Bidan Island is a small island off the coast of Yan, Kedah, Malaysia. Located 17 nautical miles north from Penang, the island was used by Australian Defence force personnel and families from Butterworth/Penang as a holiday retreat for a week or two in the 1970s and 1980s, with little to no contact with the outside world, except by two-way radio. Access w…Bidan Island is a small island off the coast of Yan, Kedah, Malaysia. Located 17 nautical miles north from Penang, the island was used by Australian Defence force personnel and families from Butterworth/Penang as a holiday retreat for a week or two in the 1970s and 1980s, with little to no contact with the outside world, except by two-way radio. Access was generally via boat from Penang Island.