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.

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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.

Shelter For Those Who Seek Their Way Back

5 min read

From 2000 to 2008, as many as 126,000 cases of drug abuse were reported in Malaysia. Each year brings approximately 14,000 new cases. These drug abusers tend to be young – over 71% of them range from 25 to 29 years old.

by Teo Sue Ann

Making Movies of the People, by the People and for the People

10 min read

With the great changes happening in electronic applications and networks, most things are, by definition, going through a transition. This is true for the film industry as well.

by Julia Tan

Here, There and Everywhere with Thomas Powell

6 min read

How did English artist Thomas Powell's art end up half a world away from home, and what makes him so “Charles Dickens-y”? Penang Monthly catches up with the talented artist.

by Emilia Ismail

How old are Malaysians?

5 min read

While many of us are concerned about death and old age, survivability in old age might be a more pressing matter, economically. Here are the numbers on Malaysia...

by Penang Monthly

Capitalising on Innovation

4 min read

Mainstream innovation experts suggest that technological innovation in the R&D sector employing human capital and existing knowledge stock exerts a positive impact on per capita output in both emerging and advanced economies.

by P. S. Yeoh

P. S. Yeoh

The Financial State of Malaysian States

9 min read

Which states are the richest, which are the poorest and, perhaps more interestingly, how do states make their buck? Penang Monthly examines the source of monies for the states of Malaysia, with special attention on Sabah and Sarawak.

by Our Oil Economist

Our Oil Economist

Is Malaysia Becoming A Welfare State?

7 min read

With cash payments to the poorer classes becoming standard policy in Malaysia, questions have been raised as to the efficacy of such measures. How do they help the needy, and how is the political economy affected?

by Gerald Wu

Gerald Wu

Local Elections as the Foundation of Democracy Part I: The Athi Nahappan Report Revisited

8 min read

It is not an exaggeration to say that we always have local governments. In the most traditional form of government in Malaysia, there were local chieftains governing sub-regional units such as “daerah” and smaller ones such as “kampung”.

by Steven Sim & Koay Su-Lyn

Malaysian artists join one of Singapore’s many shows

7 min read

Becoming the region’s art hub takes decades of conscious effort, as was obvious at the fifth edition of Art Stage Singapore.

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Malaysian Skinheads Against Racism

6 min read

Why would a bunch of KL kids who listen to Western Neo-Nazi bands such as Angry Aryan, but clearly aren’t Aryan themselves, adopt a worldview that specifically discriminates against their own race?

by Marco Ferrarese

Managing Longevity Risk: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

5 min read

Individuals and governments should look harder into managing longevity risk; it is a related but different problem to ageing as it pertains to the risk that actual life spans will exceed expectations for individuals or whole populations.

by Dr. Lim Kim-Hwa

Resisting the Closing of the Malaysian Mind

6 min read

Eccentric professor Latif Kamaluddin writes powerful, mean verses that challenge Malaysians to think about where their modernity really comes from.

by Marco Ferrarese

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