TLHP IMPACT Festival – The Living History Project

THE IMPACT FESTIVAL

The TLHP Festival is more than just an event—it’s a movement that breathes life into Malaysia’s history, traditions, and contemporary narratives. This festival serves as a dynamic platform that brings together diverse voices, unearthing untold stories, reviving cultural legacies, and fostering meaningful conversations on identity, heritage, and progress.

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Mawar Putih Mawar Merah’ / ‘Semalam di Malaya’ Immersive & Interactive Krate Musical

30-31 August Badan Warisan Malaysia

The festival’s immersive opening performance, ‘Mawar Putih, Mawar Merah’—also known as ‘Semalam di Malaya’—set a nostalgic yet dynamic tone for TLHP Impact Festival 2025. This interactive musical theatre piece transported audiences to 1950s Malaya through live music, dance, and audience participation, blending heritage storytelling with contemporary performance art. Presented in collaboration with Krate Melaka, the production not only showcased Malaysia’s evolving cultural landscape and local artists but also encouraged the audience to reflect on themes of unity, love, and identity.

KITA: Voicing the Unspoken’ Spoken Word Night

12 September Rex KL

KITA: Voicing the Unspoken’ brought together poets, performers, and amateur members of the public to explore the myriad of different experiences of being Malaysian. The open-mic format encouraged honest, emotional, and often humorous expressions of belonging, identity, and history. The event reinforced TLHP’s mission to preserve living narratives through creative engagement and stimulated an electric flow of ideas between the experienced and amateur alike. Audience members were also given the chance to create and then present their own poems at the event, and a heartening number of audience members stepped out of their comfort zone and did so. In addition to those who had already signed up to speak and had prepared their poems in advance, the total number of people who took the stage was between 15 to 20, with several participants speaking more than once.

Warisan Abadi Rakyat Malaysia

20 September Badan Warisan Malaysia

An extraordinary evening that brought together two of Malaysia’s most treasured traditional art forms, the Mak Yong and Cantonese Opera. Participants were transported by the timeless court tales of Kelantan’s Mak Yong, performed by the legendary Kumpulan Mak Yong Cahaya Matahari in collaboration with Seni Pusaka. Subsequently, they were immersed in the vivid, emotive world of Cantonese Opera, brought to life by the acclaimed Yuet Wan Cantonese Opera Association KL. More than a performance, this was a call to remembrance and renewal—a chance to witness the artistry, language, and ancestral memory carried through movement, music, and voice.”

Storytelling & Production Workshop

19 September Yap Ah Shak House

This workshop provided young creatives and aspiring documentarians with practical tools for narrative building, heritage documentation, and production planning. Facilitated by TLHP’s core team and invited professionals, it equipped participants to continue preserving cultural stories beyond the festival. With award-winning investigative journalist, Ian Yee, and acclaimed director Saw Teong Hin (Puteri Gunung Ledang, You Mean the World to Me), this workshop invited participants to explore storytelling from two compelling lenses:

Hutan Kita, Hak Kita’ Greenpeace Talk

14 September Harta Space

Organised in collaboration with Greenpeace Malaysia and Harta Space, this talk highlighted a struggle that faces many Orang Asli communities — the ongoing land rights struggle of the Temiar people in Kampung Kelaik.
Featuring Greenpeace lead campaigner Heng Kiah Chun, we explore the urgent links between forest justice, climate action, and indigenous survival.

Tanah Tertumpah: Our Rights, Not Just Our Rites’: Oral History

14 September Harta Space

The struggle for Orang Asli rights in Malaysia has never been just about tradition. It is about land. It is about dignity. It is about the right to survive, on their own terms. The event was a timely and necessary conversation featuring Bah Tony and Dr. Colin Nicholas, who unpacked the deep, ongoing challenges faced by the Orang Asli in defending their ancestral lands. From systemic land loss to legal loopholes, from lived resistance to landmark court cases, this session brought together ground-level experience with decades of legal insight. The session explored how land defence is not only about heritage, but also about identity, autonomy, and justice.

Saya Sebatang Sungai’ Zine Workshop

13 September Rex KL

This creative community workshop invited participants to produce handmade zines reflecting Malaysia’s environmental and cultural landscapes. Guided by Claudia Chang of ‘Redezine’, participants learned basic layout, booklet binding, and storytelling skills, resulting in a collection of 9 expressive and personal works that each individual proudly presented to the group and took home.

Weaving with Waste Workshop’ with Stories We Wear

12 September Rex KL

This hands-on workshop by Joanne Nathaniels (Stories We Wear) introduced participants to sustainable textile practices by transforming fabric waste into usable yarn. Two free sessions combined creative skill-building with environmental awareness, and also trained some volunteers who later facilitated TLHP’s ‘Interwoven’ community loom with the yarn that they had produced. The 15 volunteers learned about textile recycling and repurposing, and many were attempting to weave for the first time! The fabrics used were either collected from a storage warehouse or brought by the volunteers, and all were saved from the landfill to create a new community artwork.

Interwoven’ Environmental Week Exhibition

13-19 September Rex KL

The Interwoven Exhibition was the centrepiece of TLHP’s ‘Tanah, Air, Kita’ Environmental Week, featuring three communal participatory installations: the Community Loom (by Stories We Wear), the Communal Batik (by Jadi Batek), and the Interactive Carbon Footprint Board (by Persatuan Pandu Puteri Malaysia). Displayed together at the front of RexKL, they wove a visual narrative connecting Malaysia’s cultural traditions with environmental stewardship and engaged hundreds of visitors over the week.

‘Reframe & Resist’ Exhibition Launch & Seminar

5-6 September Harta Space

Supported by the British Council, seeded by TLHP, and in collaboration with HARTA Space and AsiaWE, ‘Reframe & Resist: Decolonising Here and Now’ showcased critical perspectives on Malaysian art, identity, and activism. Over the weekend, the exhibition launch and interactive seminar invited the public to discuss with creative practitioners and academics about how creative expression can serve as resistance and the re-imagination of colonial narratives. The session fostered meaningful dialogue across disciplines and attracted a strong turnout from students and cultural aficionados alike.

Echoes of Home’ Film Screenings

18 September Yap Ah Shak House

A curated film event exploring themes of migration, belonging, and memory. The selection featured Malaysian filmmakers whose works resonate with TLHP’s mission of documenting lived experiences. Post-screening discussions with the films’ directors deepened reflection on how cinema can archive and reinterpret national narratives.

Pendatang (2023) by Ng Ken Kin
A provocative dystopian tale that challenges our views on race, citizenship, and power.

Lelaki Harapan Dunia (2014) by Liew Seng Tat
A poetic, darkly comic look into kampung life, community, and generational myth.

Chinatown Historic Walk with Jane Rai

5-6 September Chinatown

Led by established heritage guide Jane Rai, the Chinatown Historic Walk offered participants a hands-on glimpse into the living history of Kuala Lumpur’s oldest neighbourhood. The walk traced the city’s evolution from a tin-mining settlement to a multicultural urban hub, with stops at historical landmarks and community spaces. Participants responded positively to the storytelling format, which combined personal anecdotes with historical context.

Pasar Malaya I

30-31 August Badan Warisan Malaysia

Pasar Malaya II

20 September Badan Warisan Malaysia

The festival’s closing market reprised *Pasar Malaya I*, featuring 25 vendors (both returning and new collaborators) in heritage crafts, local delicacies, and creative enterprises. The market served as both a community celebration and a platform for meaningful engagement with a number of Malaysia’s dedicated local vendors.

Rivers, Roots, & Restoration Environmental Fair

16 September Rex KL

A vibrant pop-up fair featuring sustainable vendors and NGOs, covering areas such as ethical crafts, zero waste, river conservation, and secondhand books.