Yap Jo-yee - Penang Monthly

Covid-19: Fiscal Challenges Await Most Governments

7 min read

COUNTRIES ARE LIKENING the Covid-19 pandemic to war and indeed, we are observing wartime spending levels across the globe. Malaysia’s RM260bil fiscal stim...

by Yap Jo-yee

Liveability in Numbers

5 min read

Income and Distribution Of the five districts in Penang, the southwest (BD), north Seberang Perai (SPU) and central Seberang Perai (SPT) districts experienced...

by Ng Kar Yong & Yap Jo-yee

Ng Kar Yong

Tourism in Numbers

3 min read

MALAYSIA’S TOP VISITING country is Singapore, followed by Indonesia, China and Thailand. In 2019 Malaysia received more than 10 million tourists from the...

by Yap Jo-yee

Tourism Development is Now Everyone’s Business – and Responsibility

8 min read

To restore visitors’ confidence, hygiene and sanitation have been catapulted to the top of the to-do list for many countries, and more iron-clad preventive measures have been introduced to guard against unwanted outbreaks. Malaysia is no exception.

by Pan Yi Chieh & Esther Ping Dominic & Lim Sok Swan & Yap Jo-yee

Covid-19 Complicates Retirement Plans

7 min read

THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL crisis of 2008 had a brief negative impact – through asset values and inflation – on retirement savings, but luckily in Malay...

by Yap Jo-yee

A Rocky Road to Economic Recovery

7 min read

DISCUSSIONS AT THE Penang Economic Outlook 2021 webinar organised by Penang Institute on January 27, 2021 made it clear that industrialists and think tankers ar...

by Yap Jo-yee

STEM Education: Quo Vadis, Malaysia?

6 min read

STEM EDUCATION REMAINS an enigma to policymakers, even after decades of research. Since economic growth today hinges on technological development, and the latte...

by Yap Jo-yee

Pets in Numbers

4 min read

The ancient practice of having animals as part of a human community, even if not as pets in the modern sense, is at least 15,000 years old. It started with the breeding and domesticating of wild wolves...

by Yap Jo-yee & Ng Kar Yong

Ng Kar Yong

P. Ramlee: A Penang superstar

7 min read

The Penang air was hot and dusty, and the corrugated iron roof of his house was no help. Seeking relief from boredom and the heat, a skinny boy zipped down the...

by Yap Jo-yee

Exporting Grey Matter: What is the Brain Drain Costing Us?

15 min read

Can there really be any benefits to the persistent brain drain out of Malaysia? The numbers seem to say so. But knowledge and skills are intangible commodities that are the basis of innovation – commodities that we are rapidly losing as more and more high-skilled Malaysians emigrate.

by Dr. Lim Kim-Hwa & Yap Jo-yee

Bitcoin – Currency With A Future or Just A Fad?

8 min read

Bitcoin is attracting people from all walks of life, from small entrepreneurs to global investors. But what is it really? And perhaps the most important question of all – is it reliable?

by Yap Jo-yee & Dheepan Ratha Krishnan

Heritage Kept Right

8 min read

When it comes to heritage conservation, strictly maintaining an old building’s infrastructure is not enough. One must ensure that the essence, or the unseen heritage, remains preserved.

by Julia Tan & Yap Jo-yee