March 2026

Our latest issue explores ageing as renewal, inspired by Ooi Kee Beng’s “liberational ageing.” Stories include love rediscovered, digital confidence among seniors, caregiving, and ageing in Penang, alongside women’s underrepresentation in politics, Penang’s GBS innovation frontier, future-ready education, GTLF highlights, outdoor adventures—and more, reflecting how purpose, participation, and meaning can be cultivated at every stage of life.

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A publication of Penang Institute, Penang Monthly is the voice of Penang - an inspiring read for the curious Malaysian, featuring stories about the people, ideas, and issues shaping the state's well-being. Sign up for a free account to enjoy unlimited access to all our articles.

Tropical Spice Garden: A Sanctuary for Rediscovering Nature and Personal Space

5 min read

Katharine believes that the garden’s success in drawing in crowds from both the community and foreign visitors could not have been made possible without a very passionate, 20-strong team.

by Pan Yi Chieh

A Mall is Not a Third Place and-KOMTAR is Not a Mall

10 min read

For many today, KOMTAR is scarcely noticed. Few recall the Great World Park, old cinemas, schools or the kang-a-kiⁿ road that once shaped this part of the city. What was once Penang’s organically grown civic heart has narrowed into a place most visit only every few years—to renew a passport.

by Tjer Hong Ngo

Room to Roam: How Pets Reshape Public Space

3 min read

Such environments do not merely accommodate pets; they support a mode of living that values connection, slowness and shared presence.

by Aadah Lee

Project Mars: Growing a Forest to Feed and Educate Us

7 min read

Project Mars hopes to shift how people think about eating—not as something dependent on constant regrowth, but as something already growing around them.

by Zoe Kung

Automation and The Middle-Class Squeeze

5 min read

Automation is forcing a philosophical reset in the labour market. While “work” historically meant performing routine tasks for pay, the future requires societies to compete with AI on meaning, not speed.

by Nadhirah Zainuddin

Hurting in Silence: A Need to Fight All Bullying on All Fronts

5 min read

The tragic loss of Zara Qairina[1], the culmination of a systemic bullying culture, where a “High Council” of seniors and abusive confrontations over theft accusations preceded her fatal fall, is a painful reminder that silence can kill.

by Kevin Vimal

Antara Detik: Allowing The Community to Recognise Itself

3 min read

“What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.” — Leisure, William Henry Davies

by Nurul Natasha Amir

A Taste of Penang's Own Coffee

5 min read

I can almost believe I’ve learned to make kopi—or at least understand that in Malaysia, coffee is a simple pleasure, and no less delicious than coffee made anywhere else.

by Marco Ferrarese

A Sea of a Thousand Fires: The Visit of La Bonite to Penang

10 min read

Vaillant looked forward to visiting Penang, partly for strategic rea-sons. The island, he noted, “has played, as is known, an important role in the late wars”, referring to the Napoleonic campaigns in which he had served.

by Eugene Quah

Sketching Across Borders: Ch’ng Kiah Kiean’s Artistic Journey

6 min read

A graduate in Housing, Building & Planning and Architecture, Ch’ng believes that letting go—in this case, of that career path—can sometimes open doors that would otherwise remain hidden.

by Iylia De Silva

The Infinite-Land Exhibition: Alluring and Healing

7 min read

“This exhibition healed me in some ways I didn’t realise.” “That made me feel curious, and also strangely moved. The works were never intended to heal anyone, yet in certain unnoticed moments, they had quietly kept someone company.”

by Rachel Yeoh

Is AI the Next Stage in Human Enlightenment or a Return to Some Dark Age?

2 min read

With the invention and re-invention of printing—first in China, and then in the West—universal literacy, though not achieved even today, became a long-term possibility.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

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