YAN JING TIAN & WONG XIU WEI
Uncomfortable Malaysian Quiz
About the Uncomfortable Malaysian Quiz
Beyond ‘safe’ concepts like 1Malaysia and token Malaysian icons of food and Manglish, what does being Malaysian really mean underneath the surface?
It’s no secret that we reside in a pluralist society. In Malaysia, we often view our differences as our unique quality – take the ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia campaign’ for example: we celebrate the fact that our country is a hodgepodge of various cultures, where various kinds of ‘Asia’ can be found in one place.
However, seeing that our country will be celebrating its 65th year of independence this year, we feel that we have to ask: “What else is there to being Malaysian?”
It’s time for a change: A fear of offending the political and racial sensitivities of others has long prevented us from engaging in discourse that will be crucial to our growth. This interactive quiz is designed with the aim to inspire reflection about our modern Malaysianness, as well as to create a ‘shared space’ for people to engage in fruitful discussions. We have plenty of questions and no answers— but let’s figure it out together.
The Uncomfortable Malaysian Quiz incorporates elements of interactive design to provide an engaging quiz-taking experience.
About the Work
“Beyond ‘safe’ concepts like 1Malaysia and token Malaysian icons of food and Manglish, what does being Malaysian really mean underneath the surface?”
It’s no secret that we reside in a pluralist society. In fact, we often view our differences as our unique quality – take the ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia campaign’ for example: we celebrate the fact that our country is a hodgepodge of various cultures, where various kinds of ‘Asia’ can be found in one place. Malaysia is as dynamic as it is beautiful, it’s true. However, seeing that our country will be celebrating its 65th year of independence this year, we could not help but ask: “What else is there to being Malaysian?”
It’s time for a change: A fear of offending the political and racial sensitivities of others has long prevented us from engaging in such discourse. This interactive quiz is designed with the aim to inspire reflection about our modern Malaysianness, as well as to create a ‘shared space’ for people to engage in fruitful discussions. We have plenty of questions and no answers— but let’s figure it out together.
See related references for this work:
E-Book: The Myth of the Lazy Native by Alatas, Syed Huseein Alatas
The Malaysian Identity: A Social Dilemma, Iman Research
About the Creative
Yan Jing Tian is a UI/UX designer at Malaysiakini. He graduated summa cum laude from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a BA in Communication Design. He has previously worked at the South China Morning Post (SCMP) where he created editorial illustrations and infographics. He has a special interest in data visualization and interactive design. Get in touch via email at jtian.yan@gmail.com
Xiuwei Wong is a final year undergraduate majoring in English Language and Literature with Creative Writing at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia. She has worked as a research assistant, translator, content writer, and a half-optometrist. She also runs an online vintage shop on Instagram at @fugufugustore. Her work has been published in Malaysian Millennial Voices, Alluvium: Literary Shanghai, and The Asian Writer, amongst others. Apart from writing, she has a keen interest in literary analysis and multimodal semiotics. Get in touch via email at xiuweiwong@gmail.com
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Project Future Malaysia wants to create conditions to guide an expansive vision of the future for Malaysia. This perspective will include a deeper engagement with science, technology and the various arts of literature, philosophy, film and music. By re-imagining and manifesting better alternatives for Malaysia’s future, we are freed from our everyday assumptions about what is possible. We can then imagine pathways forward which enable us to embrace bolder visions and hopeful possibilities for Malaysia’s future. If you resonate with the vision of this project, we invite you to grow and support this project via collaborations and conversations.
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