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.

EMC lab to encourage product designing

6 min read

From september 2010 onwards, Penang can boast an EMC laboratory of its own. This cutting edge technology determines whether or not a new electronic product design may generate or transmit unintended electromagnetic energy that interferes with other electrical equipment.

by Poh Heem Heem

Poh Heem Heem

Stronger states, greater progress

4 min read

The recent spat between the Penang Chief Minister and the State Development Officer heated up an issue that most people think about but dare not discuss – more autonomy for Penang. Always the bellwether state, Penang holds the potential for being a new model of development for Malaysia.

by Neil Khor

Civil servants at an impasse

5 min read

Since taking over several state governments, one of the areas the Pakatan Rakyat has had to contend most with is the civil service. A majority of the bureaucrats...

by Tricia Yeoh

Secrets only ghosts can know

5 min read

Review of The Blue Mansion, a film directed by Glen Goei and shot at Penang's Cheong Fatt Tze mansion.

by Shakila Rajendra

Shakila Rajendra

Putting Penang’s waterfronts to work

5 min read

Penang’s history and development has always been linked to the sea. Since the British East India Company sailed into Penang’s coastal waters and established George Town on the island’s north-east tip, waterways have configured Penang’s development in fundamentals ways.

by Richard Ho

Richard Ho

A Man Who Always Made An Impression

7 min read

Teik Chee touched many lives, and even those who got to know him for only a brief spell came away impressed. When news spread of his death, I received SMSes, phone calls and e-mails from my friends who had been acquainted with him, asking what had driven him to it.

by Kee Thuan Chye

New dynamics demand new directions

4 min read

When resources are limited, new approaches to research are needed if the results are to be of the type that are not only useful but that also hold their own momentum. With global dynamics changing fast, new directions for research which promise higher efficacy are a pressing need.

by Liew Chin Tong

On vibrant port cities and anomalous nation states

6 min read

Ooi Kee Beng sat down with Professor Ho Eng Seng, a Penang Free School alumnus, who shared with him some of the most important lessons he had learned on his long academic journeys.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Turning disability into a national asset

8 min read

Malaysia is signatory to numerous conventions on equal opportunities and equal treatment for disabled persons. However, Malaysian society has yet to give adequate thought to the productivity factor of disabled persons and whether they can be gainfully employed.

by Khor Hung Teik

Khor Hung Teik

Priced off Penang: Who can afford an island home?

12 min read

Property prices in Penang have skyrocketed in recent years, particularly in the northeastern region of the island, and young Penangites now face the prospect of renting, or finding a home much further away.

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

Parables, Prophets & Pillocks

5 min read

Parables, Prophets & Pillocks is divided into four “testaments” in which run four different themes. The first testament takes on political shenanigans both local and abroad.

by Carolyn Ch’ng Sue Ern

Carolyn Ch’ng Sue Ern

A matrix to predict Penang’s population distribution

9 min read

There is a policy document, I am told, that says 40% of Penangites shall, in the near future, be living on the island and the other 60%, on the mainland. One...

by Chan Huan Chiang

Chan Huan Chiang

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