Ways of Becoming
2 min read
The earth is dark. Gley soil mixed with alluvium, made heavy by the monsoon rains. Dusk is falling. Amid the quiet all is not quite still. A circling of birds....
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.
Malaysia’s Parliament and Courts– No Longer Supreme
7 min read
I engaged in polite conversation, as one often does in such situations, with the person seated next to me during a recent regional conference in KL.“So...
On the Isle of Outcasts
6 min read
Most Penangites are aware of Pulau Jerejak, located between Penang Island and the mainland, with the two bridges to its north and its south. But few have taken...
Lunar Peaks – A Treasure Gone Forever
7 min read
Late National Artist Laureate Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal's (1929-2011) heritage sculpture monument, Puncak Purnama (Lunar Peaks), was demolished by the Kuala Lumpur...
How Does Brexit affect Malaysians?
4 min read
The UK defied expectations from opinion polls and bookmakers, and voted to leave the European Union (EU). Apart from the inevitable plunge of the British pound...
Creating a City of Culture Costs – But We Should Happily Pay
2 min read
Artists – be they painters or sculptors, musicians or even authors – need sponsors. They need patrons. In our commercial age, there is of course t...
Working a Wonderful World
7 min read
Anthony Lau.“Please write it down,” he commands. Then, he squints closer to eyeball the small blackboard to read the chalk scribblings, someti...
Grow Your Own Greens Today!
4 min read
Beatrice Yong and the resident chicken of Eats, Shoots & Roots.Growing a garden of edible plants sounds marvelous – and it is.But it does take...
Meaningless to Have Syariah Laws without Maqasid Syariah
7 min read
It is an unfortunate fact of Malaysian politics that discourse revolving around complex political issues is often reduced to banal statements that are more emot...
Rich Music Resonates From Mount Santubong
5 min read
The Rainforest World Music Festival last month took audiences – and this writer – to new heights of musical ecstasy.
Hearing the Painting Before Seeing it
4 min read
“Can art be read?”That is the question that “Reading Art”, a month-long exhibition held in conjunction with George Town Festival, is...
Fired by the Charm of Ceramics
6 min read
A flurry of contemporary ceramic exhibitions in recent months has finally reignited interest in this apparent niche art.Within a space of three months, benchm...
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