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.

824 posts

URGENTLY NEEDED: Reform of Malaysia’s regime police

6 min read

Nine years have passed since the release of the landmark 2005 Dzaiddin Royal Commission Report and its 125 recommendations for police reforms, including the f...

by Penang Monthly

No nuclear power please, we are Malaysians

8 min read

At a recent event organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), a speech by Datuk Mah Siew Keong, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Depa...

by Penang Monthly

Garbage City of Cairo

6 min read

“Garbage City” in the Mokattam hills outside Cairo is not on the tourist map. A cramped slum of rubbish-strewn streets and low rise buildings, it is...

by Penang Monthly

An afternoon at the Malaysian Tamil barbershop

8 min read

Schedule interviews with Malaysian MPs?No, we obviously can't bother them on a Sunday.Plan for the English camp we're organising for secondary school students...

by Penang Monthly

Local government in Malaysia: Types, functions, organisation, members and budget

4 min read

Figure 1: Types of local government in MalaysiaSource: Ministry of Housing and Local Government, 2014.The local government or local authority, or &ldq...

by Penang Monthly

Who says you can’t make videos in Penang?

4 min read

Entering the premises of local production house RisingOneMedia, I half-expected high-tech cameras lying scattered on the floor and an important creative discuss...

by Penang Monthly

A festival that is small, and therefore big

4 min read

As a holiday destination, Pangkor Island isn’t as well-known as Malaysia’s other islands in the north and east. And as a heritage and cultural site,...

by Penang Monthly

Christine Das: Stroking animals to life

6 min read

They say that, like the proverbial spinning wheel, nobody can reinvent art. I believe it’s true because, today, very few works of art manage to surprise m...

by Penang Monthly

Kyogen : An awesome tradition seeking a future

6 min read

At a time when traditional performances – be they wayang kulit, Hokkien puppet theatre or bharatanatyam – cling to the fringes of our society as TVs...

by Penang Monthly

A personal experience at GTF

5 min read

No politics this time. Let me talk instead about my experience participating in this year’s George Town Festival (GTF) as an actor in the play 2 Houses, w...

by Penang Monthly

Indonesian responses to the IS challenge

8 min read

In the last six months, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS) militants took over a number of local mosques and preached for Indonesians to join the growing rank...

by Penang Monthly

Malaysian bank giants merging?

5 min read

The proposed merger between CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, RHB Capital Bhd and Malaysian Building Society Bhd – which has yet to be approved by regulatory autho...

by Penang Monthly