Sungai Pinang is a residential neighbourhood within the downtown core of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang.

[4] The Malay and Indian villages along the Pinang River date back to the 18th century, possibly predating Captain Francis Light's arrival on Penang Island in 1786.

The existence of Muslim and Hindu places of worship located adjacent to one another had in the past provoked racial and religious tensions.

In 1998, a minor religious clash broke out over the relocation of a Hindu temple at Kampung Rawa, where a Christian boy called R.Sasikumar was dating Indian-Muslim girl named Fina.

[6][7] What had begun as an altercation over the relatively trivial issue of the noise levels of the Hindu prayer bells turned deadly, leaving four fatalities.