July 2026

Discover Penang’s living heritage in this month’s issue: from the revival of historic clan houses and district associations to new voices in the arts, community, and cultural preservation. Explore how tradition meets modernity as Penang’s diverse communities adapt, innovate, and celebrate their unique identity.

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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.

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...

by Enzo Sim

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...

by Regina Hoo

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...

by Godharan s/o Thyagarajan

Godharan s/o Thyagarajan

National History Based on Half-truths Undermines the Critical Spirit of the Young

5 min read

A NATIONAL HISTORY is never fixed and instead, tends to take on chameleon-like characteristics. Malaysian history is no different. Under colonial rule, the popu...

by Santhiram R. Raman

Santhiram R. Raman

Pottery in Penang: A Folk Art with a Future

4 min read

To make pottery, one must understand the nature of Earth, of clay, more fundamentally. It starts with sourcing the right body from five main clay types: earthenware, stoneware, ball, fire and kaolin.

by Lim Sok Swan

Wayang Kulit: Surviving Beyond the Shadows

7 min read

THERE WERE AROUND 40 people that night. Some of them had arrived from the nearby kampung and the town, and had settled comfortably on the mengkuang mats scatter...

by Izzuddin Ramli

The Steinway – The Jewel in the PPO’s Crown

3 min read

THE STEINWAY AND SONS is Penang Philharmonic Orchestra’s (PPO) most prized purchase.A serendipitous meeting with Karina Ridzuan, formerly the CEO of the...

by Enzo Sim

Covid-19 Complicates Retirement Plans

7 min read

THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL crisis of 2008 had a brief negative impact – through asset values and inflation – on retirement savings, but luckily in Malay...

by Yap Jo-yee

Parenting in a Pandemic: Tension, Stress and Guilt

5 min read

NO INSTRUCTION MANUALS nor guide books were available on “How to parent under lockdown”, especially not in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic....

by Chan Xin Ying & Hasanah Akhir

The Way of Kueh

4 min read

“I’VE BEEN WITNESSING a detrimental culinary trend taking place in Singapore over the years; our kuehs are slowly being forgotten by the younger gen...

by Enzo Sim

Confessions of a Framer of Art

7 min read

WOULD YOU BLOW a couple of hundred Ringgit to frame just a small piece of tissue paper?This was one of the curious incidents in the 38 years of arty framing b...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Laurence Loh: Raising Consciousness of Penang’s Heritage, Restoration by Restoration

5 min read

THE NAME LAURENCE Loh has over the past decades become synonymous to the conservation of cultural heritage, having saved many of Penang’s dilapidated hist...

by Enzo Sim

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