Lorong Toh Aka

Toh Aka Lane, also written Tok Aka Lane, is a narrow lane with much character within the core zone of George Town’s Unesco World Heritage Site. The lane has three arms forming the letter “T” – one arm leads out to Beach Street, another to Malay Street while another ends at the back gate of the Acheen Street Mosque.  Carnarvon Lane also ends at Toh Aka Lane.

Toh Aka Lane is said to have been named after a Chinese person whom the Malays called “Tok Aka“, or Grandpa Ah Ka. The profession along Toh Aka Lane during the early days was ironwork, and its inhabitants are mostly Cheah clansmen of the Cheah Kongsi. For that reason, Toh Aka Lane is often known among the Hokkiens as Phak Cheek Kay, or Ironworks Street.

The proximity of Toh Aka Lane to Acheen Street Mosque means that it once served the Malay settlement on its western side, which has since shrunk in size, as George Town of the 20th century evolved to be more homogenously Chinese.