Masjid Titi Papan
Masjid Titi Papan (GPS: 5.41723, 100.32966), or the Titi Papan Friday Mosque, is a small mosque along Burmah Road, at the junction of Khoo Sian Ewe Road. This mosque dates back to 1893, and is significant for being the point where the Prangin Canal used to reach. The canal, which is only visible for part of the way near Prangin Road, once connected to another canal that was later placed by Transfer Road. The mosque itself got its name from a plank bridge across the canal.
Transfer Road was created in 1867, and was so named to commemorate the "transfer" of administration of Penang from India to Singapore, under the Straits Settlements. Masjid Titi Papan used to be the community mosque for the Peranakan Jawis (Muslims of Indian and Malay parentage) that lived in a settlement around it in the mid 19th century. This community has long since disappeared, although further down Jalan Transfer, the Tamil Muslim community around Dato Koya Shrine still exists.
Address
Masjid Jamek Titi Papan2E Burmah Road
10050 George Town, Penang
History of Masjid Titi Papan
According to Sejarah Masjid & Keramat di Pulau Pinang, Masjid Titi Papan was built in the mid-19th century on a piece of swamp land. It was founded by Haji Mohamed Gumbong, a diamond worker. After collecting funds from the local Muslim community, he built a wooden mosque with his own money for worship facilities. The mosque land covers an area of 5,375 square feet and is recorded under grant no. 2633 in 1841 (1 May 1841) and in town lot 114 Town Subdivision XV.
According to Sejarah Masjid & Keramat di Pulau Pinang, this mosque was included under the Mohamedan and Hindu Endowments Board. It was used for 10 years. Then, a religious scholar known as Che Mahomed, a clerk working with Datuk Wahab in Ipoh, Perak, became the patron of the mosque. He contributed $2,800 to build a structure that was slightly more solid than the existing one. A general goods merchant named Saiboo Merican also contributed $700. These contributions were used to purchase building materials that many people used to buy an old mosque. This mosque was also known as Masjid Titi Papan because it was located in a swampy area and near a bridge. This is why the Titi Papan mosque was built by the local community. After seeing this mosque function as a gathering place for the Muslim community, residents later called this mosque Masjid Titi Papan.
On 26 October 1893, Haji Mohamed Gumbong made a declaration about the ownership of the land for the mosque (tapak masjid). On 4 November 1893, he started waqf for the mosque land and mosque to be used for the benefit of Islam forever. He also appointed two trustees, namely Zachariah Bee and Mohamad Hashim bin Fakir. In 1901, Zahirah (widow of the deceased Haji Mahomed Gumbong) appointed Haji Pacheco bin Shaikh Ebrahim, Mohamad bin Mohamad Taib and Abbas bin Haji Mohamad as permanent trustees for the waqf. In 1904, a dispute arose between Saiboo Merican and Haji Mahomed Gumbong regarding the power and rights over the mosque. Haji Mahomed Gumbong hoped that this mosque would last forever, so he had to ensure that the mosque would be managed by Saiboo Merican, who was known to be a generous person and had contributed significantly to the construction of Masjid Batu.
In 1986, Yusof Latiff was appointed as the mosque manager under the Sultan of Oman and Yusof Abdullah. Various efforts to reactivate mosque activities in this mosque have been implemented, including submitting an application to the Jabatan Agama Islam Pulau Pinang (JAIPP) to hold Friday prayers. However, the request was rejected on the grounds that there were many mosques nearby that conducted Friday prayers. In 1991, another Jamek mosque was built in Kampung Baru, namely Masjid Ali bin Kassim. All requests were forwarded to JAIPP for mosque worship but were rejected again. However, on 16 October 1991, the application was approved.
The mosque applied to add a room for women to worship in 2001, especially for Friday prayers. The application to build the additional structure was approved on 6 October 2001, but it was closed after a year to make way for road construction. Funds for building the prayer room were donated by the Penang Department of Works.
Updates on Masjid Titi Papan
14 August, 2014: Utusan Online reports that the Penang State Government is planning to make Masjid Titi Papan a mosque of the Chinese Muslim community. It will be the first mosque in the state that will be administered by the Chinese Muslim community, said Datuk Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim, the Chairman of the State Religion, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. The mosque will be renovated to incorporate Chinese Muslim elements in its architecture, to reflect Chinese, Indian and Malay culture. If you visit it since January 2019, you will see the word mosque (清真寺) in Chinese calligraphy in front.Masjid Titi Papan is 
on Map of Burmah Road, Penang
Masjid Titi Papan (8 August 2006)
Masjid Titi Papan, Penang (29 September 2012)
Masjid Titi Papan (30 November 2008)
Page Details
This page was created on 2 October 2025.Want to share your Penang travel experiences or get tips from fellow travellers?
Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook GroupUseful guides for visiting Penang
