June 2026
Discover Penang Monthly’s June issue: explore the stories behind Penang’s enduring heritage brands, the richness of its multilingual and multicultural heritage, innovative local businesses, community-led initiatives, and the challenges shaping the state’s future. From family enterprises and semiconductor pioneers to traditional food, festivals, education, and environmental sustainability, this issue celebrates Penang’s resilience, identity, and capacity for renewal.
When Did You Last Look Up at the Stars?
5 min read
Overcast weather aside, Penang’s night skies offer the best of both worlds, providing vistas that stargazers from the global north, where the hobby has gained traction (think North America and Europe), have to fork over tens of thousands of dollars to travel to see.
A Caffeinated Career Journey
4 min read
The café culture in Penang, which took off in the late 2000s has grown in tandem with the global coffee industry. Baristas are one of its major pushers, being intermediaries between the coffee industry and consumers of the café culture.
Melati Sarawak Debuts on Stage in Penang
4 min read
IT IS SAID that the first modern novel written in Sarawak, and very likely the first in Malaysia, is Melati Sarawak. Written in Jawi and self-published by Muham...
Penang Strives and Thrives Against Global Macroeconomic Headwinds
8 min read
ACCORDING TO THE latest World Economic Outlook report published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global economic growth has slowed from 6% in 2021 to 3...
The Educational Origins of Penang’s Skills Mismatch and Brain Drain
4 min read
EDUCATION IS REGARDED as a human right today. Therefore, most modern states, barring those who expressly consider public education to be a threat to their conti...
Social Capital Required for Upgrading Parks
5 min read
ONE OF THE main ways of environmental conservation is establishing nature parks or protected areas. Signatory countries of the UN’s Aichi Target 11 aspire that...
Rising Inflation and Escalating Cost of Living
5 min read
SUSAN (not her real name) is a home caterer who started her own business after losing her job during the pandemic lockdown. Though business had been good at fir...
Do You Know What State Assemblymen’s Assistants Do?
4 min read
We speaks to Benji Ang Ming Quan, Special Assistant to the Political Secretary of the Penang Chief Minister, YB Teh Lai Heng, about what state assemblymen and their assistants do.
Halal Duck Rice: A Dish to Bridge Cultures
4 min read
THERE IS SOMETHING to be said about cooking with open fire. Imagine hot embers burning meat of different sorts, cooked slow and low in its own juices or seared...
Events in December
4 min read
The Butterworth Fringe Festival 2022 is back! Expect an incredible line-up of programmes to celebrate Penang's diverse arts, culture and food, ranging from ente...
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