Teaching Sexual Education to Children
6 min read
The term “sexual education” in Malaysia usually calls to mind the sexual act itself, which is perhaps why it is not permitted to be taught as a stan...
November 2026
Penang Monthly | November 2026 is out now. This month, we journey through Penang’s South Asian links—from the enduring energy of George Town’s Little India to the remarkable restoration of Wadda Gurdwara Sahib. Discover stories of Punjabi cha, Ganesha at the threshold, traditional trades, migration, literature, art and the people keeping living heritage alive across Penang. Because heritage is more than buildings and archives—it is found in the languages we speak, the food we share, the work we do and the memories we carry.
Aiding the Autistic
6 min read
Dato' Dr Lai Fong Hwa.To Dato’ Dr Lai Fong Hwa, a retired consultant psychiatrist at Penang General Hospital, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers...
Education in South-East Asia: Disruptions Are Happily at Hand
9 min read
Dato' Dr Ooi Kee Beng.I am very happy that the first Asean-Australia Education Dialogue (AAED) is held here in Penang, my hometown. We like to think of Pe...
Heng Ee: A School that Practises Inclusiveness
7 min read
From his experience in China, Father Julien was inspired to set up a school in Jelutong for social outcasts and school dropouts after observing the large number of youngsters in the area who failed to receive a basic education owing to poverty. And so, the idea to establish Heng Ee was conceived.
The Travel Industry Will Never Be the Same Again
5 min read
WIT Indie, the latest edition of Web in Travel (WIT), Asia’s leading digital travel media and events platform, was held on April 13 at Penang Institute. O...
Ambassadress of Arabic Music
4 min read
April Centrone is a drummer, percussionist, teacher and music therapist based in New York and New Jersey in the US, who enjoys an international reputation as we...
Prominent Mosques of Penang: The Enclave of George Town
6 min read
Apart from being important places of worship, mosques function as points of orientation in time and space for Muslims. They are places where social ties, religi...
GE14: A Malaysian Moment
5 min read
In the hilly land to the north of Johannesburg, on the wall opposite the Bench in the Constitutional Court of South Africa, nestled within the Old Prison Fort w...
When Malaysians Took Back Control
4 min read
It was on nomination day that I first sensed something in the air. I was in the midst of my rounds at a village in my constituency that afternoon when a police...
Catharsis – The Rebirth of Malaysia Finally Begins
9 min read
MAYBE IT WAS because the transition took so long, and opposition parties had had a chance to rule certain states for two terms and made change in government an...
It all seems so simple now...
3 min read
INTO THE GREAT dining hall, the children came. The guards at the gates do their best to keep as many of them out as possible, but they are too few, and the chil...
Malaysia’s Demographic Shift Poses Big Challenge
7 min read
People are having fewer babies today. There has been a steady decline in fertility rates worldwide since 1950. Live births have shrunk by half, from five babies...
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