Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng - Penang Monthly (Page 17)

Literary Festivals – More Momentous Than You May Imagine

3 min read

Now when Penang is holding its George Town Literary Festival again, let me ponder over what I think is one of the most important things that have failed to develop properly in post-colonial Malaysia, namely our mastery of language.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Penang as entry point for visitors to Malaysia

3 min read

Tourism has been vital to Penang for decades, but a competent history of it has yet to be written to give due credit to the key actors involved, to describe t...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Speaking of Pulau Tikus...

3 min read

Pulau Tikus. The name always sounded exotic to the ears of a boy growing up in the general area of Ayer Itam (yes, not Air Itam), Reservoir Gardens and Rifle...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

The UAE passes an anti-discriminatory law worth importing

3 min read

I was in Abu Dhabi recently for the first time. The UAE is a strange land; its citizens make up only 15% of the whole population. The rest are foreigners of o...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

An Intercontinental Trip A Year Keeps the Psychiatrist Away

2 min read

Not long ago, messages had to be written on physical media to arrive only after being carried across oceans and mountains. Now, with the Internet and the smart phone, we receive endless news and personal texts as if time and space do not matter.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Noses Don’t Grow Back

3 min read

It is very sad that the state of Penang is being ignored in the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020). None of the infrastructure projects the Penang government presented for financial support has been accepted by the federal government.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Penang Monthly goes free in June

3 min read

Spread the good news!Penang Monthly will be a free magazine from June 2015 onwards. Next month, you will be able to pick up a copy at selected locations thr...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Let’s be cosmopolitan and leave multi-ethnicity behind

2 min read

It is fascinating how seemingly innocuous words actually are not. Especially those that sound neutral, even ethically positive. That is why the sage never think...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Towards substantive democracy

2 min read

Democracy is a big word, and like all big words it is given to controversy and misuse.Since the magazine’s cover story this month and in April will be...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

To Excel is to Stay Curious

3 min read

How often have we not woken up at 3am in the morning with a novel solution to pressing questions that we could not solve while awake? Interlinking, integrating, interlacing… that seems to be how the brain works, or at least when we let it work.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Education is not only for building a common identity

2 min read

Education is a key issue in nation building; in no other country has it been more evident than in Malaysia where so much contestation since the 1950s has been...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Proficient Multilingualism is the future

2 min read

Let’s get serious about global communication.In the Age of Nationalism, which is what we continue to live in, we tend to forget that communication bet...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng