September 2026

It may not feel like it, but Batu Kawan is actually an island. It is separated from Seberang Perai by Sungai Jawi, a wide tidal river, and Sungai Tengah in the south.

As part of this year’s World Firefly Day celebration on July 5, researchers, families and firefly enthusiasts had gathered in Bukit Kiara to spot these rare insects. It is also a way for researchers to connect science with public curiosity and encourage community-led biodiversity conservation.

BRITISH WRITER AND philosopher, Julian Baggini once wrote, “Looking out over the port of Dover, with the endless stream of…

Unlike George Town, Batu Kawan was—ostensibly—built “from scratch”. You live in one area, work or study in another, and hang out somewhere else. It sounds great in theory, but unless you have a car—which is not something to expect of students—getting around takes much more energy than expected.

SOMETIMES, YOU DON’T need a map to know where you are. You just need a sound. In Penang, it…

Spearheaded by Arts-ED, a Penang-based arts and education non-profit, this participatory mapping project places local voices at the centre of heritage documentation—literally putting them on the map.

The majie may not have fitted the image of modernity, but she embodied its deeper transformations. Through financial independence, migration and lifelong labour, she was both breadwinner and caregiver, sustaining families across borders through decades of uncertainty, war and independence.