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...
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...
Budget 2012 Reveals Malaysia’s Structural Problems
12 min read
Heavy handed or the “invisible hand”?The main economic purpose of government is to ensure the delivery of public goods –these being goods th...
Think City Catalyst For Revitalising George Town
6 min read
Hamdan Abdul Majeed has reason to celebrate, the day of the interview also marks his fifth year working on what Khazanah Nasional1 has ambitiously dubbed the...
Seberang Perai - The Adopted Child Matures
13 min read
A brief historyA peek into the history of the state clearly shows the reason for the neglect of Seberang Perai by the government of Penang. When Francis Light...
The Common Good in Penang's Progress
17 min read
Is development good or bad?Private development, we are seeing with increased intensity in Penang, is actually a deal made between private business and its cus...
16 Women
19 min read
Chong Eng Member of Parliament for Bukit MertajamThe “woman in grey” is well known for her pursuit of gender equality. Under h...
Social Resistance in A Semi-Democracy
15 min read
On February 5 this year, more than 5,000 people flooded downtown Kuala Lumpur to participate in the Light up Jalan Sultan and Preserve Heritage event.Artisans...
MIND THE GAP On The Widening Gap Between The Rich and The Poor
10 min read
Not too long ago, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched its 2011 Human Development Report. I am not going to comment on Malaysia’s rank...
Towards Clean Governance in Asean
32 min read
GOVERNANCE IS as clean as its dirtiest linkPenang Institute hosts the inaugural Conference of the Asean Coalition for Clean GovernanceThe Penang Institute w...
FOR A SOCIETY CIVIL AND DECENT
11 min read
Ooi Kee Beng: Let’s discuss the recent rise of civil society activism in Malaysia. We had a half-year of rallies in mid-2007, starting with 600 people f...
Tariq Ramadan – Islam Reviewed From Within
16 min read
Ooi Kee Beng: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us after your very long day. Again, welcome to Penang. The point you made in your speech today, which s...