GEORGE TOWN, Nov 24 — In George Town, Penang stands one of its oldest architecture structures — the Jubilee Clock Tower, also known as the Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower.
The tower, has managed to stand bad weather and World War II bombings.
It was designed by local millionaire Cheah Chen Eok to commemorate the queen's diamond jubilee.
The tower was built in 1897 and completed by 1902 at a cost of about 35,000 Straits Dollars.
The clock’s mechanism was made by Gillet & Johnston, a Bell and Clock maker based in Croydon, England.
Some of the tower’s stained glass that were destroyed due to strong winds or thunderstorms have been replaced with plastic ones.
There was also a period where not many knew how to operate and maintain the clock’s mechanism.
However, for the last 30 years, Ahmad Fuzil Hussainsa, who works for the city council, has been credited as the caretaker of the clock tower.
He is in charge of maintaining the clock and its structure.
The analogue mechanism has to be manually reset everyday and the heavy pendulum works as an “engine” to move the mechanism.
The movement of the clock needs to be checked twice a day — in the morning and night.
