PENANG's public think tank will be hosting the annual George Town Literary Festival (GTLF), which will bring together 53 experts from 20 countries and territories.
Penang Institute aims to reinforce the state's standing as a preferred hub for intellectual, innovation, heritage and cultural exchange, in line with the state's standing as a global supply chain for tech manufacturing and services.
GTLF Director and Institute Executive Director Datuk Dr Ooi Kee Beng said the participants include 16 Malaysian voices and 37 international literacy experts from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Palestine, and Taiwan.
Among the internationally recognised writers and thinkers participating this year are National Laureate Muhammad Haji Salleh, Booker Prize-winning novelist Tan Twan Eng, Alice Jolly, Minh Bui Jones, Robin Ruizendaal and Asmaa Azaizeh.
Ooi told a press conference that the festival continues to position itself as a literary festival rather than a book or authors’ festival because literature plays a broader role in shaping culture, civilisation and human understanding.
It was reported that while Malaysia maintains a high general literacy rate of 94.64%, national and global data suggest that reading proficiency levels are a cause for concern, with many students struggling to engage meaningfully with texts, particularly in academic contexts.
Social media clips have hindered students' ability to think critically, write creatively, and digest literature of various works.
According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 results, Malaysia ranked below the international average for reading, with less than half of participating students achieving the minimum proficiency benchmark.
This decline, from a score of 415 in 2018 to 388 in 2022, reflects broader challenges in cultivating sustained reading habits and critical literacy.
“Literature is the means through which the human mind learns to make sense of the world and, most importantly, to capture and create meaning in the world.
“As soon as you have a dialogue, literature steps into the world. As you read, write, talk and listen, literature moves like a spirit around you, waiting to be born and formulated into being,” said Ooi.
Ooi said GTLF, which is organised by Penang Institute for the third consecutive year, aligns with the think tank’s broader mission of research, education and community-building.
“As a think tank, our job is not only research, but also society-building and people-building. We are into education, and to me, education shines most brilliantly through the mastery of language,” he said.
This year’s festival adopts the theme “Cosmopolises”, following “Words on the Street” in 2024 and “Urban Myths and Memories” in 2025.
Explaining the theme, Ooi said every cosmopolitan city possesses its own distinct identity.
“Penang may be a minor cosmopolis, one of the smallest perhaps, but we are unique in our diversity. There is no place like George Town, and yet we are one of many — same-same but different,” he said.
Ooi also announced that the festival will present a GTLF Life Achievement Prize in Literature this year, with details to be revealed during the event. - August 6, 2026.
