DATO’ JANNATON:
Before the arrival of Captain Francis Light in 1786, the Island was already
inhabited by the Malays who originated from Eastern and Western Sumatera.
Areas such as Batu Uban, Jelutong and Dato’Keramat were the early
residential areas of the Malays. In the early 1700, Dato’ Jannaton and his younger brother Dato’Setia arrived from Pagar Ruyung, the administration capital of the Minangkabau Kingdom in Western Sumatera. They sailed along with 180 followers to the mainland state of Kedah where they acquired the permission of the Sultan of Kedah to reside on the Island of Penang.
Dato’Jannaton and his followers made their settlement at Batu Uban and the adjacent areas of Gelugor and what is today the Minden Heights. Dato’Jannaton died in 1789 and was buried alongside his brother Dato’ Setia and a few of his followers at a grave site close to Taman Sentosa located near Minden Heights and the Universiti Sains Malaysia.