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PENANG PROFILE, Penang Monthly, June 2026 AS USUAL, THIS column highlights an exciting personality from Penang, no doubt because of what they have achieved, but more importantly, to showcase their infectious passion for the state of Penang and their ability to inspire its next generation. I query Ch’ng Huck Theng, a conspicuous artist and businessman, among … Continue reading
PENANG IS FULL of inhabitants who were not born here. In fact, there is some oft-repeated “test” to decide if someone not born on the island is truly a Penangite or not. So far can the triviality over identity go. On a good day, I think of Penang as an inclusive, if ironic, entity, having a … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly editorial for May 2026 “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT” makes good sense as a concept. This term was definitely coined to draw attention to the dangers inherent in unrestrained “development”, in a world where all countries have ambitions of becoming “developed”. We cannot, for practical and moral reasons, stop any country from … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, Penang Monthly April 2026 editorial IN THE ENGLISH language, a “hamlet” or “colony” connotes a place of untainted being. Nature is close by, human warmth is at hand and social changes are slow enough to be embraced. But the rural, in practice, is often messy, starting with the domestic and half-tamed … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, Feature in Penang Monthly, March 2026. COSMOPOLIS. That is an exciting word that is full of positive connotations. The original Greek expresses this idea by pairing Kosmos (“world” or “universe”) with Polis (“city-state”). Cosmopolis thus translates into “world-city”, which in short signifies the ideal of a unified political com-munity that absorbs … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Editorial for March 2026 issue of Penang Monthly. ACTIVE AGEING is a trendy term indeed. It is an inspirating notion, serviceable for policymakers and inspirational for ageing individuals. However, and poignantly, it also implies that passive ageing is the default mode for most old people. This is probably because old people … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly editorial, February 2026 A MAJOR AND very useful instinct I developed when dabbling in wushu sparring many decades ago was the ability to read movement. This was part and parcel of physical defence, of course. Not only does one have to be fully attentive all the time—and that would … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Editorial in January 2026 issue of Penang Monthly. MOST OF HUMAN civilisation has been powered by the advancement of group messaging, by the quality and nature of information flows within society. As messaging improved, the size and complexity of society grew accordingly. Language expanded to become scripts. Scripts required scribes, and … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly Editorial, December 2025 NOTHING PROVIDES MORE inspiration for coinage of terms than our five senses. We fashion fundamental words to describe the wide range of information that flows from without onto our body and brain. For example, I am told that the sense of Touch relies on our Skin … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly November 2025 Editorial FESTIVALS are basically a picnic at community level, aren’t they? And just like family picnics, festivals seek to bond. Favourite snacks are brought along by uncles and aunties, favourite games are arranged for the children, and favourite drinks in all colours are prepared to avail all … Continue reading
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