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.
A New Era Approaches for Young Muslim Women
3 min read
Dr. Annisa R. Beta.THE SANDS ARE shifting. Young Muslim women of Southeast Asia are reconnecting to an earlier tradition of strong female voices seeking t...
Reconsider the Entry Ban
4 min read
The government needs to justify, clarify and communicate with the public why the magic number “150,000” was chosen. On what scientific grounds do 150,000 Covid-19 cases in a country makes it “high-risk”? Are there no other factors that should be considered in identifying high-risk nations?
Diagnosing Covid-19’s Impact on Malaysia’s Medical Tourism
5 min read
OVER THE PAST two years, medical tourism has witnessed exponential growth, facilitated by the dissolution of travel barriers, the spread of internet usage, and...
George Town Festival 2011
2 min read
The George Town Festival returned for a second year and was bigger than ever. The month-long festival, held in July, celebrates the city’s listing as a Unesco W...
Must We Stay Victims of Past Strategies?
2 min read
From August 2, 2011, the name of the research centre that produces this magazine is changed from SERI to Penang Institute.While there are several reasons fo...
Malaysia’s High Income Journey in Perspective
2 min read
DR PHILIP SCHELLEKENS, senior economist with the East Asia and Pacific Department at the World Bank, gave a presentation at SERI last month, providing the World...
And Now… Car Sharing Comes to Town
3 min read
THE TIMING COULDN’T have been more fortuitous for TREVO, a peer-to-peer car sharing platform. A subsidiary of SOCAR, TREVO was launched in February in the...
Technology is Changing the Childhood We Once Knew
4 min read
IF YOU THINK millennials – those born in 1980-2001 – are selfie-taking hipsters, well, think again. Many are now parents to Generation Alpha (2010-2...
Penang’s WCIT Tech Fest Takes Place Online this November
3 min read
ON NOVEMBER 18-20, Penang will reframe the highly-anticipated international festival TECHFEST Live ft. ROAD-TO-WCIT Malaysia into an online event that promises...
The Decade-old GTLF Migrates Online During Covid-19
5 min read
THE INITIAL PLANS for the 2020 George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) were for it to be celebratory – to look back on 10 years of work, while also looking f...
Bioplastics Needed More than Ever
7 min read
HUMANS TRULY ARE an innovative species. The use and control of fire; the simple yet sophisticated wheel; cars, ocean liners, aircrafts, spaceships; and the Inte...
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