Penang Monthly

Penang Monthly, by Penang Institute, is the voice of Penang, offering insights on its people, politics, economy, culture, and society, with a focus on local and national issues for curious Malaysians.

835 posts

Muslim Mercantile Activities in George Town Before The Second World War

9 min read

BUSINESS AND TRADING ACTIVITIES were not foreign to the Malays at the time when Francis Light occupied Penang on August 11, 1786; various bazaars were opened by...

by Penang Monthly

Freedom of Political Speech and Social Responsibility in Malaysia

3 min read

THE CORE IDEA OF freedom of speech is the freedom to express and communicate ideas and thoughts without fear of the consequences. In political contexts, such...

by Penang Monthly

Reading The Numbers: The Bank Negara Report 2010

9 min read

THE BANK NEGARA REPORT on the economic performance of the nation in 2010 was released in March 2011. To date, SERI is the only Malaysian institution that analys...

by Penang Monthly

Sao Lim Comes to Penang

5 min read

Sek Koh Sum.MANY PENANGITES GREW UP WITH some connection to some martial art. But few realise that there are more than 50 Chinese martial arts schools to...

by Penang Monthly

Reversing The Brain Drain Requires A Paradigm Shift

5 min read

WHEN THE WORLD BANK LAUNCHED its Malaysian Economic Monitor’s “Brain Drain” issue, I received a hurried call from a friend. His contact, the c...

by Penang Monthly

Penang As A Knowledge Hub

4 min read

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT industrial clusters enhance the competitive advantage of states or regions. Clustering of related industries reduces transaction costs,...

by Penang Monthly

George Town Festival 2011 schedule

4 min read

ARTHOME COMING: PENANG LALALILATAMPONG UNITES9–15 JUL15, QUEEN STREET, 10200 GEORGE TOWN PENANGTICKETING: FREEThis is a home-calling...

by Penang Monthly

The State Should Repaint All Low Cost Flats

4 min read

IT IS WELCOMING NEWS indeed that the Penang state government will be paying 80% of the cost of repainting low cost and low-medium cost flats. The remaining 20%...

by Penang Monthly

Predicting Economic Turning Points

4 min read

I DO NOT KNOW about you, but I would like the economy to be just good; stable and rising steadily. But in reality we know that this is not the case.We know al...

by Penang Monthly

Sarawak Election Diary

9 min read

I jumped on the bandwagon of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) campaign in Sibu, as I believe in change for good, for the country; as much as I would like to be...

by Penang Monthly

No Easy Answer to Environmental Sustainability

5 min read

FREAK WEATHER PATTERNS, environmental disasters and climate-modelling predictions – these are constant reminders of the global urgency to address climate...

by Penang Monthly

Challenges for Malaysia’s Economy

11 min read

THE TOP MANAGMENT in leading industries in Penang has been getting more and more worried over the last few years. Some of the most important prerequisites for c...

by Penang Monthly