Editorial - Penang Monthly (Page 10)

All the World’s a Stage, and Who Else but We are Responsible for the Upkeep of the Theatre

3 min read

All things change. We can all agree on that. But what the density and swiftness of change in modern living have taught us is that there are harsh limits.We ar...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

We all need Over Exposure

2 min read

Since our cover story for the month is about the future of education in Malaysia, I would like to take up the issue of exposure as a necessary element in the...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Now that Cavemen Have Conquered the Earth…

3 min read

When we were cavemen, we lived in caves.And in the thousands of years since then, we have lived in everything else – from lean-tos to tents to log cab...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

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