Penang is a place where time lingers. On its streets, layers of history unfold in the architecture of George Town’s shophouses, the scent of incense flavours of food, century-old clan temples and the inflections of Tamil, Hokkien, Malay, and English spoken in the same breath. Once a vital node in the colonial spice trade and a meeting point of Eastern and Western cultures, Penang today remains a cultural crossroads—where heritage and modernity exist in delicate tension. Yet behind the island’s postcard charm lies a more complex reality: urban development, tourism, and gentrification are steadily reshaping the landscapes and lives of its long-standing communities
The Living History Project is working in Penang to preserve not just buildings, but lived experiences. Through digital storytelling and community interviews, we are capturing the human side of heritage by focusing on the everyday lives, trades, and neighbourhoods that are often excluded from official histories — our goal is to document the voices and places that give Penang its soul.
Penang is a place where time lingers. On its streets, layers of history unfold in the architecture of George Town’s shophouses, the scent of incense flavours of food, century-old clan temples and the inflections of Tamil, Hokkien, Malay, and English spoken in the same breath. Once a vital node in the colonial spice trade and a meeting point of Eastern and Western cultures, Penang today remains a cultural crossroads—where heritage and modernity exist in delicate tension. Yet behind the island’s postcard charm lies a more complex reality: urban development, tourism, and gentrification are steadily reshaping the landscapes and lives of its long-standing communities
The Living History Project is working in Penang to preserve not just buildings, but lived experiences. Through digital storytelling and community interviews, we are capturing the human side of heritage by focusing on the everyday lives, trades, and neighbourhoods that are often excluded from official histories — our goal is to document the voices and places that give Penang its soul.
Anwar Fazal is one of Malaysia’s most influential civil society leaders, with roots deeply grounded in Penang. Born in 1941, he began as a teacher and municipal councillor before becoming a global advocate for public health, consumer rights, and environmental justice.
He played a key role in founding several international networks, including Consumers International, Health Action International, IBFAN, and the Pesticide Action Network. Despite his global work, Penang remained central to his values—a place that taught him the importance of diversity, community, and citizen action.
In 1982, he received the Right Livelihood Award, often called the “Alternative Nobel Prize.”
Tucked within the maze of the bustling Ayer Itam Market, hidden between the vendors calling out prices and the rhythmic chopping of fresh produce, sat a pair of siblings on wooden stools – surrounded by the scent of spices and coconut milk, boiling over a simple charcoal stove. The ladies were known for their Penang Curry Mee, a delicacy in Penang – silky yellow noodles and rice vermicelli swimming in a rich, fiery broth infused with coconut milk, topped with prawns, cuttlefish, blood cubes, and fresh mint leaves.
Before there were tables, before the comfort of chairs in the small coffee shop nearby, their world was simpler—just a stall, two wooden stools, and a line of eager customers willing to perch by the roadside for a taste of something legendary. But their story began long before the first bowl was ever served.
The girls, along with their mother, had to look for different ways to make ends meet. They used to sell vegetables, rice, and eggs door to door, walking miles with heavy baskets balanced on their arms. Each day was a struggle, each sale a small victory in their fight for survival.
When their Thai mother begins selling Penang Curry Mee at the stall, the girls will learn as they watch their mother use dried chillies, beansprouts, coconut milk to turn into a bowl of wonder that their customers would come back for. Over time, they too learned the art of flavours to bring comfort and familiarity to their customers – unknowingly that they were building something that would bring nations to their stall.
Prof. Datuk Dr. Wazir Jahan Karim is a distinguished economic and social anthropologist based in Penang, whose work explores the intersections of religion, symbolism, gender, and modernity. She earned her PhD in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and has authored several influential studies, including Ma’ Betisék Concepts of Living Things (1981). Prof. Wazir’s academic contributions are matched by her civic engagement: she established the Penang Jawi Peranakan Heritage Society to preserve the legacy of modernist Muslim Straits communities, and led the Academy of Socio-Economic Research and Analysis to promote social justice, gender equality, and democratic values
By documenting child-rearing practices, ritual symbolism, and indigenous beliefs, she has foregrounded voices that often go unheard in official histories. Her research into Jawi Peranakan heritage, combined with advocacy through recipe collections through Jawi House and a publication alongside Nurilkarim Razha, ‘From Malay Garden to Table’ (2024).
Rising between the foothills of Air Itam and the edges of George Town, Rifle Range—known locally as Padang Tembak—is one of Penang’s most historically significant and overlooked communities. Once a colonial-era military firing ground, the site was transformed in the late 1960s into Malaysia’s first high-rise public housing estate—a bold social experiment aimed at easing urban overcrowding and fostering multiracial integration in the wake of the 1969 riots. What emerged was more than just housing; it was a vertical kampung, home to thousands of working-class families from all walks of life.
Through The Living History Project, we met and interviewed long-time residents who have called Rifle Range home for decades. They shared not only the broad strokes of historical change, but also the textures of everyday life—the aroma of shared dinners wafting through corridors, children playing badminton in the void decks, the rhythm of newspaper delivery at dawn, and the small rituals that stitched the community together. These stories revealed the human heartbeat of Rifle Range: resilient, resourceful, and rich in neighbourly bonds.
In the heart of Penang stands St. George’s Girls’ School (SGGS), one of Malaysia’s oldest and most respected all-girls institutions—where generations of women were educated not only for exams, but for life. Established in 1885 by Anglican missionaries, SGGS began as a humble effort to provide formal education to girls at a time when such opportunities were rare. Over the decades, it grew into a powerhouse of academic excellence, character-building, and leadership, shaping countless women who would go on to become educators, doctors, artists, civil servants, and changemakers.
Through The Living History Project, we spoke to alumnae, retired teachers, and former principals—each offering glimpses into the daily rhythm of life at SGGS across the decades. We heard stories of English literature classes under ceiling fans, prefect meetings in starched pinafores, and choir rehearsals echoing through assembly halls. In these conversations, we came to know not just the school’s institutional legacy, but the personalities shaped within it—women whose friendships, values, and ambitions were sparked within its classrooms.
Today, SGGS continues to thrive in a fast-changing educational landscape, but not without challenges. Questions of gender equality, educational equity, and institutional memory have come to the fore. In a world where women’s voices still fight for equal weight, schools like St. George’s matter more than ever—not just as academic centres, but as cultural touchstones where history, identity, and leadership are cultivated.
