When someone utters the word Penang, everyone images it to be an island. While this is part true, Penang state has two parts to it – the island and mainland.
*Penang has two cities: Butterworth (on the mainland) and Georgetown (on the island). More than half the Penangites would refer to Georgetown or Penang Island as ‘Penang’ and mainland as Butterworth. So it can get rather confusing as when you mention you live on the island they would go, ‘Oh you live in Penang’ or they would say ‘I’m going to Penang this weekend’, even though they too live in Penang but not on the island.