As children
we were given twine
to weave the future of the land that we sprouted from

and with each day the future became clearer
more vibrant and even more so
the possibilities remain hopeful

my twine the colour of blue
my friends yellow, red and white
we weave together a tapestry
depicting tales of one another
mimicking the river streams that line the valleys and mountains that grace the sky

Our ancestors made this land with hands freed from the shackles of doubt
knowing that they have the power to change
and change is here
and it is ever so reluctant

one day as my twine would come to an end it will began anew
towards my children and their children
but for now as we carefully dance in the colours that make us
we set ablaze
for the sunset of today
shall bring the sunrise of tomorrow

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A member of Malaysian artist collective, Projek Rabak, Jack Malik writes, performs, and translates poetry, with three poetry collections, Malay: Wannabe Sasau, Sajakjakja(c)k, and Gampang!, published by Rabak-Lit. He is one of the recipients of the Selangor State Literary Prize (known as Hadiah Sastera Selangor) 2020 for poetry.

His poem, Gampang, is an ode to his hometown of Ipoh, Perak. The poem, which features in a book of the same name published by Rabak-Lit, is one that “embraces the idea of patriotism not through conventional lenses of filiality towards the country or (ethno)nationalism but welcomes the cosmopolitanism, camaraderie, and integration of cultures.” 

The poet adds: “In full Merdeka spirit, my poems are closest to Lin Yutang’s idea of patriotism: "What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?"”

It is brought to life by Malaysian actor and singer Tony Eusoff. 

chee cheong fun & lor bak & mi goreng taknak
taugey & cakoi & kuih kapit & nasi kandar ayam
goreng rempah kuah kari ikan+mangga new hollywood;
extra fries cicah baki gravy & chicken chop vegas;
nasi ganja & kastard karamel, teh o ais limau yong suan;
nasi ayam fuziah pasar bulat; leng chee kang ah yoong tkk;
nasi goreng kambing first cafe; mi kicap, yong tau foo sup/kari
nyonya, soya lengkong mg; sate changkat jering pasar
malam ahad di medan gopeng                                                    = patriotisme.

pekan lama & padang polo & smk
anderson & padang ipoh & stesen
ktm & tol simpang pulai & station 18
pengkalan & canning garden & tmn lapangan ssi                       = jalur mobius.

ini bukan senarai, gaddemmit—ini semua puisi yang tak berkesudahan;
segala ketidakungkapan enggan bisu;
setiap “inilah” aku—inilah “ipoh is the reason” aku.

Winner of Poetry Cafe KL Slam Competition in 2015 and MAP Fest KL Slam 2019, Pavithrah Sambu is a local poet who “throws one down for her culture”. Her poetry, which has been published in the KL Spoken Word Anthology, When I Say Spoken, You Say Word and The Dirty Thirty’ Anthology, aims to “break the chains of the status quo and uplift the voices of the unheard”. In a condensed version of her poem, I come as the goddess, she explores her sense of belonging in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia.

It is performed by award-winning Malaysian actress, Sangeeta Krishnasamy, known for her roles on Adiwiraku and Vedigundu Pasangge, the highest grossing Malaysian Tamil film of all time.

I come as the goddess
In Dravidian brown skin
Pleated into thanggam (gold) coloured sarees
That flowed yards
And metres
And distances
Between street corners
Of puu kadaiis (flower shops)
7am temple bells
And here

Part belonging in parts that were foreign
Searching for home in places that didn't taste like it
Buried di bawah tanah Kuala Lumpur
Until they built me brick by brick
Into the image of a Malaysian-Indian-Woman
Your vettu mahalakshmi
The goddess

I see you
Kanna
Funny how it means both sayang
And your eyes
So you see, i built a home in the heart of a thaii naddu (motherland)
Who stained my thangam coloured saree in the brown of its mud
And maybe that’s why I lost sight of it.

I have paid its rent
In souls sold to kangani
In fields of rubber trees
And railroads that were never named
And oceans that were crossed
For a home
Who could only find a small space for me to belong in
Between her bricks fields of a Little India
Tasting of a familiar thing

I have swallowed the tongues of my ancestors
For the languages they couldn’t taste
And spit them back out
See, aku berbahasa Tamil
Naan Malay paseran
I speak english
3 generations of tongues
Peeling back the layers of the women who came before me
Carrying the weight of their skin, and mother tongues, and the places they have been
And homes they have built
So that their goddesses would live in here too

Kuala Lumpur
I want you to see these parts of me
Kuala Lumpur
I want her to remember that I was always
Home.

Chiew Ruoh Peng is an award-winning columnist and spoken word poetry, who is behind the established poetry show Dong Di Yin and the first Mandarin spoken word open mic in Malaysia, Shiwu Jidan. His contemporary poem,【回家的原因】, is a nostalgic rumination of his home country, brought to life by Malaysian actress, Jojo Goh, known for her incredible performances on Beijing in Moscow and Netflix’s The Ghost Bride.

因為我在此發芽
當年的山林
青蔥不改

因為我在此扎根
結實的土地
廣厚如初

因為我在此成長
滿程陽光雨露
從未離開

因為我決定
在此倒下
滋養下一代的
新芽

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An Iban born and raised in the small town of Kapit in Sarawak, Kulleh Grasi has been actively championing indigenous cultures on the global stage ever since his debut book, Tell Me, Kenyalang, became an internationally acclaimed bestseller in 2019. “I enjoy telling stories. I consider my role as an orang asal (native) narrator. It’s about time that we tell stories about the beautiful people of Borneo ourselves,” says Grasi.

For this project, the poet recites his own work in his indigenous Sarawakian language.

Terutu hujan kelabu
menghidu tengkuk ke puting
besi dan temabaga bernoda di dada
taring babi sabit terjaga
bau munsuh di sebelah awan. 
Hampir terputus kelar kokok
ayam jantan mendabik 
Labong Bungai Nuing dililit di kepala 
terkucir beruang di luar jendala

Tangkung kenyalang ke ba lanjang 
ukai di engkah ngapa
nanda ke aku sigi enda pulai puang
selabit kayau ku’ma.

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