February 2011 - Penang Monthly

Turning Points: Ups and downs of Penang’s economy

10 min read

Today, there is a wide variety of methods used by different agencies to detect and announce dates when the economy makes a regime change from the peak and going into recession, and from the trough to begin another period of expansion.

by Ong Wooi Leng

Making future artists better

9 min read

Throw a stone and you would hit a few Datuks. The joke may be trite, but for artists, “Datukships” are exceptions to the rule. Still, Penang is one state that has conferred the coveted award on six of its visual artists, and all deservingly so.

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Jordan Plofsky: Acknowledging Results and Recognising Performance

5 min read

With more than 20 years of leadership experience, spanning from system and technologies to semiconductor and marketing, including positions at LSI Logic, Analog Devices and Harris Corporation, Jordan is a firm believer in leadership development.

by Poh Heem Heem

Poh Heem Heem

Palm Oil Remains Key Export For Malaysia

4 min read

The palm oil industry has been in existence in Malaysia for more than a hundred years. The palm originated in West Africa, and it was the British who first brought it to Malaya in the 1870s.

by Rafiq Idris

Rafiq Idris

Before Palm Oil, There Was Coconut Oil...

5 min read

Coconuts turned out to be the only crop successfully cultivated on a large scale on the island, contributing considerably to the economy for almost one century. Why and how did coconuts become such as an important commercial crop in Penang?

by Dr. Wong Yee Tuan

The day George Town grew up

4 min read

IT IS THE MORNING OF the New Year. The face of the Victoria Memorial Clock Tower blocking the rising sun to the east shows the time to be 8.50.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Death and The Undertaker

5 min read

When a family mourns a loved one recently departed, there is no greater help than that offered by the undertaker. pem talks to Ooi Thean Choo, a funeral director whose experiences have made him ever more philosophical and caring.

by Daniel Lee & Daniel Lim

What the Selangor State Secretary issue teaches us

6 min read

IN 1993 the Federal Constitution of Malaysia was amended with the aim of removing legal immunity of the royalty. Articles 32, 38, 42, 63, 72 and 181 were amended as a result.

by Tricia Yeoh

Garbage Graves of Penang

8 min read

Most of us are happily unaware of where our garbage goes after leaving our bins. Very few of us on the island know that our rubbish takes a sea cruise from the Batu Maung Waste Transfer Station on barges to their final resting place on the mainland.

by Khor Hung Teik

Khor Hung Teik

In Between Heaven and Earth

7 min read

Cheah Teng Hong is the director of Corporate Finance at the World Bank, where he has been since 1981.

by Kee Thuan Chye

The miracle of Penang Jazz

7 min read

The Seventh Penang Island Jazz Festival was spread over four days in early December 2010. It may not yet be “seventh heaven” but it is something of a small miracle that this festival started, survived and has begun to flourish.

by James Lochhead

James Lochhead

Freeing education from politics

5 min read

New nations tend to suffer from excessive politicking. Being moderate in many ways, politicking in Malaysia has permeated most aspects of nation building, bringing effects that are more long-term than if we had not been so moderate. This is most obvious in the field of education.

by Zairil Khir Johari