GEORGE TOWN, Jan 21 — The Penang state government has reassured residents along Jalan Pantai Bersih that it is not considering renaming the main road that fronts the beachfront in Butterworth.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state is not even deliberating on a name change for the main road.

“The committee is only deliberating on a proposal to rename a branch lane off the main road in front of the Thean Hock Keong Temple,” he said in a press conference at his office in Komtar.

He said the branch lane does not have its own name and has been using Jalan Pantai Bersih, which led to confusion over the issue of renaming the road.

Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said Sungai Puyu assemblyman Phee Syn Tze and the Thean Hock Keong Temple submitted the proposal in 2024 to rename the 280-metre lane as Dragon Temple Lane.

“We all know the main road as Jalan Pantai Bersih but their proposal was not for the main road, it was for the small lane that branches off the main road,” he said at the same press conference.

He said residents along the lane include the Thean Hock Keong Temple, Bagan Ajam Voluntary Firemen Association, a food court, an engineering company and a residential apartment.

He added that the proposal does not include the main road that stretches from the south at the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR) up to the north where it meets Jalan Gangsa.

“The proposal was for the small lane that branches off from the main road and it was also called Jalan Pantai Bersih,” he said.

Zairil said any proposal to change road names must go through two committees: the state technical committee on geographical names chaired by the state secretary, and the state road names committee.

He said after the technical committee considers the proposal, it will hand it over to the state road names committee for further consideration.

Zairil, who chairs the state road names committee, said there was no strong evidence that the name Dragon Temple Lane officially existed, but it was used traditionally.

He said people living there traditionally called it Dragon Temple Lane and there were documents referring to it by that name, but it was not recorded in any official government system.

“There is no final decision on this proposal to change the name of that lane as renaming a road is no easy matter,” he said.

He added that everyone living along the lane would need to change their identity cards if the road name is changed, so there is a need to engage and talk to residents.

He said even if the committee were to consider the proposal, it would be based on history and tradition, as the temple has been there since 1951.

Over the past week, some groups have issued statements opposing the proposal to rename Jalan Pantai Bersih, while one group has planned a peaceful demonstration at the road tomorrow.

Chow hoped that today’s explanation would make them realise that the committee is not considering changing the main road’s name.

“The application is only for the branch lane, not the main road,” he reiterated.