The Batu Maung Atlas

Batu Maung sits at the south-eastern tip of Penang Island. It is still a working coast. LKIM runs a fisheries complex here, the national Fisheries Research Institute has its headquarters here, and so does WorldFish, the international research centre.

On the hill above, a 1930s British fort has been the Penang War Museum since 2002. On the headland, the Sam Poh Footprint Temple is built around a mark in the rock that devotees attribute to Admiral Zheng He. Across the channel lies Pulau Jerejak — a leprosy settlement from 1871, a prison from 1969 to 1993, and largely forest today.

Southbay is the planned township on the coastal side of Batu Maung, begun by Mah Sing in 2009, with Southbay Plaza beside it. M Amaya is its newest address.

The Second Penang Bridge runs 24 km from Batu Kawan on the mainland to Batu Maung, 16.9 km of it over water. It opened in March 2014 and is still the longest bridge in Malaysia.

What it means day to day is choice. The rest of the peninsula starts at Southbay's doorstep, without the drive up the island to the first bridge. The toll is charged one way only — on the way onto the island, at the Batu Kawan plaza — so leaving by the bridge costs nothing.

The trade-off is the one every bridge landing brings: traffic heading for the crossing at the peaks. Kevin will tell you what the approach is like at the hours you would actually drive.

It is widely recorded as Malaysia's first free trade zone. The companies that came in the early 1970s — Intel, AMD, Hewlett-Packard, National Semiconductor, Hitachi, Clarion and Bosch among them — are why Penang became the centre of Malaysia's electronics industry, and why so much of the island's workforce lives in the south.

The story is still moving. Penang drew RM22.4 billion of approved manufacturing investment in 2025, 17% of Malaysia's total, and exported RM574 billion of goods — about 36% of the country's.

For you, that is proximity, stated as distance: the zone is 900 m away and the airport 7.3 km, which matters to anyone whose work involves regional travel. It is not a rent, a yield or a resale figure. Nobody has evidence for those, so this site doesn't publish them.

The Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway runs 17.84 km up the east coast from the Batu Maung junction to George Town, past the Penang Bridge interchange; the developer describes its access from Southbay as direct. The Second Bridge landing is 900 m away, and the airport 7.3 km.

The Mutiara Line is the change coming. About 29.7 km from Silicon Island to Komtar, with a sea link to Penang Sentral, its nearest station to Batu Maung is Permatang Damar Laut (S02), 4.6 km from Southbay. Ground was broken in January 2025, the line was 8.99% built as at June 2026, and opening is targeted for December 2031.

Until then there is the bus — Rapid Penang's route 302 runs to Weld Quay in George Town — and the developer's stated plan for a shuttle van to the LRT station, Queensbay Mall and the airport, which is a future service, not one you can use today.

The short errand is easy: Southbay Plaza is next door. The weekly shop is a drive — Giant Bayan Baru at 6.5 km, Queensbay Mall at 8.0 km. The nearest hospital is Pantai Hospital Penang at 6.3 km.

Schools run from SJK(C) Wen Khai at 2.1 km to the international options between 7.8 and 11.6 km, with Universiti Sains Malaysia at 10.1 km.

Distances are the developer's. Drive times depend on the hour — tell Kevin yours and he'll give you real ones.

Silicon Island is the largest of the three. Reclamation of a new island off Permatang Damar Laut began in September 2023; the state reported about 133.5 ha reclaimed as at March 2026, with Phase One — 513.95 ha — targeted for 2031. A 380 m marine viaduct is due to open to the public by December 2028, and the Mutiara Line's main depot is planned on the island.

It is also contested. Fishing communities and NGOs challenged the planning approval; the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal in June 2026, as filed out of time. A buyer should know both sides.

M Amaya's own completion is targeted for 2030. The sale and purchase agreement carries the binding date.

M Amaya is 833 freehold serviced apartments by Vienna View Development, a Mah Sing subsidiary, over a facilities deck of 41 items on Level 8. Five layouts run from 721 to 1,432 sq ft.

Types A and B are 632 of the 833 homes, which is why most decisions start there.