December 2025

Our December issue examines the flavours, practices and foodways that define Malaysian life, from home kitchens and inherited techniques to the diverse cultural influences that shape Penang’s palate.

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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.

Thinking of Investing in Properties?

5 min read

But is investing in property all that rewarding relative to risks and hidden costs? One has to ask if there is really a boom and bust phenomenon in the properties market.

by Chan Huan Chiang

Chan Huan Chiang

How industrial is Penang?

5 min read

Since the 1970s, Penang has seen itself as an industrial centre for the country. What are the jobs they create, and how many? And do our industries differ in significant ways from those found in other parts of the country?

by Ong Wooi Leng & Chan Huan Chiang

Chan Huan Chiang

Penang’s Success is Malaysia’s Success

12 min read

In an interview with Penang Economic Monthly, Invest Penang’s executive committee chairman, Datuk Lee Kah Choon, elaborates on the organisation’s growing role and how it now offers existing and potential investors value-added services.

by Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

Capital Movements and Penang’s Manufacturing Sector

11 min read

Business news in the past few months has highlighted concerns about capital flight, but the direction of capital movement being experienced has been taken into account, as a contingency, as part of a monetary policy designed and adopted by Bank Negara Malaysia.

by Chan Huan Chiang

Chan Huan Chiang

Placing Penang in Asia

3 min read

Penang has gone from being one of Asia’s most important metropolises to being an increasingly insignificant part of Malaysia. In that, it painfully reflects the fate of the country’s politics.

by Liew Chin Tong

Penang blueprint

2 min read

THE MALAYSIAN ECONOMY is at a crossroads; it has stopped being a high growth economy and is no longer a low-cost centre. Furthermore, the global economy is a very different creature compared to what it was just two years ago, before the financial crisis shook the world.

by Penang Monthly

A focus on female artists

9 min read

FOR NG KIM HEOH, 2010 presents new challenges and an uncertain future. After years of teaching and working her way up to the post of senior assistant in a secondary school in Penang, she opted for early retirement on Jan 1 and decided to pursue art.

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Getting The Private Healthcare Sector Into Shape

3 min read

Where healthcare is concerned, be it the public or private sector, the focus has to be on improving delivery systems and keeping costs low.

by Poh Heem Heem

Poh Heem Heem

Qigong Instructor Promotes Spontaneous Health

4 min read

“Qigong” is the generic term for all the various forms of physical relaxation practised by the Chinese. But it is more than a newfangled form of repose. It is meant to allow the body to take over from the mind.

by Andy Ooi

Andy Ooi

Betting On Better Public Transport

7 min read

Today, only 60% of the population resides within 400 metres of a public transport route. Anyone residing in Penang or the Klang Valley can testify to horrid traffic jams and endless hours wasted weaving through a daily gridlock on the road.

by Tricia Yeoh

Replanning Malaysia’s Town Planning

5 min read

There is much that Malaysians are not happy about, such as traffic jams, flash floods, unsynchronised development, poor urban forms, massive development on hill slopes and projects that inhibit access to scenic areas, including sea shores.

by Datuk Dr. Goh Ban Lee

Beating Childhood Learning Difficulties

13 min read

Indeed, helping children with special needs is a battle against time. Early intervention is as important as early diagnosis.

by Ivy Kwek & Yam Phui Yee

Ivy Kwek Yam Phui Yee

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