Penang Institute Newsletters – Penang Institute

October 2022 – Democracy Starts With The Vote, But Doesn’t End There

And so, the GE15 general election is called. Of the nine states which had not recently held state-level elections…

September 2022 – Distinguishing Between A Uniting Nationalism And A Divisive One

As globalisation processes take hits from numerous angles, nationalism grows in strength throughout the world. This word—Nationalism…

August 2022 – A Collaborative Approach Will Work Best for Developing, Keeping and Attracting Talents

The economic situation for Penang coming out of Covid-19 looks much better than many could have assumed. FDIs continue…

July 2022 – Difficult but Promising Times Ahead

Even as Covid cases remain stubbornly high, the world at large has moved on to worry about other pressing matters, such as…

June 2022 – Relax But Stay Cautious

As we start getting used to post-pandemic realities, and physical events and travels become daily affairs again, there is still a need to stay cautious…

May 2022 – Making Conscious Choices In A Changed Environment

If you had fallen into a coma in January 2020, and woken up only in May 2022, you will probably feel very…

April 2022 – Post-Pandemic, People Are Prone To Take Charge Of Their Lives

As things return to “normal” in Malaysia, most of us do sense that a profound transitional period is at hand. This goes beyond…

March 2022 – Springtime In The Air

The past month has been a very busy one at Penang Institute, despite some staff members catching Covid-19. There is definitely optimism and energy…

February 2022

Giving words and attention to the strange forms of isolation we had to endure over the last two years and to the various ways we devised to manage that…

January 2022 – A Renewal Of Malaysian Federalism May Be At Hand

Johor is soon to hold its state election separate from the federal election. With that, it joins Sabah and Sarawak, which over the last 18 months …

December 2021 – Trust Is What We Need, More Than Hope

Hope is what we reserve for things that are beyond our control. It is therefore the passive sentiment most popularly promoted when we are overwhelmed by events, as…

November 2021 – Exposure Keeps Us Culturally Healthy

What the Covid threat and the lockdowns throughout the world have done is to encourage cultural claustrophobia and social defensiveness. In a country like Malaysia…

October 2021 – The Post-Covid Reality is a Political Process

There is no doubt that Malaysia and the world will exit into a normality informed by the Covid-19 pandemic which brought common suffering to all of mankind. What that normality will be like…

September 2021 – Correct Data and Its Strong Sense of Community Should Get Penang Through

As the world begins to see the end of the pandemic, the real work of rethinking and rebuilding and restoring awaits. This requires reliable information and data about how the pandemic…

August 2021 – Tough Days Ahead for Everyone

As the pandemic enters its 18th month, the vaccination rate has reached a respectable and hopeful level. However, the infection rates are also at their highest throughout the country…

Stay Updated