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.

835 posts

What Will a Second Term Mean for Penang and Selangor?

5 min read

Over the last five years, Selangor and Penang have experienced significant changes under new state governments. But despite the innovative policies implemented,...

Penang Paradigm

9 min read

The present stagnation of the Malaysian economy cannot in truth be blamed on the Global Financial Crisis that broke out in September 2008 and on the slow recove...

One Billion and Rising

3 min read

In Malaysia, police statistics in 20101 show that eight reports on domestic violence and 17 on sexual violence are made daily. These shocking numbers show that...

Gurney Drive Must be Improved

4 min read

Gurney Drive came into being in 1934. The surrounding real estate was a choice area for the affluent to live; the sea water was clean and the sandy beach, invit...

The Sabah-Sulu Crisis Threatens The Palm Oil Supply Chain

7 min read

Suluk “invasion” of eastern SabahThe first of nearly 200 militants entered the massive (nearly 96,000ha) oil palm plantation run by Felda Global V...

Is Malaysia Prepared? The ASEAN Economic Community is at Hand

14 min read

For the last two decades, Asean has been working on deepening the economic integration process among its 10 member countries. In 1992, it signed the Asean Free...

Making Space Truly Public

6 min read

The conventional way to use a space is to build something like a park. But without some kind of an attraction to draw people to use the park, it would simply be...

Khaw Sim Bee and The Na Ranong Family: A Shared History of Penang and Southern Thailand

4 min read

Penangites may recall catching a glimpse of a road sign bearing the name “Jalan Khaw Sim Bee” while passing Perak Road. This may very well be the on...

Can Our Economy Withstand a Political Transition?

4 min read

As political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat said, this uncertainty is a natural response to the situation we are in. “The electoral authoritarian regime has...

Surely Not Another Cold War!

5 min read

In the many workshops on US-China relations that I have attended in the last decade, one very popular view about the future of US-China relations is based on th...

Time to Free the Mass Media

6 min read

Tears came to my eyes when I was watching a documentary on Martin Luther King, Jr recently. This always happens when I watch programmes or movies portraying the...

Raising Awareness in the Fight Against Cancer

5 min read

Members of the cancer support group.Major advances in medical science now mean that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence. What’s more, the num...