Editorial - Penang Monthly (Page 10)

Governments and citizens who should be grateful to them?

2 min read

An important issue that should surface during coming debates about the impending Goods and Services Tax (GST) is how it affects the basic relation between the...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Reading and Writing Yourself Free

3 min read

The fact that literacy began as a privilege assumed by the religious and political elite and remained so for centuries throughout the world before it slowly became a popular ability, left deep marks in human history.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Representativeness is the basis of social harmony

2 min read

I remember spending a lot of time in my teenage years wondering how societies are possible. Noticing how difficult it is for people to get along, I wondered w...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Can Our Cuisine Remain the Same While We Change?

3 min read

It is in Penang’s street and kopitiam dishes more than in anything else that the island’s social history and cultural pluralism are best captured and preserved; and it is gratifying to see books on Penang recipes appearing in steady numbers in recent years.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Toward a political culture that suits a two-party system

2 min read

Following the General Election in 2008, BN had the strange situation of being in the opposition in five states. Before March 8 that year, it only had that rol...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Let's Perfect The Two-Party System

2 min read

The pattern of change in Malaysia became ever more discernible after the 13th General Election. While the ruling BN understandably wishes to describe its vict...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Let’s not go back to the late Abdullah era

2 min read

One important effect of the March 8, 2008 elections was that it forced the BN government in Putrajaya into crisis management. That became the responsibility o...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Federalism is Still The Future

2 min read

Let’s face it. Whatever the election results, certain things will not go away easily.For one thing, Malaysia will be ruled by a coalition for a long t...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Change in Life's Norm

2 min read

It’s April now, the month at the end of which the Malaysian Parliament has to be dissolved to make way for general elections to be held, and within 60 d...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Malaysians Done Making Do

2 min read

Everyone should be stunned by how anti-BN forces over the last few years have been able not only to hold their ground, but also to continue spreading a sense...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Amazed, Enthused and Amused by Music

3 min read

Have you noticed how, despite all the effort done to put us into a visual trance that takes us into another reality, moviemakers still cannot do without background music?

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Time for Penang to Lead Again

2 min read

Penangites are one proud people. That is not even a controversial statement. They are proud of their food, their history and their geography.Don’t get...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng