October 2013 - Penang Monthly

Reviving a state of mind that can save our urban legacy

5 min read

One Sunday morning, I got up at the break of dawn to head into the heart of old KL with my parents. I had been hearing about a volunteer group called Rakan KL...

Constraints on artistic expression multiply

5 min read

Ng Sek San's Malaysian Spring installation "terkongkong" (constricted) inside a room.The latest blow to strike Malaysia’s art scene was the banning...

Making tourism lasting

4 min read

Prof Badaruddin Mohamed remembers a time when few people were interested in the phenomenon of tourism, or at least tourism research.“In 1990, the numb...

The Future Must Be Green

5 min read

The bird catchers came on Sunday, three men smoking cigarettes and talking in loud voices. They settled in the tiny padang beside my garden. “Catching bir...

George Town remains young at heart

5 min read

Nothing ever changes in George Town, yet everything changes all the time. Old shophouses stand unchanged to face the test of time, but within them new shops and...

Carolyn Hong

TEDx Weld Quay's Artistry within offers Penang a different stroke

1 min read

On October 12 this year, Penang hosts the TEDx Weld Quay, named after the charming clan jetties at the water edge of George Town. To be held a...

Embracing Islam's Diversity

7 min read

What is the historical background of the Sunni-Shiite conflict?There are two major schools among Muslims: the As-Sahabah school (the companions, disciples,...

Time to mainstream forensic science

6 min read

During my studies in the UK, the murder trial of Stephen Lawrence was something no forensic science student could afford to overlook. With double jeopardy laws...

Devotion to the nine emperors

2 min read

Every year, during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, devotees of the Nine Emperor Gods celebrate for nine days and nights, creating places of inten...

The GST & YOU

15 min read

The likelihood is very high that the National Budget being tabled on October 25 will introduce the country to a Goods and Services Tax (GST). This move is drive...

The first and forgotten Chief Minister of Penang

6 min read

When it comes to the history of Penang’s modernisation, the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu’s name will always appear. His legacy, from the Free Trade Zone...

Koay Su-Lyn

Make our main roads Welcoming for Walkers

4 min read

Penang Island has undergone tremendous changes in the popular mode of transport over the last few decades. In the 1950s and 1960s, when there were not too many...