January 2026

Our January issue explores how artificial intelligence is redefining work, security and everyday life, from the promises of automation and digital finance to the ethical questions it raises about creativity, ownership and the future of human thinking.

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A publication of Penang Institute, Penang Monthly is the voice of Penang - an inspiring read for the curious Malaysian, featuring stories about the people, ideas, and issues shaping the state's well-being. Sign up for a free account to enjoy unlimited access to all our articles.

The Many Sides of Good City Living

7 min read

ONE OUT OF TWO people in the world already lives in a city today. In 40 years, seven out of 10 will be doing that. Rapid urbanisation around the world has put to past the notion that cities would become sprawling (like many American towns);

by Tricia Yeoh

Best Step Forward For Public Transport

5 min read

IT IS A FAMILIAR SIGHT: every working day, right after quitting time, the Penang Bridge is filled with thousands of cars (with plenty of empty passenger seats), lines very slowly inching forward.

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

Improving Penang’s Wet Markets

4 min read

Supermarkets may be seen as symbols of urban development, but it is not true that they have replaced our wet markets. What would Penang be without fresh produce from Chowrasta, Jelutong or Batu Lanchang?

by Datuk Dr. Goh Ban Lee

The Vast Potential of Gender Responsive Budgeting

8 min read

Governance is more than being transparent, accountable and competent. It is about allocation of resources as well. You need clear goals in your budgeting. Gender is a parameter that should be prioritised, since policies cannot help but affect men and women differently.

by James Lochhead

James Lochhead

Giving Guests More

7 min read

MARCO GIOVANNI BATTISTOTTI is a familiar face in the Penang hotel scene. A larger than life figure, figuratively and literally speaking, the half-German half-It...

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

Penang’s Investment Numbers

9 min read

A look at Penang's investment numbers over the years.

by Ong Wooi Leng

The Winning Formula: Why Investors Choose Penang

17 min read

TO A FIRST-TIME VISITOR Penang can feel like it’s stuck in a time warp, caught between its colonial trading past and electronic manufacturing heydays; sandwiched between upper-tier cosmopolitan cities like Singapore and Shanghai and aspiring wannabes such as Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City.

by Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

Rocking For Our Rights

5 min read

With the elections around the corner, a group of musicians got together to spread the word on what our rights really are.

by Daniel Lee & Neoh Lik Chuen

Neoh Lik Chuen

Selangor Passes Two Key Reform Bills

5 min read

POLICY REFORMS CAN be a drawn-out and laborious process, but once in a blue moon you get a sudden windfall – and this makes it all worth the wait. In the March 2011 Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting, two significant things took place.

by Tricia Yeoh

Innovating Up To Speed – Measuring Penang’s Innovative Capabilities

28 min read

RECENTLY, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the plan for the development of Greater Penang, which would comprise the state of Penang and extend to the Kulim High Tech Park and Perak industrial parks.

by Norlela Ariffin

Norlela Ariffin

Is The CPI Vulnerable to Mood Swings?

3 min read

The consumer price index or CPI measures price movements from one year to the next, giving us an indication of inflation. A variety of consumption items goes into computing the CPI but each is given a different weight.

by Amirul Syakirin Ahmad Jamil

Amirul Syakirin Ahmad Jamil

Straits Muslims: Diasporas of the Northern Passage of the Straits of Malacca

4 min read

MARITIME SOUTH-EAST ASIA WAS – and is – a region filled with port cities. Such urban centres tend to concentrate both power and money. But more th...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

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