Pinang grew rapidly in commercial importance, although it was surpassed by Singapore. Pinang joined the Federation of Malaya (see Malaysia) in 1948.

WIKIPEDIA:

Penang (pronounced /pə'næŋ/; Malay: Pulau Pinang), is the name of an island in the Straits of Malacca, and also of one of the states of Malaysia, located on the north-west coast of peninsular Malaysia. Penang is the second smallest state in Malaysia after Perlis, and the eighth most populous. A resident of Penang is colloquially known as a Penangite.

... More in English or Malay

PENANG in NUMBERS:

• Area: 1,046.3 km²
• Population: 1,518,000 (2008 estimate)
• Population Density: 1,450.81/km²
• 40 State DUN seats (urban/rural areas)
• 13 Parliamentary seats
• 2 municipal councils: MPPP & MPSP
• 5 districts capitals:
  

1. Balik Pulau (BD),
2. George Town (TL/Tanjong),
3. Kepala Batas (SPU),
4. Bukit Mertajam (SPT),
5. Sungai Jawi (SPS/Nibong Tebal)

• ~40 towns, 7 of which has a population of more than 100,000 each:

1. George Town (300K),
2. Bukit Mertajam (231K),
3. Sungai Ara (156K),
4. Gelugor (155K),
5. Bayan Lepas (141K),
6. Ayer Itam (122K),
7. Butterworth (110K).

• 8 islands (not including the almost-attached-to-mainland Batu Kawan aka "Pulau Cassia"):

1. Pulau Aman
2. Pulau Betong
3. Pulau Gedung
4. Pulau Jerejak
5. Pulau Kendi
6. Pulau Pinang
7. Pulau Rimau
8. Pulau Tikus