That changed in 1786, when the Sultan of Kedah granted company representative Francis Light rights to the island of Penang and the strip of mainland coast opposite Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai) as a counterweight to the pressing demands of the neighboring Thais and Burmese.
In 1786 Francis Light decided it would be right to give the Sultan of Kedah rights to an Island and a strip of mainland coast.