Penang Institute played host to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Masters in Public Policy class of 75 students, lecturers and administrators on 27 February 2018. The delegation had visited the Chief Minister YAB Lim Guan Eng the morning of 26 February, who gave them a talk on the challenges presently facing Penang. They also visited Think City Penang that afternoon.
At Penang Institute, they formed the audience for an hour-long talk given by the Institute’s Executive Director Dato’ Dr Ooi Kee Beng, titled “A Short History of Penang: Lessons to be Learned”. Dato’ Dr Ooi elaborated on how Penang is best understood within its historically relevant global context and its experiences as part of the new nation of Malaysia.
He used the example of Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu’s eventful life—as a medical doctor to the Kuomintang in China, as a founder of three political parties in Malaysia, as president of the MCA, and as Penang’s second chief minister—to illustrate Penang’s modern history, and its attempts to find a suitable role within the Federation of Malaysia.
University classes such as this one from LKYSPP—who on this trip were led by LKYSPP’s Acting Dean Professor Danny Quah, and the school’s Li Ka Shing Professor in Political Science, Professor Khong Yuen Foong, both of whom are Penang Free School alumni—have been visiting Penang Institute with increasing frequency in recent times.