1MDB trial: MACC never asked Najib of 1MDB subsidiary owned by Jho Low's associate that transferred US$30m to his account, court toldGEORGE TOWN, April 28 — More than 220 years ago, Armenian traders and merchants landed in Penang, creating a trading link between India, Singapore and Penang.
The remains of 20 Armenian merchants, including six from the Anthony family, were buried in a combined plot at the Western Road Cemetery but due to years of neglect, the grave site is overgrown with vegetation and the headstones covered in mould. The Kohar Ensemble, a symphony and orchestra in Armenia, contacted Penang-based historian Marcus Langdon and he became the co-ordinator for the restoration efforts.
Vartabedian said the grave site was in bad condition again after more than four years since they started restoration works, with most of the wordings on the headstones faded away. The church was consecrated in 1824 but a portion of it collapsed in February 1909 before it was eventually demolished in the same year.
Most notably, three generations of the Anthony family are buried there. This includes the patriarch Arratoon Anthony, his wife Vartkhatoon Anthony, son Anthony Arratoon Anthony and grandchildren, Sophia, Hyrapiet and Alexander. Anthony, Satoor and Johannes set up businesses of their own in Penang between the 1860s and 1870s but Anthony outshone his brothers when he set up A.A. Anthony & Co in 1840 as an importer and exporter.