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It is common that the history of Pulau Pinang is often affiliated with the British as pioneers even among Malaysians, almost to the point of no return. This is despite the fact that there have been Malay groups of both local and regional origins who have made Pulau Pinang their homeland long before the coming of the British. Of the second group, Rawa people from West Sumatra are strangers neither to Pulau Pinang Island nor the mainland area that formed part of the northern state i.e. Seberang Perai. Adopting a content analysis approach via library research and qualitative methods, plus interviews involving the Rawa people of the state, the paper aims to highlight the often-dismissed fact that the Rawa people along with some other Sumatran migrant groups have contributed to the early development of Pulau Pinang. Only recently that several studies come to prove the existence of Malay settlements on the Island prior to its so-called foundation by a British explorer representing the British East India Company, Francis Light in 1786. This paper is to provide further proof in that direction as the early Malay settlers deserved acknowledgment for the contributions made and recognition for the legacies left behind. Apart from assessing various reasons for the Rawa migration and their early areas of settlements, more importantly, the paper demonstrates that the Rawa migrants throughout their long years of existence in the state have contributed to the socio-economic and political developments of Pulau Pinang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]