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.

Remembering Tan Choon Ghee in Ink and Watercolour

6 min read

A rare 1961 self-portrait captures Penang’s legendary watercolourist Tan Choon Ghee (Chen Cun-yi) as a strapping 31-year-old, his gaze intent and his eyes beady. He shows a nondescript steely resolve, as if he were facing phantom imponderables.

by Ooi Kok Chuen

More Amazing and Amusing Museums

5 min read

There is a boom in privately owned and run museums in Penang. With themes ranging from the colonial to the downright quirky, their primary objective is to share histories and local cultures, attracting both selfie-loving locals and curious tourists.

by Dr. Mustafa K Anuar

Walking a Street of Art

5 min read

Last year, Think City collaborated with a private KL-based art gallery, ZART Gallery (led by Penang-born architect Zaini Zainul), in art-led place-making project Butterworth Art Walk (BAW), which attempts to integrate street art into heritage conservation.

by Nicole Chang

Chance Decides at The Italian Restaurant

8 min read

Historically, Noh is a form of theatre involving narrative, music, dance and drama, originating in fourteenth-century Japan, though its roots go even further back – drawing on ritual celebrations, popular entertainments, traditional dances and courtly music.

by Gareth Richards

Conversations and Explorations: Leela Devi Panikar - Spinning Short Stories

13 min read

Panikar’s latest collection, The Darjeeling Affair, is just out. And like the others, it carries all the hallmarks of good short-story writing: brevity, fleetness (sometimes even curtness), and unflinching attention to small details.

by Gareth Richards

The Day Pakatan Harapan Found its Footing

9 min read

When the dust settles after the next general election, especially if a Pakatan Harapan (PH) government were to be installed, history is likely to mark July 14, 2017 as the turning point that made the difference.

by Liew Chin Tong

The Story of Malaysia through its Constitution

23 min read

Much can be told about a country’s character through its laws. Correspondingly, the transformation of a country’s legal regime over time can be said to be a reflection of the socio-political evolution of its society.

by Zairil Khir Johari

Penang is No Rumah Panjang, but It’ll Do

5 min read

Leaving home is painful but unavoidable for many: the unbearable longing for familiar comforts both tangible and intangible, the rhythmic music of the sape’, the sounds of the forest, the songs of the people and the hypnotic dances of celebration.

by Izzuddin Ramli & Nurul Ismawi

A History of the Malay Left: Part One

8 min read

Many Malays opposed to colonialism in the pre-War period were considered communists by the British. Despite the failure of their various agendas, their early contributions were broad and lasting.

by Izzuddin Ramli & Koay Su-Lyn

Time to Respect the Original Peoples

7 min read

The term “Orang Asli”, or “original people”, is a collective appellation for the 18 ethnic tribes “officially classified for administrative purposes under Negrito, Senoi and Aboriginal Malay”.

by Regina Hoo

An Ultimate Reference Guide to Penang Hill

9 min read

This comprehensive book will appeal to anyone who has plodded his or her way meditatively along a hill trail, or been driven in a buggy along Summit Road while asking themselves questions: what are these enormous boulders made from? Who lived in that bungalow and where did its name come from?

by Louise Goss-Custard

Penang’s Youth Park: Malaysia’s First Adventure Playground

7 min read

It is at the same time a green lung for the island, a space for interracial play and a place for the young at heart.

by Dato' Seri Dr. Anwar Fazal

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