Our Team

We run on a small but cohesive team that consists of our Editor, Deputy Editor, Assistant Editor, Economics Editor and Art Director.

Here's who we are:

Ooi Kee Beng - Editor

Ooi Kee Beng was born and raised in Penang. Educated at La Salle School (Air Itam) and St Xavier’s Institution, he did his A-levels at Methodist High School. After three years as sub-editor for The Star and The Straits Echo, he left to study, work and live in Sweden. His PhD from Stockholm University is in Sinology, on political philosophy. He is based at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, where he is Deputy Director. He is founding-editor of ISEAS Perspective and ISEAS Monitor, and is a columnist for The Edge Malaysia.

Julia Tan - Deputy Editor

Julia Tan comes from a background in literature, technical writing and creative writing. She graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia with a degree in English Language and Literature Studies, and Oxford Brookes University with a Masters in Creative Writing. Her passions lie in history, culture and – of course, being a Penangite – good food.

Lim Kim-Hwa - Economics Editor

Lim Kim-Hwa, PhD, is CEO and head of Economics at the Penang Institute, a fellow in Finance & Financial Reporting at the University of Cambridge and associate chartered accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

Nic Lee - Art Editor

Nic Lee hails from Penang and has lived all his life in Kampung Siam, Pulau Tikus. A former Xaverian, he received his Diploma in Graphic Design at the Malaysian Institute of Art. With a working experience of almost 20 years, the former art director at INTACT's works include numerous annual reports of public-listed companies (Texchem Group, MSC Group) as well as newsletters, magazines (Texview, IPeople News, Essenze) and brochures. He has also worked on many campaigns for Venessa Diamonds and has designed logos for Dreamz Foundation's Rhapsody des Reves charity event in 2004, Slippery Senoritas club, DK Group, BayAvenue, BayStar, BayGarden, The Oasis, Arte @ Kuchai Lama and SERA Putrajaya Precinct 8.