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Ooi Kee Beng

Dr OOI KEE BENG is the Executive Director of Penang Institute (George Town, Penang, Malaysia). He was born and raised in Penang, and was the Deputy Director of ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISEAS). He is the founder-editor of the Penang Monthly (published by Penang Institute), ISEAS Perspective (published by ISEAS) and ISSUES (published by Penang Institute). He is also editor of Trends in Southeast Asia, and a columnist for The Edge, Malaysia.
Ooi Kee Beng has written 520 posts for Wikibeng

One Country’s Merdeka is Another’s Damage Control

By Ooi Kee Beng For Penang Monthly, October 2015. [Also published in Digital Edge Weekly, 31 August 2015 as “Merdeka – Unfinished Liberation”] It takes two hands to clap; there is no shore unless there is sea; and one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor, as the poet rightly claims. You get the point. There … Continue reading

Speaking of Pulau Tikus…

Editorial for Penang Monthly, September 2015 Pulau Tikus. The name always sounded exotic to the ears of a boy growing up in the general area of Ayer Itam (yes, not Air Itam), Reservoir Gardens and Rifle Range. At a time when I still measured distance by bicycle speed, the place was far enough away to … Continue reading

Singapore–A Strict Land of Paradoxes

By Ooi Kee Beng For SING, August 2015 “50 Years, and Counting…” [Singapore Association of Hong Kong]. This tiny nation may be heavy-handed at times, but many laud it adaptive, responsive, progressive and even creative. Ooi Kee Beng examines the paradox that is Singapore, and why it has been so successful the last 50 years. … Continue reading

The UAE Passes an Anti-Discriminatory Law Worth Importing

Editorial for Penang Monthly, August 2015. I WAS IN Abu Dhabi recently for the first time. The United Arab Emirates is a strange land. Its citizens make up only 15% of the whole population. The rest are foreigners of one kind or another and from all parts of the world. It is in that sense … Continue reading

An intercontinental trip a year keeps the psychiatrist away

By OOI KEE BENG Editorial, Penang Monthly, JULY 2015 We take global communication as a matter of course today. Not long ago, messages had to be written on physical media to arrive only after being carried across oceans and mountains. Since then, we have seen the telegram come and go, and now with the internet … Continue reading

Is democracy in practice reaching its limits?

By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge Malaysia | July 7, 2015 I have always enjoyed the story — almost certainly a false and libellous one, but that does not matter here — about the tragic French Queen Marie Antoinette watching in consternation from a palace window as rebels rioted on the streets of Paris … Continue reading

Multi-tiered governments are unavoidable

For THE EDGE Malaysia, May 31-June 6 2015 (titled “Democracy is Necessarily Multi-tiered” By OOI KEE BENG It is time we pay careful attention to the essential multi-tieredness of democracy. Democracy is in essence much more than simply the electing of a central government. It is about electing representatives at different levels in order to … Continue reading

Noses don’t grow back

Editorial, Penang Monthly June 2015 By OOI KEE BENG It is very sad that the state of Penang is being ignored in the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020). None of the infrastructure projects the Penang government presented for financial support has been accepted by the federal government. Putrajaya seems to imagine that Malaysia will reach advanced … Continue reading

Penang Monthly goes free in June

Editorial of Penang Monthly, May 2015 By OOI KEE BENG Spread the good news! Penang Monthly will be a free magazine from June 2015 onwards. Next month, you will be able to pick up a copy at selected locations throughout Penang. Gerakbudaya Penang (78, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, opening hours 11am-8pm) and Chocolate Passion Cafe … Continue reading

Maritime Focus is Southeast Asia’s Given Mind-set

By OOI KEE BENG For THE EDGE MALAYSIA, March 29-April 4 How the geographical belt stretching from South India through Southeast Asia up to Northeast Asia develops in the near future holds great significance not only for the global economy but for how leaders in maritime Southeast Asia think about their own country. To be … Continue reading