A Crane Without Bite
3 min read
I’ve always thought of musicals as the club sandwich of the performing arts world. Sure, a bacon sandwich tastes pretty good on its own, but throw in anot...
November 2025
This November, Penang Monthly explores language, place and memory. As GTLF returns, we highlight Penang’s multilingual streets and the dialects that keep local history alive.
Back to the Future of Traffic Planning
6 min read
When one thinks of Penang today, a few things come to mind: the best food in the world, living heritage, multiculturalism, the hills, the beaches, CAT governanc...
Luang Prabang Possesses a Charm that Outshines Excessive Tourism
5 min read
I checked into the Villa Maly, a lovely boutique hotel a short walking distance away from the centre of town. This establishment shows perfectly why Unesco deci...
Sailing The Seas around Penang
4 min read
Pen Marine was formed in 1988 to promote leisure boating in Malaysia, as well as to provide storage for boats. Oh Kean Shen and his partner, Pheh Hoe Huat (who...
A Special Economic Zone for Sumatra
4 min read
Penang Institute was recently invited to the National Conference on North Sumatra’s Government-Industry Coalition, held in light of the region’s cur...
Letting SMEs Grow Penang
4 min read
SMEs or small and medium enterprises are defined differently in different countries. In Malaysia, they are defined according to sales turnover and employment....
Change of Mayor Too High-Handed to Ignore
5 min read
The issue of federalism and the need for decentralisation of government control emerged yet again during the recent Selangor fiasco of its MBPJ mayor’s...
The MPSP Budget: Another Surplus Year
6 min read
A year ago, I wrote in this magazine that a budget is a moral document. It is not just an announcement of the latest goodies. It reflects the priorities of the...
George Town Literary Festival II
5 min read
What's new this year and what can audiences look forward too? We noticed that there are a number of returnin...
Why Not go for the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize?
5 min read
George Town is now 226 years old, and of course, it has gone through its share of trials and tribulations. The question is, is it a better city in which to stay...
Budget 2013: PUSHING THE LIMIT
12 min read
In Malaysia’s final national budget before the impending 13th General Election, the federal government is pushing its fiscal limits, aiming to satisfy i...
Penang news
3 min read
Airport to see growth in passenger trafficPenang International Airport is expecting to see passenger traffic grow by four to five per cent in 2012, due to s...
Explore column