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These are the days of miracle and wonder.Don’t cry, baby, don’t cry.Don’t cry. — Paul Simon, “The Boy in the Bubble”, 1986. THE 1960S AND 70S were turbulent times culturally. At least that was what I thought when living through them. The youth revolution and the music revolution were going on. But more profoundly, underneath … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, In Penang Monthly, October 2023 PENANG INSTITUTE is in the process of launching its Forum for Leadership And Governance (FLAG) Project. The venue for its series of initiatives will be the newly renovated South Wing building on its grounds at 10-12 Brown Road. Why Are We Doing This? Penang Institute’s main … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Editorial for October 2023 in Penang Monthly MODERN ECONOMICS and modern living are paradoxically based on sustained advances in means of mobility, on the one hand, and in the human ability to live in huge settlements, on the other. Bringing human individuals into close proximity with each other in regular and … Continue reading
September 2023 PENANG PROFILE Professor Dato’ Dr. Zulfigar Yasin may be best known today as one of Malaysia’s top marine biologists, but much of his professional life has been spent in areas of great consequence to the nation. And by that, we also mean his influence as a teacher, mentor and leader of the young and … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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