News from the progressive side of Malaysia
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Penang Institute's magazine — its most political stories
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Last post 2 days ago. Imported yesterday. 36 held
001
Penang MonthlyEN
ONE OF THE deepest legacies of colonisation worldwide is the nation-state. Having learned that every inch on earth has to be owned, sooner or later, by some political power, the emergent nation-states, which inherited the territories left behind by crumbling European powers—and…
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002
Penang MonthlyEN
A green lotus seed pod on the grounds.For workaholics to drop everything and go on a retreat is as crazy as asking a parent to stop worrying about their children for a while. Not really possible.
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003
Penang MonthlyEN
The first thing that greeted me was silence. Not the uncomfortable kind; instead, it settled gently over the basketry workshop. There were no machines humming in the background, only the soft sound of rattan being shaped by experienced hands.
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004
Penang MonthlyEN
Heritage café located in the front portion of the building.If the walls, windows and doors of Penang’s “Little India” could speak, they would tell countless stories about the place. From Padukara Theeru (Boatmen’s Street) and Elam Muchanti (Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling), to
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005
Penang MonthlyEN
The front of the Hor Kai Kong Temple in Pulau Tikus filled with young students and neighbourhood worshippers, as a performance by Ling Goh's Iron Gang Puppet Theatre (铁枝帮) began.[1] Onstage, her students and the musicians performed the Four Fortunes Set (四出连)[2]
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006
Penang MonthlyEN
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007
Penang MonthlyEN
Before coupons proliferated, only to be replaced by digital parking applications, parking attendants were ubiquitous across Penang’s public parking facilities.
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008
Penang MonthlyEN
Coming home should be easy, or so I thought. After four years of living in the UK, I imagined that returning to Penang would feel like slipping back into a familiar rhythm: of the food, the languages, the old streets I grew up knowing and the people I once called
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009
Penang MonthlyEN
Opening with an enigmatic arrival in 1970s’ London, Amelié Skoda’s novel, Beth-nal Green, follows a young woman’s sojourn in the metropole to pursue a career in nursing. Suyin’s complicated act of leaving Penang offers a point of departure for questions about
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010
Penang MonthlyEN
A cover image for a presentation of Semester 1 poems.Beyond books and examinations pfs (est. 1816) is Southeast Asia’s oldest English-medium school. Its heritage makes it a particularly compelling place to study Literature today.
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011
Penang MonthlyEN
NIGHT: At the Hu Yew Seah school, a mural featuring the polymath Rabindranath Tag-ore, who laid its foundation stone, magisterially overlooks Lorong Madras.
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012
Penang MonthlyEN
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013
Penang MonthlyEN
“My memory begins, as always,” opens When Memory Dies, “with the rain.” A. Sivanandan’s 1997 novel follows Ceylon’s transition away from being an outpost of the British empire to the postcolonial state of Sri Lanka (where I was born). The novel is
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014
Penang MonthlyEN
In anthony cheah’S watercolour painting, “Ottu Kadai Penang”, the small shop being depicted occupies hardly any space, yet seems to contain an entire neighbourhood. The term “ottu kadai”—also romanised as otthu kadai or oothu kadai—commonly describes a compact Indian sundry
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015
Penang MonthlyEN
JUST PAST 8.30AM, I am hit by oppressive fumes of exhaust as the 101 pulls away from the “Little India” bus stop. The road gives off the distinct smell of pet-richor and wet tarmac. Apart from distant drumming somewhere down Lebuh Chulia, much of this side
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016
Penang MonthlyEN
This issue highlights liveability in Penang, and an initial word of warning is in order. A particular kind of misleading confidence comes from a spreadsheet.
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017
Penang MonthlyEN
BORN IN PENANG in 1951, just six years after the creation of the United Nations (UN), Judy Cheng-Hopkins could hardly have imagined that the organisation would become such a defining part of her life.
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018
Penang MonthlyEN
ADAPTING A Chinese folk dance Leung cha (“cooling tea”) has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a wide range of ailments, on top of quenching thirst in the humid southern provinces like Guangdong.
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019
Penang MonthlyEN
Preytiishaa Ramanathan.Convenience and challenges A young lady slips into a George Town café and scans the QR code, where the payment is logged in her e-wallet history. Then an elderly uncle arrives, carefully counting out notes from his used leather wallet.
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020
Penang MonthlyEN
(Left cover photo) Grandfather’s (Chew Ming Kuang) shop house in Swatow. Circa 1990s.IN A MALAYSIAN cinema hall, the silence is heavy as the credits roll on Lan Hongchun’s 2026 Teochew-dialect film, Dear You (给阿嬷的 情书).[1] Among older viewers, the
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021
Penang MonthlyEN
A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW of Penang’s public transportation network charts the real-time movements of all buses traversing the state, extending into Kedah and Perak.[1] But for Rapid Penang’s approximately 49,460 daily users,[2] this overview is distant from the physical act
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022
Penang MonthlyEN
Penangites, it seems, do not evaluate government in the abstract. Their assessments are connected to what they can actually see and experience: infrastructure, public services, traffic, housing, prices, economic opportunities and policies that are actually delivered.
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023
Penang MonthlyEN
WHAT DOES IT mean to be liveable? How should it be distinguished from satisfiability? Does it encourage us to think about what retirement looks like? And what will governance in Penang look like as a result?
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024
Penang MonthlyEN
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025
Penang MonthlyEN
For those of us who call Penang home, our sense of attachment is strongly tied the state’s liveability. Beyond its famous food trails, rich culture, heritage and greenery that appeal to tourists, the comfort of our physical environment and accessibility to services contribute to…
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026
Penang MonthlyEN
Several heritage buildings in George Town have fallen into disrepair, their historic façades slowly being reclaimed by plants. Many pre-war shophouses in the UNESCO Heritage Site core and buffer areas belong to elderly locals or multi-generational families who simply lack the…
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027
Penang MonthlyEN
The political economy encompassing the night market is strangely illuminative of human society. Why do I say that? Now, one can take the individual as the point of departure for analysing the bare constituents of society.
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028
Penang MonthlyEN
A variety of food choices at Pasar Malam Taman Sungai Dua Utama.ASIA’S Night markets, or “pasar malam”, as they are called in Malaysia, are a popular and established form of economic activity, well-integrated into daily life. The pasar malam comes alive in the evenings,
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029
Penang MonthlyEN
I was flâneuring among artisanal traders along the streets and alleys of George Town in 1996, with a Leica R firmly strapped to my hand. Even then, it felt like stepping back in time. The narrow and busy streets hummed with the sound of traffic and rhythms of
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030
Penang MonthlyEN
Even by mid-afternoon, there is still little to suggest that two ordinary streets in Taman Tun Sardon and Jalan Pantai Jerjak are about to become vibrant public spaces. But soon, vendors begin arriving and unloading crates of vegetables, sea-food and household goods.
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031
Penang MonthlyEN
Few places capture the spirit of Malaysian community life quite like the pasar malam. Besides being valued for their convenience and vibrant atmosphere, they also offer glimpses into our everyday habits.
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032
Penang MonthlyEN
The satay smoke reaches you before the stalls do: smell has never respected queueing etiquette. I had not been to a “pasar malam” (Malay for “night market”) for a long time, long enough that food trucks now outnumber the motorbikes of my childhood, when traders would
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033
Penang MonthlyEN
The widespread availability and use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT, present significant challenges to gauging the authenticity and originality of higher education assessments.
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034
Penang MonthlyEN
Explore Penang’s vibrant pasar malam: diverse food, local culture, and community spirit thrive at these unique night markets
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035
Penang MonthlyEN
The success of the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone has played a pivotal role in shaping Penang’s economic landscape. Now home to over 350 multinational corporations from the US, Japan, Germany and Singapore, the state remains one of the world’s most attractive investment…
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036
Penang MonthlyEN
“WAH, WHAT KIND of Muah Chee is this? So expensive one. You know you can get these for RM3 at a pasar malam?” my 79-year-old aunt exclaimed, seeing the piece of Daifuku mochi I had purchased from a stall at a pop-up market. Cut open,
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Nothing matches that combination.