The man who industrialised Penang
6 min read
Any penangite born less than 40 years ago will not have known a Penang that was not a hub for the world’s electronics industry. Before the 1970s, the stat...
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.
Good hearing and a light touch
11 min read
From the successful development of Korea’s steel and shipping industries to Israel’s software cluster, and from the US’s semiconductor giants to Japan’s automobile empire, the “visible hand” of government has been involved, and due credit is now being given them.
Colonial Penang's pre-modern roots
3 min read
Penang under the East India Company 1786-1858Andrew BarberAB&A. 2009; Hard cover;160 pagesReview by Ooi Kee BengThe salience of the approach Barber ch...
Moving beyond manufacturing
7 min read
AS A MAJOR manufacturing country, Malaysia is necessarily a huge market for many imported commodities. It is important to clearly identify the more expensive imported commodities in order to reduce Malaysia's dependence on imports.
PSDC 3.0 - bridging the gap between Policy-making and industrial needs
4 min read
IN MARCH 2010, members of the PSDC Management Council were in Phuket for its highly important bi-annual Offsite Meeting. Such gatherings are now a tradition and are held in quiet retreats away from Penang.
Information in restricted public space
7 min read
ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL pillars of any modern democracy is a free mass media. It is through transparent and responsible reporting by independent journalists that the public is provided with unbiased information and can form opinions based on it.
The 1867 Penang riots
6 min read
FORTY-YEAR-OLD Lieutenant-Governor A.E.H. Anson, a veteran of the Crimean War, had just arrived in Penang to take up the appointment in early June, about two months after Sir Harry Ord from the Corps of Royal Engineers became Governor of the Straits Settlements.
Curitiba: An Ideal City of Buses
4 min read
The standard of urban living nowadays is largely judged by public transport standards. George Town has a lot to learn from others, such as Brazil's Curitiba.
Building the Penang Bridge
8 min read
LIAW YEW PENG could have been a doctor. His grades were good enough, and he enjoyed subjects like biology. Many of his peers had chosen to go into medicine. Car...
Sign of The Times
5 min read
Penang's commercial property market is on the up and up with more new malls making their appearance. One new giant Penang . Times Square, developed by Ivory Properties is taking a brave new approach to retail and entertainment.
The serious brain drain problem
18 min read
MALAYSIA SUFFERS a voluntary emigration of people of different races and religions who possess talent, skills and knowledge. Their decision to settle in other countries brings high economic costs to Malaysia.
Penang's Place in the 10mp
9 min read
The 10th Malaysia Plan is now announced. Analysts have generally found it wanting in detailed information. More importantly, it marks a break from the past with its greater focus on corridor development.
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