Following the arrival of the Chief Minister of Penang, YAB Chow Kon Yeow at 7.30pm, the event kicked off with speeches by Dato’ Dr Ooi Kee Beng, the managing editor of Penang Monthly and Executive Director of Penang Institute, and YB Liew Chin Tong, Deputy Defence Minister and co-founder of the magazine. The opening opening speech was presented by YAB Chow.
The event featured caricature demonstrations by Azmi Hussin, a spoken word poetry performance by Aoife Sacker-Ooi, a quartet performance by the Penang Philharmonic Orchestra and a presentation on the evolution of Penang Monthly that included video statements from key players in the magazine including Dato’ Ir. Jaseni Maidinsa, Ms Ooi Geok Ling, Mr Lim Siang Jin, Mr Ooi Kok Chuen and past editors of the magazine.
The event also saw the launching of two books, Month by Month, a compilation of every editorial by Dato’ Dr Ooi from the magazine, and Peaks and Parks by Louise Goss Custard and Rexy Prakash Chako, sponsored by The Habitat Penang.
To date, the magazine has produced 120 issues, has a social media following of almost 18,000 and and an online page view count that, in 2018, reached 416,000 visitors from all over the world.