Memories of a Reserve Currency Collapse
6 min read
As the ringgit tests multi-year lows and I hear people talk about the coming collapse of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency, I look back to my...
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.
Wanted: Employees!
7 min read
More Jobs in the Market Hiring activity recorded a steep improvement in the first three months of 2016. The Monster Employment Index, generated by global on...
No Smooth Sailing for the Second Half of 2016
7 min read
More Jobs in the Market Hiring activity recorded a steep improvement in the first three months of 2016. The Monster Employment Index, generated by global on...
Hudud Threatens the Future of Malaysia
8 min read
Once again, our nation is beguiled by the spectre of hudud, a term loosely used to reference the syariah penal code. Every once in a while, hudud emerges like a...
The Changing Harbour Front
11 min read
It was inevitable that George Town should evolve beyond its role as a harbour and centre of maritime trade. The historic port, which once greeted the ancestors...
Where the Sea Meets the City is Where the World Meets Penang
13 min read
The role and identity of waterfronts today vary depending on the community they serve. Traditionally, waterfronts are defined as the part of a town fronting o...
The Tongkang – Symbol of the Entrepot Age
7 min read
It was the 1920s. Penang Harbour, stretching from Swettenham Pier to Pengkalan Weld, bustled endlessly. Bullock carts and handcarts transported goods of all kin...
Rice Miller: A Projection of Penang’s Pioneer Spirit
10 min read
The hotel lobby.Residence living room.Located right in the heart of the inner city, facing the old jetties that sustained many of Penang...
Penang and Kuching Redefine Malaysia’s Urban Cool
5 min read
Saying that Penang and Kuching have a lot in common can disorientate – they sit at two separate ends of the nation, with an ocean of differences in betwee...
A Pulsating Play that is a Stroll of Rediscovery
4 min read
Singaporeans Lim Yu-Beng and Tan Kheng Hua are no strangers to Malaysians – especially Tan, who is famously known as Margaret Phua from the long-running h...
Public Transport Must be Affordable, Convenient – and Sustainable
8 min read
In recent decades, development in Asia has been phenomenal. And so has the building of roads. From Bangkok to Beijing, the endless spaghetti of super highways h...
Zooming in on Bugs
5 min read
Few of us think of insects as incredibly interesting animals, but it was exactly the sight of bugs that brought together Husni Che Ngah, 45, from Kuala Terengga...
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