On the Vegetarian Trail
6 min read
CoyaLocated in the heart of Pulau Tikus, Coya is a serene, double-storey shophouse, offering some of my favourite lunch bento boxes. Their spicy mapo tofu, bu...
Penang Properties in 2013
3 min read
Yes, most probably, Penang's property market will come to be affected by the global crisis. That is the simple answer to the question most people are asking; bu...
In Search of Old Masterpieces
6 min read
M.F. Husain’s Bird Cage. M.F. Husain visited UM twice, first in 1959 and then again in 1964.Latiff Mohidin’s Seascape, oil on canvas, 132cm...
Of Birds and Buffaloes, Alligators and White Ants, 1816
5 min read
As soon as it gets dark on this mountain [Penang Hill], there arises on every side, a singular concert of birds and insects, which deprived us of sleep for th...
Remembering an Early Step Towards Unesco Listing
4 min read
Part of George Town, together with part of Malacca town, is now a Unesco World Heritage Site (WHS). The inscription in July 2008 has excited many and has certai...
BJ Habibie – Leading a Country in Transition
7 min read
JEFFREY HARDY QUAH: You’re seen today as the transitional leader between the Suharto era and the post-Suharto era. But during your administration, did you...
The Lazy Traveller's Guide to Hoi An
5 min read
Slices of local Hoi An are only an alleyway away from the main tourist strips.Stepping into the cool of an empty art gallery on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street one...
Penang Economic Outlook
30 min read
We live in a time when giant economies have had to experience how fragile they can be. The global crisis that began in 2008 has been going on for quite a few...
State budgets 2013: The Last For Now
6 min read
IT WAS A fairly significant moment when the Selangor and Penang Pakatan state governments tabled and passed their final budgets of their first five-year term in...
Auditor-General Report 2011: Critique of Selected Education Projects
4 min read
Water seeping through the cracks of the walls in the school. Oil leaking from the pipe connected to the oil tank. Empty classrooms and abandoned teachers’...
Curious Pak Alam
5 min read
Pak Alam’s passion for repairing vintage bicycles started out as a hobby when he was 14, and like all of his other interests, this grew into something app...
Halal Hub in the Making
7 min read
The halal industry as a whole has expanded beyond its traditional association with food fit for Muslim consumption. The Penang state government, for example, ha...