Developers of 18th Century Pinang
5 min read
Since the details are largely hearsay passed down by a son of Haji Brunie to Vaughan, caution should be exercised in accepting them as facts.The possession...
FOR A SOCIETY CIVIL AND DECENT
11 min read
Ooi Kee Beng: Let’s discuss the recent rise of civil society activism in Malaysia. We had a half-year of rallies in mid-2007, starting with 600 people f...
Penang Before Francis Light (as the English saw it in 1905)
3 min read
The book also intriguingly states that when Francis Light in 1786 settled in Penang, an island thought by the Europeans to be uninhabited, “he found 58...
Tariq Ramadan – Islam Reviewed From Within
16 min read
Ooi Kee Beng: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us after your very long day. Again, welcome to Penang. The point you made in your speech today, which s...
System of Government in the Straits Settlements, 1942
5 min read
Mills’ work is most probably the last scholarly analysis of how the British Empire was run east of the Indian subcontinent written just before it all came...
Cheah Cheng Hye
11 min read
Cheah Cheng Hye, alumnus of Penang Free School, has been called the Warren Buffett of the East. Although he claims that gives him way too much credit, the reaso...
Inhabitants of Penang, 1803
4 min read
The 38-page typewritten volume was conceived more as a report to the East India Company and the British Government in London than as a public document. Certain...
Marks of a Sincere Malaysian Leader
4 min read
There is an anecdote told among close acquaintances of the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s feared and respected Deputy Prime Minister and Home...
Jefferey Sachs: Growth & Equality are Compatible
9 min read
Penang Institute held the fourth event in its “Penang in Asia” Lecture Series on October 20, 2012. The honoured speaker was Prof Jeffrey D. Sachs. P...
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...
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...
Smoking opium in Penang, 1854
4 min read
It destroyed countless lives and countless families, and came to be associated with Chinese culture despite the trade being run largely by the British as part o...