關於十九世紀檳榔嶼華人社會的幫權政治發展，一般都直接以「閩幫」和「廣幫」的兩幫互動論述作為解釋架構。不過，這樣的劃分尚有進一步商榷的空間。因為對當地錯綜複雜的方言群社會而言，若只以「閩幫」和「廣幫」的互動來說明其幫權政治的運作，並不能全面點出當地幫權結構的特色與影響。因為上述兩幫的劃分標準，對閩南和廣府以外的方言群所扮演角色的重要性，不無忽略之嫌，所以對於兩幫的互動和對立的解釋架構，有必要藉機再作一番檢討。就本研究所得，檳榔嶼華人社會的幫權政治運作，是一個以五大姓為主導且操閩南語系的「閩南幫」，和另一個由廣府、客家、潮州及海南四大方言群所聯合組成的「幫聯」相抗衡及合作。至於「幫聯」組織的特色，就是一個跨省籍和跨方言群的聯合陣線。

The interpretative structure of the development of Pang Politics in the 19th Century Chinese Community of Penang is normally dominated by the discourse on the Pang-interaction between the “Min Pang 閩幫” (Hokkien Pang) and “Guang Pang 廣幫” (Cantonese Pang). However, such simple dichotomy is inherently disputable. It is because when delving into the complex and entwined network of the dialect groups of the local society, the interaction between “Min Pang” and “Guang Pang” was insufficient to illustrate the uniqueness and influence of the power structure of Pang Politics. The above dichotomy tends to ignore the important roles played by the other dialect groups apart from the Hokkien and Cantonese dialect groups. As such, it is essential to further review the interpretative structure for the interaction as well as antagonism between the two Pangs. This study has shown that the operation of the Pang Politics of the Chinese Community is the erratic rivalry and collaboration between, on one front, the Hokkien-speaking “Min Nan Pang 閩南幫” dominated by five big clans, and on the other front, the “Pang Lian 幫聯” (Pang Alliance) formed by four large dialect groups of Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew and Hainan. The distinctiveness of the “Pang Lian” is that it was an inter-clan and inter-dialect group alliance.