Royal Malaysia Police Museum

Between the Islamic Arts Museum and the Planetarium is the surprisingly interesting Royal Malaysia Police Museum. Inside you can see police uniforms and vehicles, a collection of old swords, cannons and kris, plus some sinister-looking handmade guns and knives seized from members of Malaysia's shady 'secret societies', responsible for most of the organised crime in Malaysia.

These forerunners to the modern-day Triads accumulated vast fortunes from smuggling and racketeering, carrying out robberies and assassinations, stage-managing strikes and riots, and pushing forward the political agenda of the Hokkien and Hakka communities. Their reach extended across Malaya and Singapore. During the 1860s, Penang faced all-out war between the Hai San and Gheen Hin gangs over the Perak Mines, triggering a massive crackdown on gang membership by the colonial police. The power of the secret societies waned as the Malay community took control of Malaysian politics.