June 2026

Discover Penang Monthly’s June issue: explore the stories behind Penang’s enduring heritage brands, the richness of its multilingual and multicultural heritage, innovative local businesses, community-led initiatives, and the challenges shaping the state’s future. From family enterprises and semiconductor pioneers to traditional food, festivals, education, and environmental sustainability, this issue celebrates Penang’s resilience, identity, and capacity for renewal.

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A publication of Penang Institute, Penang Monthly is the voice of Penang - an inspiring read for the curious Malaysian, featuring stories about the people, ideas, and issues shaping the state's well-being. Sign up for a free account to enjoy unlimited access to all our articles.

Bahasa Indonesia championed by Chinese

6 min read

Literature is the window into the collective psyche of a society. It is the medium that conveys a society’s identity and aspiration at different points in time and is a snapshot of a particular era.

by Altaf Deviyati

Housing maintenance in Penang

8 min read

A well-managed and maintained housing development can enhance quality of life and wellbeing, promote neighbourliness and strengthen community ties. Poorly maint...

by Penang Monthly

The Newsagent on China Street

3 min read

Syed Ibramsha is a very happy and friendly newsagent. His stall is based at the TNB box where China Street meets Beach Street. He is a working-day fixture selling newspapers, magazines, cigarettes and sweets off his small metal pushcart stall.

by Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson

Bridging the arts between Malaysia and Singapore

6 min read

City of artGeorge Town never rests. Well into its golden years, it would seem as if this quaint remnant of British Colonia is experiencing its second youth, a...

by Penang Monthly

The Men with Shaved Legs

7 min read

What’s it like cycling through one of the toughest stages of the Tour de France? The Grimpeurs decided to find out, and in the process, raise money for cancer charities in the UK. Penangite and support crew Bram Tan was there, and fills us in on how it went.

by Bram Tan

Asian Financial Crisis Act II?

5 min read

In the mid-1990s, the Renminbi and Yen devalued while rising US interest rates led to a strong US dollar. These, together with the withdrawal of capital from As...

by Penang Monthly

English is vital to Vision 2020

5 min read

In Malaysia today, people are feeling more divided than ever before – by race, religion, political leanings, location, class… and proficiency in En...

by Penang Monthly

Time for a second federation in Malaysia?

13 min read

Syngman Rhee at a welcoming ceremony in Seoul, Korea, October 1945.Queen Elizabeth II.Malaysians tend to have a very rigid notion of nat...

by Penang Monthly

Reviving a state of mind that can save our urban legacy

5 min read

One Sunday morning, I got up at the break of dawn to head into the heart of old KL with my parents. I had been hearing about a volunteer group called Rakan KL...

by Penang Monthly

Constraints on artistic expression multiply

5 min read

Ng Sek San's Malaysian Spring installation "terkongkong" (constricted) inside a room.The latest blow to strike Malaysia’s art scene was the banning...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Making tourism lasting

4 min read

Prof Badaruddin Mohamed remembers a time when few people were interested in the phenomenon of tourism, or at least tourism research.“In 1990, the numb...

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

The Future Must Be Green

5 min read

The bird catchers came on Sunday, three men smoking cigarettes and talking in loud voices. They settled in the tiny padang beside my garden. “Catching bir...

by Penang Monthly

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