Rocking our Kopitiams
4 min read
Low plastic tables spill onto the five-foot way, while inside, patrons chat, slurp their noodles and sip their drinks.It is a fond, familiar scene. “The...
Nazi Goreng– A hard-hitting and entertaining story of a racialised Malaysia
7 min read
Marco Ferrarese is an animated fellow. The author of the controversially titled but highly entertaining and painfully truthful Nazi Goreng exudes high-octane en...
Chowrasta Market undergoes change
7 min read
Call me an Orientalist if you wish, but to hell with Edward Said’s theories. Street markets are one of the most peculiar and colourful realities of life i...
Keeping Silambam spinning
5 min read
Expert hands twirl the rattan stick so fast it draws circles in the air, and you know it’s moving closer to you when you start to hear sounds akin to scis...
NonserviaM lifts heavy metal higher
5 min read
Non Serviam is the title of Greek black metal stalwarts Rotting Christ’s popular 1994 album, but there is no musical analogy between them and Penang&rsq...
Working for ghosts
6 min read
Ornate paper effigy of the King of Hell.The best part of the Hungry Ghost Festival comes at the end of the seventh lunar month, when a melee of Chinese li...
From China with Love
6 min read
If you spend a few hours in any of KL’s shopping malls (and increasingly, Penang and other major Malaysian cities), you might perchance notice a number of...
A brewery of cultures
5 min read
Shirtless and arms akimbo on the sides of his bulging stomach, The Owner stands behind the cashier of his hole-in-the-wall shop, Antarabangsa in George Town....
The renewal of Butterworth continues
6 min read
First of all, art is creation. A meaningful passage between the inner sensibilities of an artist and the outer world. A process that leads individuals to unleas...
An art exchange on Penang’s walls and streets
6 min read
A crowd of curious Penangites and visitors gathered at the Hin Bus Depot Art Centre on Jalan Gurdwara at the end of November for the launch of the international...
The bookman who embraced Penang
6 min read
Flesh-eating zombies, teenage drugrunners, cannibal condoms from outer space. On the other hand, there’s also Jemaah Islamiyah-affiliated terrorists on th...
Road tripping with long-distance parents
5 min read
“Are you sure that you are comfortable driving like that?”“Yes, dad.”“Because you know, you shouldn’t stay so close to t...