Bukit Mertajam: The Mount That Decides Borders
12 min read
“KEEP YOUR PISTOL cocked and ready, tuan, when you see me uncover my kris, as we pass through the blukar…
Collectibles in The Hills
9 min read
THERE IS SOMETHING deeply satisfying about crossing off an item that has lingered far too long on your to-do list.…
Colonial Penang’s Southern Frontier: Tin, Treaties and the Pangkor Connection
11 min read
THE NAME PANGKOR was mentioned as far back as 1511 by Sulaymān al-Mahrī in his treatise al-Minhāj al-Fākhir fī ʿIlm…
Francis Light School and The Dawn of Merdeka
11 min read
AT THE EASTERN end of Northam Road (now Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah), within the weathered walls of the Old Protestant…
Penang Climbs Up the Semiconductor Value Chain
7 min read
ACCORDING TO THE Financial Times, Malaysia (mostly Penang) supplies 20% of the semiconductor products imported by the US as of…
Gunung Jerai: The Prominent Peak on The North
7 min read
ALONG JALAN TANJUNG BUNGAH, part of Penang’s scenic north coast road leading to the tourist belt of Batu Ferringhi,…
Mariophile: The Early Days of the Estate and Country Retreat of the College General
11 min read
THE COLLEGE GENERAL, off Jalan Cengal, is a venerable Catholic seminary emphasising a prayerful and secluded life for its students—…
Bencoolen: The Forgotten British Outpost
10 min read
IN THE HEART of Singapore’s bustling Central Business District, Bencoolen Street hums with activity. Locals and tourists alike traverse…
Penang's Magazines Preserve The Past and Shape the Future
8 min read
In early 1989, Ganesh Kolandaveloo, a Form 5 student at St. Xavier’s Institution, would visit his grand-uncle’s newsstand on Prangin Road after school.
Local History Matters Most Immediately
7 min read
IN THE GRAND theatre of social media—where cat videos reign supreme and discussions about anything often devolve into spirited…
Recognising Penang’s Global Legacy Around Its Esplanade
9 min read
IN EARLY MAY, I was invited to the annual state-level Vaisakhi festival at Fort Cornwallis by the Sikh community. The choice of the fort as an annual venue for...
The Story of Early Juru
9 min read
IN LATE APRIL 1845, James Richardson Logan, a Penang lawyer and ethnologist, visited Bukit Tengah and Juru. He noted that land bounded by the Prai and Juru rive...