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.
The Podcast – Relief for the Distracted
2 min read
THE RADIO WAS the key vehicle for the spread of popular music during my generation. In Penang, where would all those who were in their teens have listened to go...
Walk Zone: Balik Pulau - Penang Island's Rural Solace
7 min read
The term "Balik Pulau" and its Chinese equivalent "浮罗 山背" refer to the hinterland – the opposite side – of the Island. Its long coastline bordered by rising slopes provided it with a sense of mystery and inaccessibility.
Events
3 min read
CHARITYSpin For Charity is a fun spin ride session where participants ride on a SPIN bike for 30 minutes led by a Spin Cycle Star to raise monetary aid for Pena...
The Invasion of Ukraine: Coping at a Distance
4 min read
War cuts deeper than flesh wounds. Weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Penang Monthly speaks to a Ukrainian and a Russian based in Malaysia, on how “home”...
Batu Aceh – A Heritage in Need of Protection
4 min read
MORE THAN JUST a final resting place, the old Muslim graveyards in Penang are home to gravestones known as Batu Aceh. These ornamented grave-markers are c...
Radio Telescopes: Seeing through Clouds
5 min read
Our temperate tropical climate is typified by loyal clouds and a dusty atmosphere, and much stargazing ends up being a night of frustrating cloud-gazing.
Radio Request Cards: A Blast from the Past
5 min read
ONE FEELS A sense of enveloping nostalgia, reading through the collection of old radio request cards; the words acting as a portal into the distant past when le...
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As Covid Retreats, Malaysian Art Gets Ready to Flourish
6 min read
THE BAKAT MUDA Sezaman ’21 (Young Contemporary Artists, BMS), with its new format of satellite zoning and Art On Site (Seni Di Lokasi) nucleus, should be a game...
Comparing Values Across Space and Time
4 min read
912 BATU ROAD is novelist Viji Krishnamoorthy’s literary debut. It tells the harrowing tale of love and loss between two families, the Tans and the Iyers, over...
Crafting Voices: An Interview with BFM’s Lee Chwi Lynn and Sharmilla Ganesan
6 min read
MANY YEARS AGO, an unnamed German programme director, in conversation with Walter Benjamin, recalled how his first foray into broadcasting did not quite go acco...
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