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.

Nation In A Dilemma

15 min read

The mere mention of migrant workers is usually greeted with a sneer, and when not, it is because of indifference. Foreign workers are often seen as a wage depressant, and accused of “taking” jobs away from locals.

by Ivy Kwek

Ivy Kwek

Voter registration

2 min read

Special thanks to Chris Lee Chun KitThe statewide voter registration drive was officially launched by the chief minister at Gurney Plaza....

by Penang Monthly

Nirmala’s last wish

7 min read

Above: A 1986 work from Nirmala’s Damai series on the pity of war, The Pity War Distilled. Ink drawing of a bag lady in Brussels in 1995.With vision...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Baba Nyonya culture in Penang and Phuket

8 min read

When I First walked down Thalang Road in Tongkah, the old town of Phuket, several years ago, I was reminded of the streets of Penang.

by Khoo Salma Nasution

Khoo Salma Nasution

Getting Good Bacteria to Green Penang

6 min read

Parallel to its programmes for formal education, the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC) is introducing the “Greening Penang Initiative” to mobilise members of the public to do their bit to preserve the environment on this beautiful but industrialised island.

by Poh Heem Heem

Poh Heem Heem

Democratising women

6 min read

Part of the excitement associated with the March 8, 2008 election results when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took over four (now three) state governments was that it sign...

by Cecilia Ng

Cecilia Ng

We are the led-ing light

5 min read

Penang has built its reputation as the Silicon Island of the East through its almost 40 years of experience in the export-oriented electronics industry. Today&r...

by Anna Ong

Anna Ong

Finding Penang’s niche

2 min read

From left to right:Professor Dr p. Ramasamy, Penang Deputy Chief Minister ii; Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister; Liew Chin Tong, seri executive director and...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng & Datuk Dr. Goh Ban Lee

By George Town! A festival to inherit

4 min read

About four months ago, the Penang state government put out a call for people to submit their ideas for the year’s 2010 Unesco celebrations, conceived to b...

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

Cleaner, greener Penang

2 min read

Will Penangites finally learn to use the mysterious orange object? “It’s not easy being green,” sang Kermit the Frog, it hasn’t been for Penang either, and the state once dubbed the “rubbish bin of the Orient” by a former prime minister has struggled to live down this label.

by Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

A Personal Penang Treasure That Can Be Revived

7 min read

Kee Thuan Chye returns in his mind to the village his great-great-granddad built. Sungai Bakap, after being bypassed by development, has lost much of its past glory. But the Kee family home is still there, reeking of history and other fragrances, waiting for another turn in its fortunes.

by Kee Thuan Chye

Between faith and hope

7 min read

Forlorn letterboxes in a Rifle Range block.When Khoo Cheng See started the House of Hope five years ago, she had no idea what she was getting herself into...

by Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

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