February 2026

Our latest issue explores how third places—from bookstores and gardens to KOMTAR—shape community life in Penang, while reflecting on sustainability, inclusion, and the island’s rich history.

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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.

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

Rising from the ashes

8 min read

Long before most Malaysians thought green was trendy, when recycling was something you needed a bicycle for, there was Jimmy Lim.

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah & Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

Taking Tourism To The Next Level

16 min read

From being one of Asia’s leading sun, sea and sand destinations in the 1960s and 1970s, Penang’s tourism industry seemed to wane in the 1990s, in the face of stiff regional competition.

by Ong Wooi Leng & Richard Ho & Rosalind Chua

Richard Ho Rosalind Chua

The Prince of Wales Island Gazette

13 min read

The central role that Penang played in the early modernisation of South-East Asia is succinctly captured in the fact that it was the place where the region’s press history began. The first newspaper established there was The Prince of Wales Island Gazette.

by Geoff Wade

Geoff Wade

Much Has Changed, But Much Remains The Same

9 min read

Has Malaysia truly become a tertiary stage services economy, after evolving from a primary stage economy in the 1950s and 1960s to a manufacturing based economy in the 1970s?

by Chan Huan Chiang

Chan Huan Chiang

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