Original Stories from Across Malaysia

UNINESS documents Malaysia's traditional trades, food heritage, historic places, communities, religious practices, and cultural memories through original field interviews, photography, writing, and documentary video.

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Hang Chow Hotel & Coffee Shop

Upon stepping into Hang Chow Hotel in Georgetown, Penang, travel back in time to the 1960s, as if entering a scene in a Wong Kar-Wai film. The colourful wall tiles create visual depth and an artistic ambiance. The ground floor serves as a coffee shop, while the upper storeys consist lodgings with 12 rooms. It is among the handful of traditional hotels still operating in...

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Clay Pot Factory in Ijok

Ijok in northern Selangor is home to one of the few pottery factories in Malaysia that still uses a wood-fired dragon kiln to produce clay pots and medicine pots – Ng Pottery Enterprise. The TeoChew style of clay pot-making passed down three generations of the Ng family since their ancestors migrated south. From fully manual labour in the early days, to employing machinery and moulds...

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Piggy Bank Factory in Ijok

Clay piggy banks have been widely used since thousands of years ago. They have only one slit for inserting coins, and are broken open to remove them when full. The fact that it has survived to this day shows how important it is to cultivate the habit of saving. In recent years, cashless payments have become increasingly popular, and physical piggy banks are facing elimination,...

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