Sungai Jawi

Sungai Jawi is one of the biggest districts in South Seberang Prai, Penang. Named after the river, or ‘Sungai’ in Malay that runs through the area and located northeast of Nibong Tebal, it is one of the less hectic and quaint town in Penang. The area was found after World War II, when British authorities set up villages to prevent the rural folks from providing supplies to the Communist. By grouping villagers together, the British were able to monitor food rationing and closer surveillance on flow of medicines, vehicles and food.

Now, the population of Sungai Jawi are close to 35,000 people with over 90% of its residents are Chinese followed by Indian and Malay. A centre of commerce and transportation hub, Sungai Jawi is popular with the Penangites for its delicious food stalls, especially the famous ‘Assam Laksa’. The main economy source for Sungai Jawi used to be agriculture based. However, over the years light industries were introduced such as farming and the manufacturing industry. There is a substantial part of the population that travels to work at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park. Most of the old village houses have been replaced with modern commercial terrace shops.

 

Amenities and Facilities

The closest medical facility to Sungai Jawi is Hospital Sungai Bakap. It is considered a major hospital in Penang, serving patients within the larger Seberang Prai Selatan area.  For household and daily food needs the Econsave supermarket is located at the centre of the town. The Bukit Jawi Golf Resort is one of the main attraction is Sungai Jawi, offering two different golf courses. The resort also has a clubhouse with various facilities such as a restaurant/bar, swimming pool and whirlpool. Within the clubhouse there is the Jawi Restaurant which serves various Chinese cuisine. Events such as weddings and conferences are also being held at the hall in Bukit Jawi Golf Resort. There are several public and vernacular schools in the area such as SJK(C) Kampung Jawi and SMK Jawi.

 

Accessibility and Transportation

There is a direct exit to Sungai Jawi from the PLUS highway via the Jawi exit. Federal roads also offers accessibility to the town and its distance to Butterworth is approximately 30 kilometres. The town is also only 5km away from the Penang-Kedah border. The Rapid Penang Bus 802 passes by the town en route to Nibong Tebal from Bukit Mertajam.