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.

Hawkers in Passing – Personal Accounts and Short Stories on Berita Harian in the 1960s

6 min read

IN 1963, a student essay for a weekly writing competition, held by Berita Harian, dubbed the bicycle the ”economic vehicle”. The author Yeow Peng Keat contempla...

by Chin Kar Yern

USM Research Finds Worrying Infections in Penang’s Nutmegs

5 min read

Photo 1: A nutmeg tree in one of the fields in Penang.THE NUTMEG IS one of the most widely cultivated fruits in Penang, using an area of more than 50 hect...

by Dr. Hafizi Rosli

Dr. Hafizi Rosli

The Future of Food is Digital

7 min read

COVID-19 HAS BEEN putting some strain on Penang’s food supply. Although the state managed well on the whole, this challenge should serve as a stark remi...

by Negin Vaghefi

An Almost Run-of-the-Mill Trip from Singapore to Penang, circa 2021

7 min read

A sign marking the medical screening area at the Penang International Airport.A FLIGHT FROM Singapore to Malaysia is, by any and all accounts, a short one...

by Cian Sacker Ooi

Ysabel Loh: Telling Stories About Penang

7 min read

LONDON-BORN AND Penang-raised Ysabel Loh, 24, is an award-winning Malaysian actress with a degree in English and Theatre Studies and an MA in Digital Media Prod...

by Miriam Devaprasana

Tracking Human Mobility in Penang During Covid-19

7 min read

DESCRIBED AS THE most tracked economic indicator during Covid-19,1 the release of the Google Community Mobility Data has been lauded as a creative means by a te...

by Lee Siu Ming & Ng Kar Yong & Yeong Pey Jung

Lee Siu Ming Ng Kar Yong

Rebound is Slower than Expected despite Fiscal Measures

10 min read

2021 WILL BE a year fraught with economic challenges and uncertainties. The spike in Covid-19 cases since September 2020 continues to see Malaysia’s econo...

by Ong Wooi Leng & Yeong Pey Jung

E-Scooters May Be Penang’s Next Major Industry

4 min read

THIS MAY COME as a surprise to many, but Penang has been pioneering Malaysia’s electric vehicle (EV) industry since 2008, and this was with the establishm...

by Enzo Sim

The Future of Motorcycle Repairs

6 min read

A VESPA’S ALLURE cannot be denied. The scooter first came to public attention in 1946 as a cheap alternative to navigate the cobblestoned streets of bombe...

by Enzo Sim

FREPENCA: A History of Innovative Industrial Support Measures

6 min read

PENANG’S industrialisation started when Bayan Lepas, the “rice bowl” of the island, was turned into a Free Industrial Zone (FIZ) in 1972. This first free-trade...

by Rachel Yeoh

The Motorbike – Symbol of Penang and its Economic Vibrancy

7 min read

SEE THE AUNTY puttering on the three-wheeler Honda C90, dragging a cart of triple-mixed iced soya bean, “leong fun” and milo; the beverages slushing...

by Kenneth Ooi

Kenneth Ooi

The George Town Literary Festival Persists through the Pandemic

7 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...

by William Tham

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