Cover Story - Penang Monthly (Page 7)

Returning Power To The People

12 min read

In a two-part special report, Francis Hutchinson and Ivy Kwek examine the nature of Malaysia’s federalism and how the relationship between state and federal governments can be enhanced for social and economic benefits.

by Francis Hutchinson & Ivy Kwek

Ivy Kwek

The State of The Economy

10 min read

The 2011 Budget signals troubling reliance on private growth. Without economic decentralisation and public sector expansion, Malaysia risks stalling in the middle-income trap.

by Chan Huan Chiang

Chan Huan Chiang

Life on the List

14 min read

ENOUGH TIME has now passed for PEM to start asking what the most significant and noticeable changes are, and what people have learned from the fact that George Town is now under global scrutiny, what measures are crying out to be taken, and what the future holds for this newly recognised treasure.

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah & Rosalind Chua & Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Rosalind Chua

Keeping Penang watered

15 min read

Water management or rather water mismanagement has been making headline news in Malaysia for months. PEM takes an in-depth look at the Penang Water Supply Corporation and reveals how this public-private partnership has thrived and become a model for the rest of the nation.

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

The Winning Formula: Why Investors Choose Penang

17 min read

TO A FIRST-TIME VISITOR Penang can feel like it’s stuck in a time warp, caught between its colonial trading past and electronic manufacturing heydays; sandwiched between upper-tier cosmopolitan cities like Singapore and Shanghai and aspiring wannabes such as Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City.

by Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

Innovating Up To Speed – Measuring Penang’s Innovative Capabilities

28 min read

RECENTLY, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the plan for the development of Greater Penang, which would comprise the state of Penang and extend to the Kulim High Tech Park and Perak industrial parks.

by Norlela Ariffin

Norlela Ariffin

Challenges for Malaysia’s Economy

11 min read

THE TOP MANAGEMENT in leading industries in Penang has been getting more and more worried over the last few years. Some of the most important prerequisites for continued development, they feel, are fading fast.

by Poh Heem Heem

Poh Heem Heem

George Town –Where Design and Culture Must Continue to Merge

10 min read

GEORGE TOWN CANNOT help telling a thousand tales. The “outstanding universal values” that emanate from its foundation of culturally informed design was noticed by Unesco, and earned it – together with Malacca – World Heritage status in 2008.

by Laurence Loh

Making A City Liveable The Secret Is Economic Growth From Below

17 min read

According to the Economic Intelligence Unit of The Economist, Vancouver topped the World’s Most Livable Cities list in 2011 for the second consecutive year based on five main criteria: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

by Chan Huan Chiang

Chan Huan Chiang

Paradise Being Lost, All Is Not Well on Penang’s Beaches

14 min read

YOU CANNOT SIT HERE, I just realised that,” Juergen Bosch says, looking at our surroundings as if for the first time, though we’ve been talking for most of an hour. The otherwise white sand is filthy, covered with dirt, detritus and the occasional plastic bottle and cigarette butt.

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah & Marisa Heah

Marisa Heah

Entering New Territory With Open Tenders

11 min read

“What we really are is anti-corruption.” — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan EngBy and large, it has achieved its objectives. Yet at the sa...

by Zairil Khir Johari

Alive But Not Well, The State of Penang's SMEs

15 min read

Plenty has been written about Malaysia being locked inside the so called middle income trap. The view is that the country is too expensive to effectively compet...

by Penang Monthly