Penang's Walkability in Numbers
3 min read
A STUDY BY Stanford University from 2017 found Malaysia to be among the most inactive nations.1 It ranked third-last in the average number of steps taken per da...
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.
Introducing the Penang Walk Zones Project
10 min read
IF THERE IS one motto that Penang Monthly can use to describe its mission and vision, it is "Knowing Penang". That means capturing to the best of its ability al...
Spotlight on Indian Malaysian Artists
9 min read
WHY ARE THERE so few artists of Indian (including Singhalese) descent in Malaysia?
The Unique Wonders of Penang’s Marine Garden
4 min read
WHAT ARE SEAGRASS meadows? These are natural marine habitats found in shallow waters that support a large diversity of living communities, the most prominent of which is the seagrass.
A Market that Reeks of History
6 min read
Is there a need to choose between the heritage and day-to-day market life, or the option of a new building like that of nearby Chowrasta Market, or to transform into a decidedly upmarket venue?
Old George Town’s Transportation in Numbers
6 min read
The Municipality continued to license cars until 1940 but lost control of them after World War II to the Federal Government when vehicle registration was taken over by the Road Transport Department in 1948.
What Makes A Street Memorable?
5 min read
Let us start by exploring the urban landscape of Penang – the streets, the public places and the buildings there.
The Sarkies Brothers and Their Hotel Empire
13 min read
The E&O was founded by the Sarkies brothers. Who were they and what brought them to Penang?
Traces of Penang's Role in the Age to Revolution
5 min read
LEBUH ARMENIAN AND Lebuh Acheen meet at Lebuh Carnarvon. I used to walk along either one of them each day on the way to work, picking the sense of history that...
Batu Lanchang Market Food Court Stays Afloat with Digital Ordering and Pick-up Service
3 min read
THE BATU LANCHANG Market Food Court may be decades old but the food vendors there are making sure the place does not close down because of the Covid-19 pandemic...
Designing Solutions for Social Change
3 min read
LEARN. IMBIBE. REGURGITATE. These are hallmarks of rote learning and its derivatives are wide-ranging, from the attrition of critical and creative thinking to a...
Online Schooling: A Necessity that is Not Yet a Virtue
7 min read
CAN ONLINE CLASSROOMS reap the equalising benefits of Education that previously eluded traditional learning? Or will it share the same fate? Whether it was read...
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