Posts

The life of Datuk Kecil, a Penang Malay boatman and ferry operator, belongs to the ordinary labour that kept Penang connected. He carried people and…

On the island of Penang, where humidity hangs low over kampong gardens and the night air carries the perfume of jasmine, generations of Malay artisans have…

The village of Kampung Permatang Pasir lies in the flatlands of Seberang Perai, on the mainland side of Penang, where generations of Malay families have worked…

Betel nut commonly means the seed inside the fruit of the areca palm, Areca catechu. It is not the same plant as the betel leaf used in a pinang mixture. In…

For generations before Penang's northern coastline became a global tourism strip, a small Malay community at Batu Feringghi wove its living from the sea, the…

For generations of Penang Malay children, the evening air rang with the click of seeds on carved wood and the hum of spinning tops. These were living…

Tok Baik remains one of the most celebrated Malay puppeteers to have worked the night markets, royal courtyards, and village squares of Penang. His shadow…

Penang kitchens once revolved around sturdy clay vessels that simmered curries, boiled rice, and stored drinking water beside the shaded verandah. Long before…

Kampung Sungai Nibong sits on a stretch of lowland near the northern coast of Penang island, where a tidal creek once carried fishing boats and bundles of…

Penang fell to Japanese forces in December 1941 and stayed under military control until August 1945. Penang Malay oral histories of the Japanese Occupation…