RISING TO THE CALL FOR NATIONAL UNITY: THE ROJAK PROJEK | BY EVELYN CHEN SIAW YIN
Illustration by Sammi Chew.
Established on 16 September 1963, we celebrate the unification of the Malayan Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak under the endearing name we now know as Malaysia. In a nation populated by more than 250 sub-ethnic groups, it is astonishing how most Malaysians do not know much about our own brothers and sisters.
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| Photo collage of the Rojak Projek's activities. Source: "Malaysia tak sama kalau kita tak bersama" |
Through an interview with co-founder Ms Lim Sheng Feiyan, also known as Faye, we explored the advent of ‘The Rojak Projek’ and how this initiative tries to break barriers between fellow Malaysians. From Rojak Projek’s efforts during its early years to its transformation during the pandemic, continue reading to find out why you should be a part of this initiative.
What prompted the start-up of The Rojak Projek (TRP)?
I remembered praying, How can I, with the little that I have, show that Malaysia is a beautiful country? Our country was going through really rough times back when the MH370 and MH17 incidents happened—two strikes in a year. I had a sketchbook and a pen and started penning down my thoughts. I wrote one column about my strengths, another column about Malaysia’s strengths. It was very vague, but I wanted the uniting factor. What’s one thing we Malaysians are so proud of? It’s always been food. That's how the project started.
What did The Rojak Projek seek to accomplish?
I decided to explore and do things the Malaysian way. I wanted people to see the need to mix around and get to know each other better. We do mix, but maybe not enough. I wanted to make people curious about different cultures in Malaysia through the artworks at first. But now, it’s a whole new level.
How did the public respond to the concept of The Rojak Projek in its beginning stages?
We never thought the impact would be so strong. Initially, we wanted to have an exhibition, but we decided to put it up on social media. It went viral and within one week, we hit more than five thousand shares. The hype was just crazy at that time. What moved us was seeing people voicing out their opinions on national unity. It was so powerful to see Malaysians agreeing with what we did, and that they were curious. Social media played a unique role in amplifying our voices. Some corporations even backed us up. They heard our hearts and related to our cause.
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| The Rojak Projek's Rojak Party where friends of friends all gather to get to know each other. |
What are some past activities The Rojak Projek worked on?
Pre-covid days, we had the Rojak Party, which is where we would get our friends to invite people of different ethnicities to our homes. It was a lot of effort because people get shy, and bringing out the friendliness within shy people takes time. This all changed when we started talking about food. People were so excited to bring their food to us, and they came from Sabah, Sarawak, and other states. That was how we began.
Back then, we hosted our events in collaboration with the cafe's. We learned how to get sponsorships and negotiate with them. We had events that boosted our brand awareness and created a website from scratch. It was stressful and challenging, but also a lot of fun.
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| The Rojak Projek attended an engagement dinner with the Lumbawang and Kelabit in Lawas, Sarawak. |
Can you share your experience travelling around Malaysia for this initiative?
We didn’t have enough money to stay in a hotel, and we needed to stay in people's homes since the artworks were made of food and required a fridge to be stored. We got our friends’ help and had them call their contacts on behalf of us, saying, “These people are coming over, would you be okay with it?” to which people would reply, “Okay, come to my house!” It felt surreal how many people helped us wholeheartedly. The level of Malaysian warmth we receive all over homes was the best experience we ever had.
We did a lot of filming and interviews. I had the opportunity to meet many people, learn to communicate, and travel around Malaysia, documenting what makes Malaysia beautiful. Architecture, deep friendship, food, the culture; we just filmed everything.
What were some challenges you faced while working on this initiative?
Truthfully, the growth curve can be quite steep. From hearing stories of how others’ lived their lives and were treated, these stories may make us feel overwhelmed as it could be something we are not familiar with. That’s when we need to look into the resolve and intentions when working on this initiative. Not everyone can shoulder the weight of the stories shared by our Malaysian brothers and sisters. It is only with humility to grow and learn during this process that one can fully overcome the challenges of meeting new people, understanding their stories, and uplifting them by sharing them to the world. It all depends on the intention; the most important thing is to check our hearts.
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| The Rojak Projek celebrating the 16th Malaysia Day in 2017. |
Were there moments that shocked you or opened up your eyes to the current state of Malaysia's unity?
Back when we could meet, I remember having a conversation with an amazing Sabahan couple from Charlie’s Cafe. They had been the ones who invited us to their Hari Gawai & Kaamatan celebration party, where we got the chance to meet many Borneo people. Sonny (co-owner of Charlie’s Cafe) had teasingly said to me, “Yea, we know that you guys go all out on Merdeka Day while we celebrate on Malaysia Day.”
I couldn't understand what they were trying to say, so I asked, “Can you tell me what that means?”
Malaysia Day was the day when the whole of Malaysia (Malayan Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak) united. Yet, our country placed more importance on the celebration of Merdeka Day (when the Malayan Peninsula got independence from the British), which excluded East Malaysia. That’s when another layer of our ignorance was peeled off. It hurt to know how the East Malaysians felt, which was shocking to me.
It was awful how we had unknowingly neglected the feelings of our brothers and sisters within the nation. Moving forward, we hope to create a momentum that can unite all Malaysians through love and understanding as we resolve all past dwellings.
What was the most unforgettable memory you wished others had the chance to experience?
It was my first trip to Miri, Sarawak. I met Anderson Kalang, a Kelabit (an indigenous Dayak people in Borneo), during one of the Gawai Kaamatan celebrations hosted by Charlie’s Cafe. After the ten-day experience, I remember the love that his mother, Mummy Supang Tagong, showed us. Towards the end of our trip, she had adopted us as her own, as family. For them, adoption means to expand the strength of their community, so you feel like you are one of them, protected and safe. I remember when I returned to meet my adopted parents for the second time and had been introduced to Anderson’s extended family. She could have easily mentioned, "This is Anderson's cousin...".
But she did not.
Instead, she said, "This is your cousin."
Has the mission and vision of The Rojak Projek changed?
When we started, our mission was to inspire national unity. And it was funny because the question that came after was, “Then what?” After travelling around Malaysia to figure out what the Rojak Projek should be, it was clear that Malaysia meant all of us together. That was when our tagline “Malaysia tak sama kalau kita tak bersama” (Malaysia is not the same if we are not together) came into play to unite Malaysia's diverse culture and proudly share this with the world.
Though I wanted to focus solely on Malaysia, we were humbled to see the international community expressing interest in our project. People from various fields advised me, saying, “I think you need to be prepared that this project is not going to stay in Malaysia; it’s going global.” And truthfully, I agreed despite feeling unprepared for it.
The mission now is much better because we want people and the world to know about Malaysia. I want people to understand what we are doing behind the scenes despite the pandemic, who got involved, and ultimately, why they chose to do it.
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| Student volunteers from Taylor’s working on #RojakStories with fellow Sabahans from Gagasan Mahasiswa Undang-Undang Sabah. |
How did the pandemic affect this initiative?
When 2020 hit, the hardest thing I had to do was to pause. We were constantly working, but this was a time we had to stop and reset our values. I was concerned because we were so used to doing everything physically. We would be out meeting people from various backgrounds, organising for youths to visit kampungs (villages) by planning it with the villagers. When the pandemic hit, I thought, how are we going to continue our work? Close to the end of 2020, a group of students from Taylor’s contacted me and introduced me to the SHINE programme. I thought to myself, can we still do this?
That’s when we began testing #RojakStories by THE ROJAK PROJEK, an inclusive platform which centres on promoting unity through sharing of stories, culture and diversity with an aim to bridge the Malaysian gap regardless of age, gender, race, abilities or social status. With Taylor’s student volunteers, interviews were carried out with people from various parts of Malaysia to help us understand one another, as we all have different backgrounds and cultures.
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| Interviewees from various parts of Malaysia for #RojakStories. |
For those who would like to join The Rojak Projek family, how can they get involved?
For Taylorians, they would have to log onto the SHINE portal and keep an eye out for any experiential activities offered by The Rojak Projek. Additionally, they can also reach out through email or the weblink (www.therojakprojek.com/community) to participate and test things out with us.
“... as we face the problem of development and progress in all spheres of life in Malaysia, we must constantly bear in mind that both our present and our future depends, in very large measure, on the youth of our young nation.”
- Tunku Abdul Rahman
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| The Rojak Projek’s latest project to raise funds for underprivileged communities in Sabah. |
In order to raise funds for the underprivileged communities in Sabah, The Rojak Projek would be hand-making artworks of your picture using hibiscus flowers in conjunction with the 58th Malaysia Day for every donation of RM 58.80 made. May it be a gift to friends and family members or our front liners; check out this link to place an order.
For more information on The Rojak Projek, visit them at https://www.therojakprojek.com and be sure to check out their Instagram page @therojakprojek!
Once again, we wish all Malaysians Happy Malaysia Day!
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