Mayor of the World
8 min read
Dato' Maimunah Mohd Sharif with the children of Mathare.On December 22, 2017, the mayor of Penang, Dato’ Maimunah Mohd Sharif, was appointed Executi...
Outraged Enough to Go Vote or Cynical Enough to Stay Home?
12 min read
So many bizarre and inconceivable things have happened in recent years to damage Malaysia’s international reputation and self-image that, for a mortified...
Listen Up, Malaysians! You Are Now Individually the Agents of Change
4 min read
One of the greatest challenges that faces a society coming out of a period of authoritarian rule and bad governance is the need to break away from looking to political initiatives and to politicians as the way to fix all national – and even individual – dilemmas.
Malaysia – Where politics must be ethnically inclusive and exclusive at the same time
5 min read
As truly as Malay dominance is an inescapable reality for Malaysia, a central policy direction that is ethnically inclusive is unavoidable for sufficient harmony to be achieved so that its economy can gain the trust of both domestic and international investors, and grow to its full potential.
Tun Lim Chong Eu: The Past Is Not Passé
4 min read
Tun Lim Chong Eu's reflections on history and politics show that, while we may be shaped by our past, we are not prisoners of it. Penang’s future hinges on learning from history to innovate and adapt.
Suffolk House-keeping
13 min read
Next to the Methodist Boys School stands what is destined to be one of Penang's most renowned restored heritage buildings, Suffolk House.
Brain drain, once removed
8 min read
Penangites have been leaving the state to work in other parts of Malaysia and throughout the world, at least since the 1960s. The ties they retain with their home state vary, depending on family and working conditions.
Federalism going down the toilet
3 min read
Something that Malaysians have had to realise in recent months is that political power in the country has over the years become so centralised that local governance is in real danger of disappearing altogether.
Finding Penang’s niche
2 min read
From left to right:Professor Dr p. Ramasamy, Penang Deputy Chief Minister ii; Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister; Liew Chin Tong, seri executive director and...
The man who industrialised Penang
6 min read
A politician may point the way, but without competent and dedicated civil servants to do the work, not much gets done. Luckily, Dr Lim Chong Eu had Chet Singh on his side.
Colonial Penang's pre-modern roots
3 min read
Penang under the East India Company 1786-1858Andrew BarberAB&A. 2009; Hard cover;160 pagesReview by Ooi Kee BengThe salience of the approach Barber ch...
On vibrant port cities and anomalous nation states
6 min read
Ooi Kee Beng sat down with Professor Ho Eng Seng, a Penang Free School alumnus, who shared with him some of the most important lessons he had learned on his long academic journeys.