August 2015 - Penang Monthly

Paddy planting: Rise of the machines (or maybe not)

4 min read

I trawled the shops of KL to find one of those fishing outfits that keep you dry in knee-deep water. I wanted it for paddy planting, not so much to keep dry but...

by Carolyn Hong

Carolyn Hong

Saintly relics for Penang church

6 min read

“What have you been waiting for?”The question was vague and certainly not what Fr Martin Arlando was expecting when he answered a late morning cal...

by Andrea Filmer

Andrea Filmer

Best to breastfeed

6 min read

It was looking to be one of the more unusual interviews I would do. Sitting in my living room and armed with the usual pen and paper, I had an extra “acce...

by Andrea Filmer

Andrea Filmer

RIDING THE TECH TIGER

15 min read

Curry Khoo.I meet Curry Khoo for the first time at Starbucks in Auto-City in Juru. It is afternoon and I am actually running late – Google Maps is l...

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

P. Ramlee: A Penang superstar

7 min read

The Penang air was hot and dusty, and the corrugated iron roof of his house was no help. Seeking relief from boredom and the heat, a skinny boy zipped down the...

by Yap Jo-yee

Measuring creativity

5 min read

Malaysia’s creative content industry is estimated to be worth RM16bil, according to the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). “Platforms such...

by Penang Monthly

Taking water and colours to new heights

6 min read

Watercolours are deemed low in the art hierarchy. But it is in that genre that Chang Fee Ming is a game-changer, known for constantly pushing the parameters of...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Making music tell stories

5 min read

This April’s Penang World Music Festival was touted to have the best line-up of musicians yet, with performances that were at once culturally educational...

by Michelle Leong

Michelle Leong

The “banality of evil” in Malaysia

4 min read

Fifty-four years ago, Jewish writerphilosopher Hannah Arendt came up with the concept of “the banality of evil” after she covered the trial of Adolf...

by Kee Thuan Chye

Cartoons for the people

5 min read

Who is the most controversial cartoonist in Malaysia, currently being investigated on a whopping nine charges under the notorious Sedition Act and facing a pote...

by Dr Mustafa K Anuar

Dr Mustafa K Anuar

Corruption and cronyism: Two sides of the same coin

5 min read

Following the first Bumiputera Economic Congress in 1965, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) was established as a statutory body through an Act of Parliament. The trus...

by Steven Sim

A book that questions race and probes history

6 min read

Walking towards Red House Canteen at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Dr Ariffin Omar recounts to me his time as both a student and lecturer on and beyond the...

by Liani MK