(FMT) – As a debate over an annual honorarium rages, a heritage expert has given a brief outline of Penang’s history since Kedah leased it to the British in 1786.

Clement Liang, a council member of Penang Heritage Trust, said Kedah had no territorial right over the island when it agreed to the lease because it was Thailand, then known as Siam, that had sovereignty over it.

Kedah leased it without the Siamese king’s knowledge, he said.

Thai history textbooks and the national museum in Bangkok show that Penang island, or Koh Mak, was the first territory that Siam lost to a western power.

Liang said Saiburi, as Kedah was known then, was in subsequent years raided frequently by the Siamese force for its disobedience. In 1821, a war known as Perang Bisik saw Kuala Kedah destroyed and thousands of Kedahans escaping to Province Wellesley for safety and resettlement.

Siam, not Kedah, lost Penang to the British, says expert