Penang Monthly

Penang Monthly, by Penang Institute, is the voice of Penang, offering insights on its people, politics, economy, culture, and society, with a focus on local and national issues for curious Malaysians.

817 posts

Jordan Plofsky: Acknowledging results and recognising performance

5 min read

How long have you been in Penang and what were your initial reactions when posted here? I have been coming to Penang since 2001 on a bi-annual basis, but relo...

Palm oil remains key export for Malaysia

4 min read

PALM OIL is widely used in the food and cosmetics markets and has more recently been in great demand in the making of bio-fuel. There are many advantages associ...

Before palm oil, there was coconut oil...

5 min read

WHEN PENANG WAS occupied by the British, it was intended not only to serve as a trading port but also as land for the cultivation of commercial crops such as pe...

Death and the undertaker

5 min read

OOI THEAN CHOO, aka Ah Seng, is a soft -spoken, easygoing man who makes a living out of death. “I’ve been working as a funeral director for more tha...

What the Selangor State Secretary issue teaches us

6 min read

IN 1993 the Federal Constitution of Malaysia was amended with the aim of removing legal immunity of the royalty. Articles 32, 38, 42, 63, 72 and 181 were...

Garbage graves of Penang

8 min read

Different graves for diff erent wastesThe Jelutong dumpsite (20ha) was started in the 1970s and was initially used to receive municipal solid waste (MSW), the...

In between heaven and earth

7 min read

You were born and bred in Penang. How did you find growing up there?I loved growing up in Penang. I was lucky enough to live on Gurney Drive, in one of a row...

All that Rozz-matazz

7 min read

WHO DID PEOPLE WATCH Before Rozz (BR)? Where did we go out at night? The answers are lost in a hazy mist; it’s hard to imagine a time when Penang had a ha...

The Shafee Yahaya Story: Estate Boy to aca Chief

5 min read

THIS NARRATIVE ABOUT Datuk Shafee Yahaya, former Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) chief who assumed the position from June 16, 1994 to September 11, 1998, written b...

The fine art of estimating economic health

10 min read

IntroductionWhen reports say that the economy is growing at six per cent, this number is the change in the real (i.e. adjusted for inflation) gross domestic p...

Horst Rosenmueller : Knowing what motivates others is the key

5 min read

What are some of the key highlights of your professional experience?In 2008, we established an R&D centre here in addition to the R&D Group based in R...

Happiness is a haircut

6 min read

AS A CHILD, whenever I was in need of a haircut my father would take me to our regular Indian barber. I never understood why we always patronised the same shop....