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.

Planting Our Green Future

4 min read

Global warming is real. Human progress over the past centuries has steadily led to the decline of the environment, measured through the quality of water, air and soil, UV exposure, disease, climate change and other direct and indirect impacts on our well-being.

by Carolyn Khor

Hin Bus Depot – Derelict No More

5 min read

Once dilapidated, Hin Bus Depot Art Centre has undergone an astounding transformation. Welcome to one of Penang’s most vibrant community spaces.

by Nicole Chang

A Migrant Worker’s Journey of Despair – and Hope

6 min read

Penang Monthly sheds light on the plight of an undocumented Bangladeshi migrant worker as he speaks about his new life in Malaysia and the horrors of human trafficking.

by Regina Hoo

Understand That Your Wisdom May be Worthless…

5 min read

In my philosophy class in varsity, we studied Plato, who wrote narratives about his teacher, Socrates. Like most students, I felt that the text was tedious and dry, boring almost.

by Steven Sim

Suukee Nang: What it Means to be Hainanese

6 min read

Apart from the Penang Hainan Association that was established in the 1870s, there are no notable landmarks marking the Hainanese community’s early settlement in Penang. Most Hainanese immigrants hailed from Wanning, a county-level city in the south-east of Hainan Province.

by Regina Hoo

Penang Hokkien On Life Support

17 min read

Alarm bells are sounding that Penang Hokkien will be forgotten in a generation or two. Should we be concerned?

by Ooi Kok Hin & Julia Tan

Convent Green Lane Stretches Tall Again

8 min read

Establishing their first school on foreign soil in Malaysia in 1852, the French Catholic religious order of the Infant Jesus Sisters (IJS) grew their base of schools here until World War II, establishing over 50 learning institutions across the nation.

by Andrea Filmer

Ropewalk Bagan – A Treasure Awaiting Hunters

5 min read

Mention flea markets and Lorong Kulit’s Ropewalk immediately comes to the mind of most Penangites. This wonderful roofed flea market offers unique trinkets and bargain goods.

by Mohd Sazni & Razan Rose

The MICE Industry Matures

16 min read

Penang prepares to host Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions.

by Andrea Filmer

Dialogue with a KL cabbie

4 min read

My cabbie was an elderly Malay man who liked quoting Shakespeare. It turned out that he was born and raised in Penang, like I was; and went to a missionary school, like I. And he studied English Literature, like I did.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Wandering Souls in a Forbidden Land

8 min read

Ruang Dapur (collection of Universiti Sains Malaysia). Note: Work shown is a replica, as original is on loan to a Singapore exhibition.Realiti B...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

A Mini Beach Adventure in George Town

5 min read

Behind 8 Gurney.Sometimes you aren’t in the mood to head for the hills in your hiking shoes, preferring instead to just amble along the beach in you...

by Louise Goss-Custard

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