For Equality

The Logan Memorial is a monument erected in memory of James Richardson Logan. James Logan was a champion of the rights of the non-Europeans in Penang. He came to Penang with his elder brother Abraham and began a law practise. In an age where the rights of the non-whites were often suppressed, he skillfully fought in a case of an Indian sireh planter against the East India Company.

The Logan brothers studied law in Edinburgh - James was a classmate of Forbes Scott Brown, whose father David Brown, who is remembered with the Brown Memorial. The Logans moved to Singapore to practise law in 1842, but James returned to Penang in 1853. He wrote Language and Ethnology of the Indian Archipelago, a book that created greater appreciation of the peoples and culture of the Malay archipelago.

When the authorities attempted to suppress the activities of the Chinese clans, labelling them secret societies, it was James Logan who helped the Chinese merchants in submitting petitions. This resulted in greater rights and recognition for their organisations and festivals

The death of James Logan in 1869 was regarded as a huge public calamity. The public of the Straits Settlement pooled a fund to erect a memorial in his honour, the Logan Memorial. The memorial stood on the grounds of the Supreme Court, in memory of his deed for the people. It was briefly moved during World War II, but returned to its located in front of the Supreme Court building, until 2007, when it was moved to a new permanent location across the street, following the renovation and expansion of the Supreme Court building