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.

Liveability Lies in Public Spaces being Properly Planned and Maintained

3 min read

Urbanity changes our relationship to space and loosens our link to Nature. As societies grow in size, they acquire space that then needs to be planned, managed and endlessly maintained.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

The 2019 Food Issue

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by Penang Monthly

Food Value Chain in Numbers

4 min read

A food value chain involves stakeholders who perform value-adding activities to produce food products.1 Table 1 shows the number of persons engaged and the amou...

by Ng Kar Yong

Ng Kar Yong

Fostering a Sense of Conjoint Fate One Teh Tarik at a Time

3 min read

Not many peoples in the world discuss what they want for dinner while eating lunch. Malaysians do, and we like to laugh about that fact – taking it to mea...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Penang Monthly's 10th Anniversary Special Edition

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by Penang Monthly

Meeting a Legend that Grows and Grows

12 min read

This article first appeared in our February 2010 issue. In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we put together for you in this issue some of our most memorable...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

The View Gets Better the Longer the Journey Lasts

3 min read

There are tipping points. Key instances past which the world changes. The effect is often immediate, shocking and irreversible. And then there are changes that...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Freedom Socially Anchored is a Formidable Thing

3 min read

Ooi Kee Beng.When a process of liberation has actually succeeded in emancipating a category of humans, subsequent generations should find it hard to imagi...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

The Rise of Government and Pension Payments over the Last 10 Years

7 min read

It is a cautionary tale for the ages.In 2018 South Africa announced a halt to salary hikes for its civil servants. Payments for government servants had reache...

by Our Economist

Our Economist

Industrial Parks in Numbers

4 min read

Penang has over 45 years of industrial experience and almost 300,000 persons employed directly in the manufacturing industries. In tandem with the expansion in...

by Lee Siu Ming

Lee Siu Ming

Should We Aim for A United Nation? Or Simply A Just State and a Healthy Economy?

3 min read

Malaysians use “Nation-building” as an umbrella term for all the processes required to turn a given territory into a secure, prosperous and united...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Thorny Blues

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by Azmi Hussin

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