November 2018 - Penang Monthly

Listen Up, Malaysians! You Are Now Individually the Agents of Change

4 min read

One of the greatest challenges that faces a society coming out of a period of authoritarian rule and bad governance is the need to break away from looking to political initiatives and to politicians as the way to fix all national – and even individual – dilemmas.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

So What Are You Reading Today?

12 min read

In the age of digital technology, the habit of reading jostles hard with live streaming and aimless scrolling on social media. Surprisingly – or not – Penangites seem to prefer old-school print.

by Rebecca Vega

Asian Art Dominates at Malaysia Expo

7 min read

Held on October 12-14 (VIP Nite on October 11), AEM+12 ignited more engagement for ostensibly edgier visual-intellectual propulsion beyond the semantics of lucre. Art fairs in Malaysia are still not a money-making enterprise though.

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Jalan-Jalan Cari Datuk: Encounters

3 min read

In Malaysia, specific forces of history and geography created our very own Datuk Kong. The concept of Datuk Kong is as wide-ranging as the imaginations of generations of Malaysians. In this exceptional cultural landscape, we begin our story at the confluence.

by Cheryl J Hoffmann

Siamese Ties in Need of Preservation

7 min read

On May 30, 1845, a piece of land was granted to the Siamese and Burmese communities by the East India Company on behalf of Queen Victoria. Today, Kampung Siam still stands on this land, replete with families that have been living there for generations.

by Tan Lii Inn & Johnson Lee Chong Fatt

How to Survive Without Having to Migrate?

11 min read

What if you want to emigrate to the West but are not able to? Don’t worry – if you shift your paradigm, you don’t need to even worry about survival because you will thrive. Not being able to emigrate can be a blessing in disguise.

by Ken Soong & Michael Soong

Michael Soong

Using Books to Connect Cultures

5 min read

Zubedy Ideahouse is the publicity, communications and creative arm of Zubedy Sdn Bhd. Its primary responsibilities include Zubedy’s communications projects such as their full-page festive ads, book publications and Unity products.

by Emilia Ismail & Tho Mun Yi

Defending Literacy among the Visually Impaired

6 min read

New forms of media following the rise of technological advances have eclipsed the written word, and Braille literacy among the visually impaired appears to be on a gradual decline.

by Regina Hoo

The Hopeful Future of the Malay Novel

7 min read

My curiosity of what makes Malay novels – particularly romance fiction – popular for so many decades brings me to the doorsteps of pundits as well as novelists.

by Izzuddin Ramli

Traversing South-East Asia’s Fractured Literary Landscape

5 min read

Minh Bui Jones’ life is very much tied to words and his South-East Asian roots. Born in Vietnam, he migrated to Australia in 1978 where he began his media career.

by Regina Hoo

Exciting Indie Publishers of Penang

6 min read

Penang Monthly speaks with two indie publishers on how they, despite the odds, have successfully carved out their niches in the local publishing scene.

by Regina Hoo

A Complete Printing Press

8 min read

Phoenix Press, one of the oldest printing presses in Penang, began operations as a commercial printer along Lebuh Gereja at the turn of the twentieth century.

by Regina Hoo