Relating Tales of Dislocated Culture
8 min read
AUTHOR SOUVANKHAM THAMMAVONGSA’S initially hesitant demeanour over Zoom belies the writing style of her debut short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife. Sh...
Euston Quah and the Virtues of Cost-Benefit Analysis
8 min read
OUR EDITOR WAS stuck in Singapore for a few weeks in 2021 during the pandemic, and took the chance to meet up with one of Penang’s many famous sons living in th...
What Are the Tropics If Not Naturally Diverse?
10 min read
DESCRIPTIONS OF NATURE in the tropics once employed expressions such as luxuriant, verdant or lush. As technical terminology became the vogue, our ability to im...
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Penang Continues to Punch Above Its Weight
9 min read
PENANG MONTHLY starts a new series, where we, once a year, talk to the Chief Minister of Penang. We met up with YAB Chow Kon Yeow after lunch on Saturday, 4 Mar...
Can We Be Playful About Sport?
3 min read
ALL SOCIALLY-INCLINED animals start life by crying for food. Beyond that, they seek safety and comfort. After that, the need to train their bodies for the futur...
Small Acts of Courage to Make the World a Better Place
5 min read
If he was not a household name before September 2, 2014, he should have become that after he, on that day, became the first academician in Malaysian history to be charged under the Sedition Act of 1948.
Why the Opposition has a Shot at Toppling the Barisan Nasional with Mahathir at the Helm
5 min read
Malaysia’s Parliament will be dissolved sometime during the first half of 2018. That is a legal certainty.The general election that is to follow within...
Mayor of the World
8 min read
Dato' Maimunah Mohd Sharif with the children of Mathare.On December 22, 2017, the mayor of Penang, Dato’ Maimunah Mohd Sharif, was appointed Executi...
Outraged Enough to Go Vote or Cynical Enough to Stay Home?
12 min read
So many bizarre and inconceivable things have happened in recent years to damage Malaysia’s international reputation and self-image that, for a mortified...
Listen Up, Malaysians! You Are Now Individually the Agents of Change
4 min read
One of the greatest challenges that faces a society coming out of a period of authoritarian rule and bad governance is the need to break away from looking to political initiatives and to politicians as the way to fix all national – and even individual – dilemmas.
Malaysia – Where politics must be ethnically inclusive and exclusive at the same time
5 min read
As truly as Malay dominance is an inescapable reality for Malaysia, a central policy direction that is ethnically inclusive is unavoidable for sufficient harmony to be achieved so that its economy can gain the trust of both domestic and international investors, and grow to its full potential.
Tun Lim Chong Eu: The Past Is Not Passé
4 min read
Tun Lim Chong Eu's reflections on history and politics show that, while we may be shaped by our past, we are not prisoners of it. Penang’s future hinges on learning from history to innovate and adapt.