Keretapi Sarong, an annual event to celebrate Malaysia Day, witnessed thousands of Malaysians donning in beautiful traditional multi-ethnic attires in various train stations around the Klang Valley.

The event title can be literally translated as “a train of sarongs” and began as a flash mob at train stations and secret locations, with Malaysians turning up in their best Sarong attire for Malaysia Day.

Founded by Random Alphabets in 2012 and taken over by LOCCO (which stands for local community) in 2017, the event has now become an iconic festival of itself and participated by Malaysians throughout the country.

“For the past Keretapi Sarong, participants gathered at designated train stations and were brought to a secret location on the day itself. We are not able to do that anymore.

“We have to announce the ‘secret location’ for this year so that we can ease the crowd at train stations as well as to accommodate the growing crowd,” said Ridzwan Nazari, the Creative Director of Keretapi Sarong 2023.

The event held at Dataran Merdeka this year involved up to 250 participants. The number of volunteers have swelled compared to only 50 participants in 2017.

The theme for this year’s Keretapi Sarong was “Ethnicity”.

“The event is to celebrate Malaysia Day and the theme ‘Ethnicity’ captures the essence of being a Malaysian because we all share the same national identity regardless of one’s ethnicity. It is this cultural difference between us that makes up the beautiful Malaysia,” Ridzwan explained.

One participant, Norrimah, quickly became the centre of attention when she arrived at the LRT Subang Jaya station. She was accompanied by her child and her wheelchair was decorated with huge Malaysian flags.

“I am married to a Chinese. It is the spirit of unity within us, irrespective of race, that makes Malaysia such a powerful and extraordinary nation. I feel so proud to see a large assembly of the younger generation joining together to celebrate this significant day.” Norrimah shared.

There was also another Malay-Chinese couple, Fayadah and Ng Tze Tonn, who shared the importance of celebrating differences.

“When I was on the train, I realised an elderly man who was not part of the event. He started to talk to the participants after everyone sang songs together. It was quite memorable for me because I can see Malaysians really enjoy the event and it fosters a closer relationship with each other,” Ng said.

According to the couple, it requires effort to avoid racism in a multicultural society. However, they believe through celebration like this which involves every Malaysian, we can foster a harmonious relationship among different ethnic groups.

Nadiah Ali attended the event in a cheongsam themed baju kurung. “I believe living in a diverse society is all about understanding and combining different cultures. Having to see Chinese people wearing the baju kurung, Malay people in saree, and Indian people in cheongsam makes me feel a greater sense of belonging to Malaysia.

“I also think it is important to highlight the difference between Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day. The former celebrates our nation’s independence from the British in 1957 while the latter celebrates the formation of Malaysian Federation with the joining of Sabah and Sarawak in 1963 – and it is important to celebrate both events.” Nadia explained.

As a first-timer to Keretapi Sarong, Fong Yuin Jie was grateful to have the chance to better appreciate the cultural diversity of our fellow Malaysians.

“I’ve met different people in amazing traditional costumes I’ve never seen before in my real life such as the baju iban. And I even receive a fan from a Malay lady because she saw me fanning myself with just a piece of paper,” expressed the 13-year-old girl.

The event lasted till six in the evening, with many Malaysians taking photos, dancing, eating, and making new friendships on this meaningful day.

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This article was written collaboratively by Peter Soh and Enya Fong. All images were supplied by Peter Soh & Enya Fong.