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Penang Monthly [formerly Penang Economic Monthly]

This category contains 202 posts

Excelling Every Day Is Easier Than You Think

By Dato’ Dr. Ooi Kee Beng. Editorial in Penang Monthly, September 2023  ANYONE WHO HAS achieved something they are proud of, when revisiting the memory of it later in life, tends to feel a warm and tingling sensation of “Wow, did I do that? Was that me?!” Much can be gleaned about ourselves from this … Continue reading

An Hour with the Author: Tan Twan Eng. A Global Penang Tale on Meaning and Marriage

Tan Twan Eng, one of Penang’s most famous authors today, was in town in July. He granted Penang Monthly an interview at the E&O Hotel, where some key scenes in his new book are played out. Ooi Kee Beng: Congratulations on the success of The House of Doors, Twan Eng. I imagine the experience of finishing a first … Continue reading

Books are the Preferred Medium, Even for the Gods

By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly August 2023 editorial “BEST PRACTICES” is quite a clever term. I had trouble accepting it at first, trained to be relativistic as I am by the social sciences. I had to ask questions like: Who decides such things? Who decides that a practice is “best”? Over time, I came … Continue reading

Insular Yet Global. Is That Not the Essence of Penang?

GROWING UP IN the foothills of the Penanghighlands, the towering heights — ever verdant, ever extant — always acted as the backdrop to my young life. It comforted with its weighty presence, albeit that its vibrancy often suggested danger. One has to be cautious climbing the slopes. Scorpions, snakes and spiders were always around, always enchanting but always mysterious in … Continue reading

Middle Bank – Penang’s Central Park

By Ooi Kee Beng. Penang Monthly editorial June 2023 HISTORY seldom follows a distinct and predictable line of events. Contingencies, serendipities, good luck and bad luck, all come into play. Naturally, therefore, how polities interact with geography over time leaves behind legacies and perspectives which do not necessarily act to their best advantage. In fact, … Continue reading

Penang Continues to Punch Above Its Weight

By OOI KEE BENG, May 2023 PENANG MONTHLY starts a new series, where we, once a year, talk to the Chief Minister of Penang. We met up with YAB Chow Kon Yeow after lunch on Saturday, 4 March 2023, at Penang Institute for the first interview in the series, CM Update. Ooi Kee Beng: CM, state … Continue reading

Can We Be Playful About Sport?

By OOI KEE BENG, Editorial in Penang Monthly, May 2023 ALL SOCIALLY INCLINED animals start life by crying for food. Beyond that, they seek safety and comfort. After that, the need to train their bodies for the future takes over. If there are siblings, they begin to fool around with each other, in the process, … Continue reading

The Creative Economy Appears Devised for Penang

By Ooi Kee Beng, April 2023 Editorial, Penang Monthly THE TERM “creative economy” sometimes sounds like an oxymoron in that human creativity is more often than not associated with the arts, executed more for passion and as individual expression than for making money. But like with so many things today, we have to consider seriously the … Continue reading

CPO Shuhaily Zain: To Lead is to Train (Part Two)

By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Profile, April 2023 Penang Monthly IN FEBRUARY 2023, Penang Monthly published the first part of an interview with Dato’ Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, the Chief Police Officer of Penang, which was titled “Beyond Mere Enforcement of the Law”. This month, we conclude the exciting discussion he had with Ooi Kee Beng. Ooi Kee … Continue reading

CPO Shuhaily Zain: Beyond Mere Enforcement of the Law (Part One)

Ooi Kee Beng in conversation with CPO Shuhaily Zain (Penang Monthly, February 2023) DATO’ MOHD SHUHAILY ZAIN became Penang’s Chief Police Officer (CPO) during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was quickly recognised locally as a dynamic leader who is highly conscious of the important role in social development that the police has, or should have. Penang … Continue reading