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

Price Among Slaves: An 18th-century slave story still relevant for Malaysia

4 min read

Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Sori was one of millions of Africans captured, transported across the sea to America, and sold into slavery.Michael Wolfe.Abdul&rsq...

It’s time we got to know you, East Malaysia

10 min read

Malaysia Day has not been celebrated with much gusto in Malaysia for many years now, and it was no different last September 16. The festivities were perfuncto...

Unveiling Iran thumb by thumb

7 min read

My mobile phone rings just as the ferry reaches port and the queue starts to move. I glance at the screen: it is an unknown number and I can’t ascertain t...

Going down the Miri country road

2 min read

Cowboy hats, checkered shirts, leather boots and sheriff badges were the dress code of the day as nearly 2,000 people filled the pavilion of Parkcity Everly H...

Making the young Think Green

4 min read

Think Green has been made possible by a number of organisations – the project is driven by Eastern & Oriental Berhad (E&O) under the E&O A.R.T...

Towards a bicycling Penang

4 min read

It’s 10 in the morning on a golden Sunday, and around 10 people have streamed into Starbucks along Jalan Tanjung Tokong. They've just finished a 47km roun...

An analysis of the TPPA

4 min read

We provide the numbers on Malaysia and a comparative analysis between the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) countries on various economic aspects....

Malaysia’s music industry – Let’s make it real

5 min read

I have always thought of our national economy as an apple crumble – it looks nice and solid on the outside, but is in fact soft and gooey on the inside. A...

Seoul subsumes old and new

4 min read

Springtime in Seoul is glorious. Flowers are abloom, everyone spends long hours outdoors and even the protestors sitting in front of the Hyundai building seem l...

Sabahans defend their heritage

4 min read

Walking along Gaya Street in Kota Kinabalu recently, I couldn’t help but linger at the shop fronts of establishments such as Chop Teo Seng, which had on d...

George Town goes dark for Earth Hour 2014

3 min read

Town Hall was buzzing with activity. Music and performances captivated the crowd, many of whom were visiting the various booths, sampling food. Squeals of delig...

Will change come by GE14?

5 min read

More Malays voted for Pakatan at the Kajang by-election held on March 23 than in the General Election in May 2013 (GE13). And in the meantime, according to a re...