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.

The High Life: Growing Up on the Peak

7 min read

For many Penangites, the Hill is a place for Sunday morning hikes, a slice of nature close to the city. But some people remember growing up on its slopes and still call the highlands home today.

by Soon-Tzu Speechley

Air Itam: So Busy. So Beguiling.

9 min read

Like clockwork, it begins.As the first rays of sunlight hit the roof of Air Itam Market, a steady rumble of activity builds up in the town centre. Old, foldable...

by Andrea Filmer

Hiking to Paradise

5 min read

Penang National Park in Teluk Bahang has three main hiking trails: the one to Monkey Beach and Muka Head lighthouse; the one to Pantai Kerachut (Turtle Beach) a...

by Louise Goss-Custard

Time to Limit the Logic of the Market

4 min read

In December 2015 Playboy magazine released its January/February 2016 issue. It featured 48-year-old every-pubescent-boy’s-fantasylifeguard Pamela Anders...

by Steven Sim

Fintech: A New Frontier in Finance

10 min read

In the world of finance, there is a consensus that technology-driven change is inevitable, and that it brings with it massive potential for disruption.[1] Cen...

by Herbert Poenisch

Herbert Poenisch

Back To Beca

6 min read

Trishaws were once the main mode of transportation in George Town, found in quiet streets and on the busiest roads. Known locally as beca (or beychia in Hokkien...

by Tan Lii Inn

A Mortar Board Does Not Guarantee Employability

9 min read

The Malaysian Education Blueprint 20152025 (Higher Education), or MEB (HE), launched on April 7, 2015 sets out a new vision for the development of higher educ...

by Geoffrey Williams

Geoffrey Williams

A Taste for Waste

6 min read

It’s no secret that the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) has stepped up its greening efforts. Helming the Ecocommunity Unit at MPSP is Chew Eng S...

by Carolyn Khor

Saving Our Schools

16 min read

At the beginning of the 1964 school year, teachers in a California primary school were told that some of their students had shown extraordinary results on an...

by Hwa Yue-Yi

Hwa Yue-Yi

Party like it’s 1899

6 min read

Ghazal Party’s tunes are easy to dance to, and once captured hearts in Seberang Perai.Ghazal, which originates from the Arabic word ghaz meaning “...

by Regina Hoo

The Freedom Young Artists Can Enjoy

7 min read

The pieces on display at BMS 2016 may be challenging, but do they allude to the punitive political climate?

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Deaf No More

8 min read

A diagram of how a cochlear implant device works.The world can be silent for those with profound hearing impairment. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) occ...

by Regina Hoo

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