Malaysia Isn’t About Borneo Only
Мalaysian Night. 3th od November.
Malaysian Night is an annual event of cultural display. Students gather to showcase their talent as well as their ethnics. It aims to promote and introduce cultures unique to Malaysia to an immensely diverse international audience. The theme this year is ‘Harmonies of Malaysia’ and it essentially focuses on the ‘harmony’ that acts as one of the crucial pillars of Malaysia’s unity.
Malaysia is separated into the East and West by the South China Sea. The main ethnic groups are Malays, Chinese, Indians, and other indigenous groups such as Kadazandusun, Iban and many more.
Why it happened
Adrian: The event was Malaysian Cultural Night with the theme: Harmonies of Malaysia. We aim that this event will be a platform for all — Russians as well as International students that they will get to know more about the culture of Malaysia, the uniqueness of Malaysia in terms of our diversity. As for Malaysians, it aims to remind them not only of their roots and traditions but also to bring a small part of home to Kursk.
Afiq: The event was a window of opportunity for the Malaysian students to share our rich multicultural heritage to others, particularly the Russians and also the international students present in Kursk. Furthermore, it’s also a way of bringing together all the Malaysian students studying in Kursk State Medical University, creating a sense of unity. Every day we see each other in our lab coats, always thinking about majors or exams, but when events such as this arrive, we don our traditional clothes, filling the air with Malaysian pride.
Blane: My performance in particular, hopes to represent Borneo (East Malaysia) through our cultural dance. Ibans are primarily found in the state of Sarawak, while Kadazans and Dusuns in the state of Sabah. All of them are indigenous to the region. We looked for similarities between the cultural dances, practices of both states and tried merging them together to come up with our performance. Besides, giving a glimpse of what Malaysia is like to citizens of other countries, it gives us Malaysians a sense of familiarity and belonging in this university, which is over 5500 miles away from our beloved country. It is a celebration of our identity and it leaves not only the performers but also our fellow countrymen present brimming with pride at the end of the night.
How was the process of preparation for the Malaysian Night
Adrian: The performers were chosen through an audition on the 24th October at pharmacorpus hall. We did this to ensure that the Malaysian night will be more organized, and appropriate for the audience. We chose the performances based on their reflection of Malaysia, the uniqueness of the performance and also how it to relates with the present.
Afiq: Although some of the performers voluntarily joined the audition, most were convinced by the seniors. Experienced seniors would then help conduct the practice sessions, teaching the traditional dances, organizing the props and costumes to ensure that every performance would be able to provide a glimpse of our rich tradition to everyone present during the night.
text Blane Chan Jian Hu, Muhammad Afiq Munõz Makkana, Adrian John editor Reshma Durai
