Straw

📚 Straw 林水草 “Marilah Pulang” Booth (No. 94)

Date: 28 – 30 November 2025
Friday: 2-9pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12-8pm
Venue: Main Hall, KLSCAH

Straw 林水草 “Marilah Pulang” booth is a multidisciplinary exploration of identity. belonging, and the complexity of returning home, centred around my latest album, Pulang. Some works were created through long-term collaboration with Borneo Komrad and students from Sekolah Alternatif. Through these publications, Straw invites others to reflect on their own journeys of reconnecting with their roots and values.

A. Straw’s Publications:

1. “Marilah Pulang” Album Book + CD + Bookmark
A 60-page companion to the Pulang album with lyrics, translations, backstories, photos, and reflections on the creative process.

2. “Air” Zine + Sticker
A 8-page + 1 poster zine documenting Straw’s ongoing journey with stateless youth of Sekolah Alternatif in Sabah.

3. “Pohon Budi” Flipbook
An animated flipbook where each song’s symbol transforms into a Pohon Budi, a metaphor for shared growth and inherited values.

B. Straw’s Merchandise:

1. Straw “Pulang” Lyric Postcard
2. Straw “Marilah Pulang” Tote Bag
3. Straw “Marilah Pulang” Sticker
4. Straw x Borneo Komrad Woodcut Silkscreen Tote Bag

C. Featuring – Borneo Komrad and Sekolah Alternatif’s Publications:

1. Pandang ke Sabah: Borneo Komrad Dalam Gerakan
A memoir celebrating a decade of grassroots activism, education, and community building by Borneo Komrad.

2. Zines by Students of Sekolah Alternatif
Writings by stateless youths in Sabah, sharing their lives and hopes.

🎙️ Panel: Publishing Voices – Music, Print & Social Practice

Date: 29 November 2025, Saturday
Time: 1:15pm-2pm
Venue: Main Stage, KLSCAH

This panel brings together musicians, educators, and grassroots organisers to talk about how music and print can work together to tell stories from communities that are often unheard. From zines to books, we’ll share how publishing can become a tool for compassion, connection, and returning voice to those who have been left out.

Format: Panel discussion followed by Q&A
Language: Mainly in English with a mix of Malay

Moderator: Straw Lim 林水草 

Straw is a singer-songwriter and multimedia designer based between Sabah and Kuala Lumpur. Her latest album Pulang explores questions of identity and belonging, inspired by personal experiences and years of travel across 50+ countries. Through her studio, Meikr, she turns her music into book, zine, and other collaborative crafts made with Borneo Komrad, teachers and students of Sekolah Alternatif. Rooted in sound and shaped by community, her work invites quiet reflection through story, song, and print.

Panelists:

Azmyl Yunor
Azmyl Yunor is a renowned Malaysian bilingual independent singer-songwriter, musician, radio host, writer, and senior lecturer at Sunway University. Active since the late 1990s, he has performed across the region and released nine albums and three EPs as a solo artist, alongside work with multiple band projects. He has published his research on the cultural politics of Malaysian music subcultures and mediated moral panics, and is currently researching on contemporary protest songs in Malaysia. He has hosted BFM89.9’s alternative-country show Twang and is one of the Founding Members of the Malaysian Media Council. His accolades include induction into the VIMA Hall of Fame and Clive magazine’s Balls of Steel Award.

Borneo Komrad

Borneo Komrad is a youth-led collective dedicated to supporting marginalised and stateless communities through basic literacy, creative learning, and social support in areas where children face barriers to formal schooling. The group also advocates for human rights, community empowerment, and equitable access to education through grassroots, people-centred initiatives. Representing the collective is Sofea Edward, a student activist who amplifies alternative voices and social justice issues. She channels her advocacy through arts and craft-making within the Xhroom collective and serves as a Community Teacher. Sofea also leads creative outreach projects including the University Tour Zine and Photo Zine.

New Naratif

New Naratif is a community-driven organisation that believes in “democratising democracy” for Southeast Asia by educating, engaging, and empowering people with the knowledge and skills to take collective action. With a focus in “storytelling,” we have adapted our organisation’s outputs from audiovisual media, research publications, and capacity-building workshops to foster a platform that amplifies and nurtures Southeast Asian voices. We aim to embrace the many modes of stories through various artistic and literary practices as an instrument for community-building amongst Southeast Asians.

Zikri Rahman

Zikri Rahman is an artist, writer, translator, curator, and independent researcher whose work bridges community-engaged arts, cultural activism, and critical pedagogy. He is the Program Coordinator at Pusat Sejarah Rakyat, an independent archival initiative documenting Malaysia and Singapore’s people’s history. As co-founder of Buku Jalanan, he advances decentralised and democratic knowledge practices, while LiteraCity maps Kuala Lumpur’s literary and cultural landscapes. A SEAD Fellow with postgraduate training in Social Research and Cultural Studies in Taiwan, Zikri works across protest histories, censorship, oral narratives, and inter-Asian arts networks. 

🎥  Screening: Short Films by Sekolah Alternatif Semporna

Date: 30 November 2025, Sunday
Time: 4:45-6pm (Doors open at 4:30pm)
Venue: Cheng Yi Auditorium, KLSCAH

Screening: 45 mins | Discussion: 15 mins
Moderated by: Straw 林水草 x Borneo Komrad

Step into the world of the students of Sekolah Alternatif Semporna through a series of short films created by them. These stories reflect their daily lives, dreams, challenges, creativity, and humour.

All films are in Malay.

Post-screening discussion available in English, Malay, and Mandarin.

Silent shorts (played as doors open)

• “Perempuan Pisau Cukur” by Shamaika and Hafizah
• “Acah-Acah Ceh” by Sabrina and Suhana
• “Dompet” by Haikal and Ijan

1. Anak-anak Merdeka (music video)
   A song sung by all the students in school.
2. Imah (short film)
   A young girl whose ambitions feel out of reach.
3. “Budi & Nenek Kebayan” by BK Studio (short film)
   A boy’s dream leads him into a world where reality and imagination blur.
4. “Ku Kutip Cinta yang Terbuang” by Produksi Super Sampah (short film)
   A love story between an environmentalist and a litterbug.
5. “Alam dan Kita” by Sagol Studio (short documentary)
   A glimpse into the community and the environment around them.
6. Air (the making of)
   Behind the scenes of “Air,” co-created by Straw 林水草 and the students.