Eight bountiful acres
4 min read
The way to 8 Acres was very fruitful, pun intended. In the car with friends and colleagues, we made a brief stop along the trunk road for some nangka. Each frui...
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.
Anuar Rashid is back... again... for now
6 min read
Malaysian Art’s prodigal son, Anuar Rashid, is back. Again, big time and with a vengeance, a new passion and the same kick-ass attitude. Behold his magnum...
Stateless in Sabah
4 min read
Any tourist walking along Kota Kinabalu’s famed waterfront will, sooner or later, encounter a tout waving a booklet for island tours and boat trips. He wi...
Taking education outside the school
6 min read
According to the World Bank, in 2010, 14% of our GDP per capita consisted of public spending on primary education. Singapore on the other hand recorded 11.2%...
Malaysia’s special role in the South China Sea
13 min read
Malaysia has a stake in the South China Sea dispute—and not just where territory is concerned. As ASEAN Chair next year, there are opportunities to take advantage of and complications to avoid.
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...
Making Penang a slave-free state
5 min read
Penang is not immune to human trafficking. Women, men and children from Penang have been and are being trafficked, and many more are hugely vulnerable to traffi...
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...
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...
An Afternoon at the Malaysian Tamil Barbershop
8 min read
Malaysian is often found in some evident but overlooked places, unseen for having been so obvious. A most authentic bit of Malaysian heritage – and reality – can be discovered in the Tamil barbershop.
A brewery of cultures
5 min read
Antarabangsa, one of Penang’s most popular bars, hasn’t got a pretty face. But don’t judge a book by its cover—this place is the crossroads where locals and foreign visitors come together in peace, and tipsiness.
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...
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