Beyond The Liveability Checklist: Views From The Social Sciences
4 min read
THIS ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS liveability in Penang, and an initial word of warning is in order. A particular kind of misleading…
Managing Success: Keeping Penang Liveable And Its People Satisfied
4 min read
WHAT DOES IT mean to be liveable? How should it be distinguished from satisfiability? Does it encourage us to think about what retirement looks like? And what will governance in Penang look like as a result? These are some of the questions that Penang Institute sets out to ask in this article.
Understanding Political Economy Through The Microcosmic Night Market
4 min read
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY encompassing the night market is strangely illuminative of human society. Why do I say that?
Now, one…
Reassessing Hobbies In The Age Of Social Media
4 min read
In this thought-provoking essay, Dato’ Dr. Ooi Kee Beng reflects on what hobbies reveal about modern life. Exploring ideas of identity, creativity, work and wellbeing, he argues that hobbies are more than pastimes—they are quiet acts of self-definition in an increasingly utilitarian world.
Migrants And The Mobility Of Their Economic Culture
3 min read
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN culture and economics is a fascinating one. Staying alive is much easier to do as a group…
Speaking of CHT… on Penang Seizing the Moment and Breaking from Industrial Silos
8 min read
AS USUAL, THIS column highlights an exciting personality from Penang, no
doubt because of what they have achieved, but more…
The Inclusive Ownership Of Penang And Its Paradoxes
3 min read
What makes a Penangite is not birthplace, but attachment. In this reflection on identity and belonging, Penang emerges as a place shaped by contradiction—provincial yet cosmopolitan, fragile yet resilient—held together by the people who care enough to claim it as their own.
Sustainability Is Good, But Not Enough; Let’s Aim For Satisfiability
3 min read
This article highlights the paradox of sustainable development: while necessary, unchecked global “development” risks ecological collapse. Ooi Kee Beng argues this calls for a deeper shift beyond sustainability towards “satisfiability,” focusing on sufficiency, ethics, and collective well-being.
Staying Sane By Acknowledging Our Rural Soul
3 min read
IN THE ENGLISH language, a “hamlet” or “colony” connotes a place of untainted being. Nature is close by, human warmth…
Acquiring A Pro-Active Life Should Make Active Ageing A Walk In The Park
3 min read
We celebrate active ageing as aspiration and policy goal. But the term hints that growing old means becoming passive. In truth, to age actively is to reclaim initiative—to nurture the inner capacity to act, choose and give meaning.
COSMOPOLISES: A Necessary Interpretation of The World of The Future
4 min read
COSMOPOLIS. That is an exciting word that is full of positive connotations. The original Greek expresses this idea by pairing…
Expanding Comfort Zones and Third Places
3 min read
If urban living means that I possess a little space to call home, feel safe in and control, then how much I feel at home in a city would depend very much on how much home-like access I have when out in public.