February 2026

Across Penang, these reading spaces differ in scale, philosophy and operation. Yet, all share a commitment to something increasingly rare—a space to be.

Katharine believes that the garden’s success in drawing in crowds from both the community and foreign visitors could not have been made possible without a very passionate, 20-strong team.

For many today, KOMTAR is scarcely noticed. Few recall the Great World Park, old cinemas, schools or the kang-a-kiⁿ road that once shaped this part of the city. What was once Penang’s organically grown civic heart has narrowed into a place most visit only every few years—to renew a passport.

Such environments do not merely accommodate pets; they support a mode of living that values connection, slowness and shared presence.

Project Mars hopes to shift how people think about eating—not as something dependent on constant regrowth, but as something already growing around them.

Automation is forcing a philosophical reset in the labour market. While “work” historically meant performing routine tasks for pay, the future requires societies to compete with AI on meaning, not speed.

The tragic loss of Zara Qairina[1], the culmination of a systemic bullying culture, where a “High Council” of seniors and abusive confrontations over theft accusations preceded her fatal fall, is a painful reminder that silence can kill.

“What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.” — Leisure, William Henry Davies

I can almost believe I’ve learned to make kopi—or at least understand that in Malaysia, coffee is a simple pleasure, and no less delicious than coffee made anywhere else.