Eijas Ariffin

If you're craving for a taste of some of Malaysia's most popular dishes but are too busy to travel, here's a list of places that offer a few of the country's signature food right in our own backyard.

In a recent interview with KL band Killeur Calculateur, guitarist Rafique mentioned that people focusing too much on KL bands is ‘a disease’. KLites are often accused of living in a metropolitan bubble – detached from issues and movements that take place outside the city. Throughout the country’s musical history, some of our country’s most influential bands don’t even come from KL. There are large scenes with enormous talent growing outside our city and it’s time we take note. So, here’s a handy list of noteworthy bands and artists from outside of the city.

While Perth isn’t exactly a sprawling urban city centre like Sydney or Melbourne, the city does have its own charm. Perth is a great destination to experience the whole of Australia in a nutshell – the skyscrapers in the Central Business District (CBD) provide a big city vibe, while the beautiful Swan River and pristine surrounding beaches offer a glimpse of the natural beauty that Australia is often associated with. And that’s not to mention Perth’s own identifiers as well, like their vibrant indigenous art scene. Where to stay Photo: Aloft Perth You can’t go wrong with Aloft Perth (27 Rowe Avenue. +618 6147 2468). This relatively new hotel with 224 guestrooms captures the best of both worlds by combining the functionality of a business stay with the relaxed charm of a boutique hotel – from high-speed internet and meeting rooms equipped with the latest technology to bright open spaces and plenty of natural light (which give the hotel a very laidback atmosphere), you can find everything you’d need or want for a comfortable stay here. The walls are decorated with art that’s specially commissioned from West Australian artists, adding a bit of local identity to the space. The hotel also features a swimming pool and a 24-hour gym with state-of-the-art equipment. And while staying here, we recommend dining at Springs Kitchen, the hotel’s in-house restaurant that takes full advantage of Perth’s fresh produce and utilising them in their modern Australian dishes. One of the best t

Indie pop's brooding perfectionists The xx will be performing their maiden show in KL this Jan 25, bringing their distinct minimalistic sound to our shores. We had a quick chat with them about making music, their 2017 album 'I See You' and more. You guys have been playing music for almost 20 years now. How different do you find yourselves then and now as a band? Do you guys still approach music making the same way?We’ve definitely changed the way we work together as a band over the years. Recently we spent more time writing together and we put less restrictions on ourselves. In the past Romy and Oliver only used to write for themselves, and we would only write things we could play live. Now we have removed those guidelines and are a bit more musically free. Being friends for so long, is making music easier as a result? Or do you find being in a band together for so long affecting any relationship negatively?I think it can go both ways – we’ve had relationships and ended relationships and grown further apart and grown back closer together than ever before as friends. Over time, we found ourselves in each other, saw one another and appreciated each other a lot more. Something we’ve learned is that our friendship is what makes this band special – ‘I See You' is a reference to that. Speaking of which, ‘I See You’ was said to be titled after something Drake said. Is this true? What’s the story?No, it actually comes from a Velvet Underground track that we love: 'I’ll Be Your Mirror

This year has been a watershed year for music in KL. No, there wasn’t any particular event à la Woodstock ’69 that suddenly sparked a cultural movement or the sudden appearance of a rock band that changed our musical landscape. What we did see, however, was the flourishing of the music scene – artists became famous off the internet, rock bands got more experimental, and venues put on live shows more than ever. The internet Hujan To understand how we got here, we’d have to understand some key moments in the past. In the early 2010s, the indie music scene in Malaysia was reaching a creative plateau. The crowds that were packing gig spaces and venues during the indie boom which saw bands like Hujan and Bittersweet playing in front of a thousand people every other month were dwindling. The honeymoon was over. Come 2015, the internet changed everything. Everyone started using the internet to share, discover and learn about making new music. Gaining popularity through the web at the time was hip hop – mostly of the trap variation – and electronic music. A glance into our ‘Best local tracks of 2015' list reflects that. Artists who cut their teeth at the time are now reaping the fruits of their labour. Artists like alextbh and Airliftz who began as bedroom artists now dominate local charts and are drawing massive crowds. The accessibility of the internet and the successes of these artists have established the web as a legitimate means to success. As a result, there’s more music on th

As we’ve mentioned year after year, there’s no exact science or mathematics to determining the best local tracks of a year. But our local music scene is growing, and this was a good year for many of our homegrown artistes. Here's our annual round-up of the best local tracks that have been produced in 2017. Listen on Spotify.

Three years after releasing his first fully Malay album, Joe Flizzow is back with a brand new single. This time gunning for international success, Joe returns to rapping in English for ‘Drop’. Your last release was about three years ago. How long has this single been in the works?Actually this single came out really quick. I wrote this song two and a half months ago, and within three weeks we shot the video. We kind of fast forwarded this track for it to come out at the end of the year. You mentioned that you have other singles coming up too. Why did you choose to release ‘Drop’ first?Actually the single that’s coming out after this one was supposed to come out first. But I requested to put the handbrakes on that particular track because I wanted ‘Drop’ to come out first. I just felt like there was something telling me ‘No, Joe, you got to release this one first. You got to release this one now’. For a song to be a hit you have to look at what’s out there as well. ‘Drop’ has an old school vibe, the island vibe. If the track were to be played in the States for example, the song wouldn’t be like anything out there at the moment. I don’t know if I can write another ‘Drop’, so the timing now is perfect. You said that the song is personal to you. How come?The subject matter is personal. Although it’s not too specific, I say certain things like ‘Same day ones with a different curfew, but everybody paid their dues don’t get it confused’. I can look at my team and I can show you the

Pond came out of the same scene in Perth that birthed modern psychedelic sensation Tame Impala. Members of Pond have even been touring members of Tame Impala and they both currently share the same drummer. Despite the similarities and the endless comparisons, Pond are a unique band in their own right. They manage to pull off what many bands aren’t capable off – to not take themselves too seriously (a plague that’s infected many rock bands) while addressing important issues such as white privilege and nuclear warfare. The band’s latest effort, ‘The Weather’, has been praised by critics for their ambitiousness in pushing forward forms of rock music that are thought to be obsolete in this age of EDM. We managed to have a short chat with the lead singer of Pnd, Nick Allbrook ahead of their show here in KL. We went to Perth recently and had a great time but found the city rather peculiar. It’s a very big but chilled out and laidback, if not quiet, city. How much does Perth influence your music?Perth is a VERY weird city. It’s a big ol’ pile of contradictions – it’s hot and paradisiacal but rife with inequality. It produces beauty and art and freedom, but also violence and ignorance. It’s the great curse White Australia is stuck with for stealing a sovereign people’s home and destroying everything they love. It influences us a lot – physically, conceptually, musically. I sing like a person from Perth.  What was the creative process behind this album? Was it any different from previ

Fresh off the release of their latest album ‘Visuals’, Mew bassist Johan Wohlert talks to us about their new album, their influences and more. A lot of publications have different names for the music you guys put out. How would you describe your music? I’d call it ‘art rock’ in a way. The music we put out is sort of artistic. I also think it’s atmospheric, melodic and a little bit melancholic as well. Your latest album, ‘Visuals’ will be released by the time you come to KL. What can we expect from this album? Actually it’s close to what I just said. Expect something that’s really artistic, melodic and a little melancholic but also very positive. The tempo is very upbeat and there are a lot of really strong melodies and good choruses. How different is the album compared to the last one, ‘+-’? The big difference is that here, the mood is a little lighter and the songs a bit shorter.Photo: Stefan "Stisse" Gustafsson Is there a particular reason why your latest album is called ‘Visuals’? We’ve always used visuals in our live shows. Also, I think it just kind of makes sense this time around because we really want to tie in the art work and the title of the album with the live experience; it’s always been two separate things. This time around, it was time to merge the two worlds. We’ll be performing with a lot of visuals at the KL show. Apart from that, our music also has been described as very visual too; it’s very soundtrack-y and soundscape-y. What was the process like in making

Zamaera? Where have I heard her name before? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, Zamaera is the latest rap sensation to come out of the city. Her debut single, ‘Helly Kelly’, blew up online and has amassed a whopping 70,000 views on YouTube since coming out in March. And recently, she just released her latest single, ‘Wanita’. I feel like I’ve heard her name somewhere else too.  You’re probably remembering an NTV7 advertisement for one of their story-telling competitions a while ago (she was just a kid then). But more Zamaera than likely her name rings a bell because she has been featured in other artists’ songs. For example, she lent her sultry vocals on SonaOne’s song ‘I Don’t Want To Die Alone’ and Joe Flizzow’s ‘Aku Tak Kenal Mu’. So she’s with Kartel records? Not exactly. She first got on board with Kartel when she was 17 (she’s 22 now) and recorded some songs with them. But according to Zamaera, when she was with them she wasn’t a 100 percent focused on music yet, what with studies and an exchange programme in Germany taking up much of her time. Right now, she’s an independent artist who’s fully focused and ready to take the music industry by storm. So her song, ‘Helly Kelly’. Tell me more about it. ‘Helly Kelly’ is Zamaera’s grand entrance into the rap scene. After dabbling in R&B, Zamaera defied expectations by dropping a solid, hard-hitting rap song. But it’s more than just a rap number; ‘Helly Kelly’ reads more like a mission statement with Zamaera asserting he

Ever since ILHAM Gallery opened in 2015, they’ve wasted little time in spearheading the cultural discourse of the city, maybe even the country. Their first exhibition, ‘Picturing the Nation’, wasn’t so much an exhibition as it was a short art festival (if you attended all their events). They had panel discussions which included prominent artists and writers such as Lat and Jo Kukathas, music performances, screenings and even art classes for children. Ever since then, they’ve applied this model for the rest of their exhibitions. All of ILHAM’s previous exhibitions were largely focused on a specific issue or carried a clear central theme. For example, their last exhibition ‘Afterwork’ explored issues of class, race, labour and migration in the region. So not only are their exhibitions focused, they’re not afraid to raise difficult questions about socio-political issues either. One of the works displayed at 'ILHAM Contemporary Forum': 'Weeds/Rumpai', 2013, Sharon Chin However for this ongoing project titled ‘ILHAM Contemporary Forum’, they’ve gone for a more experimental approach. ‘With this new project, ILHAM wanted to depart from past practice, and engage questions of curating contemporary art and culture,’ says Lee Weng Choy, one of the co-facilitators of the project. Fellow project facilitator Rahel agrees, she sees this as part of ILHAM’s focus on developing professional methods like curatorial practices. One of the works displayed at 'ILHAM Contemporary Forum': 'Not so

‘I was questioning this gap that was missing in History – the design history in Malaysia,’ says graphic designer and founder Ezrena on the origins of Malaysia Design Archive (MDA), which first began in 2008 as just an online repository. Ezrena and founding team member, Jac, would share whatever they found visually interesting on their website – from old propaganda posters or something as seemingly innocuous as a matchbox. Ever since then, MDA has grown in numbers and has also opened up a physical space in the city’s latest creative hub, The Zhongshan Building. Apart from Ezrena and Jac, the other team members of MDA are Simon Soon and Dill Malik. We spoke to them to find out more about MDA. Are they just doing this because vintage items are cool?Old school designs and retro items often sell so well among the young probably because the buyers have never lived in the periods of the items they’re buying. This makes the item devoid of any historical context for them, and is just seen as something pretty. That’s where MDA comes in. ‘We make sure we have public programmes to increase awareness and education when we look at all these visual materials,’ says Simon. ‘We need to be sensitive to the context and the history that’s connected to the image – it’s more than just something that reminds you of a rosy past.’ In short, they’re trying to promote visual literacy. Photo: Bryan Ong Wait, what? Visual literacy?Yes, visual literacy. It might sound like a fancy way to say ‘being able

The concept of cocottes at this restaurant isn’t too different from tapas. Diners are encouraged to order a few cocottes to make sure they have a hearty meal. Despite it being a French restaurant – which usually suffers from a pre-conceived notion of having expensive and complicated food – Cocott’ is much more casual than one would expect. The wooden floors coupled with high windows give the place a very homey vibe, while the sleek wooden tables and bar counter lend a hint of sophistication. Their Australian grain-fed beef rib-eye is worth a try just for its accompanying red onion and Dijon mustard marmalade. The robust flavours of the onion and marmalade go perfectly with a piece of medium cooked steak. If you want fish instead, opt for the poached salmon with chicken and coconut floss gremolata – an Italian chopped herbed condiment.

If you live in TTDI or in the nearby Damansara area, you’d know that there aren’t many art galleries around. But with the opening of KEN Gallery at TTDI’s Menara KEN, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. The gallery spans over 20,000 square feet and takes up a whole floor of the building – which more than makes up for the lack of galleries in the area – making it one of the largest private galleries in the city. Property developer, art lover and owner of Menara KEN, Dato’ Kenny intends for KEN Gallery to be a space to promote local art and where art collectors can display their collection, rather than keeping the pieces in storage. The gallery is made up of three galleries – the main hall houses the permanent collection; and two other halls for temporary exhibitions and art events. The entrance to the main hall here is pretty unique; it’s slightly hidden and you’d have to ask the receptionist to let you in through an automated door disguised as the wall – kind of like a speakeasy, but for art. At the moment, the permanent collection houses over 100 pieces of art from various local artists, many of them coming from Dato’ Kenny’s own personal collection. As such, some of them have never been seen by the public. This includes Latiff Mohidin’s 1962 artworks ‘Palm Leaves’ and ‘Pesta Laut’. Both the pieces are unique as Latiff has painted on both sides of the canvas, something that hasn’t been seen in any of his other works. Other notable artists who have their art on displa

What was previously Lorem Ipsum is now Café Atas59. The name change comes with a change in management; but fret not, many of the things we loved about Lorem Ipsum is retained – like the good coffee, art jam sessions and chilled-out vibe. For those unaware of Lorem Ipsum’s existence previously, the space is hidden above Drs. Chai & Partners Dental Surgeons along Jalan Bangkung. Finding it can be tough as there’s no signboard pointing to the café; instead, just look for a canvas painting of a person’s arm holding a cup of coffee leaning against the entrance of the staircase. Café Atas59 ticks all the boxes when it comes to the typical hipster café design – high exposed ceilings, and bare concrete floor and walls. (Despite that, Café Atas59 manages to pull it off without coming across as pretentious or unoriginal.) Canvas paintings by art jam participants give the place pops of colours, and the airiness and spaciousness make the café an ideal place to work. Aside from the usual coffee options, Café Atas59 also offers a range of imported craft beers. At the time of writing craft beers such as Hawkers Pale Ale and Two Birds Golden Ale were available, but the guys behind the café plan to change the selection regularly. Food-wise, there are decent choices for pastries and cakes; go for the baked cheese cake or key lime tart if you’re in the mood for dessert. Apart from that, the menu also includes all-day breakfasts, sandwiches and dessert pancakes. If you want to explore your artis

Founded by Adli, Autism Café Project first began in December 2015, operating out of a corner lot house in USJ, Subang once a week. After applying for a space at iM4U Sentral in Puchong, Autism Café Project has been running a café there since. Adli, who has an autistic son himself, says that he established Autism Café Project to train autistic youth to be independent. Adli realised that his son will most likely outlive him, so he needed to learn the skills to be independent. The café serves as a training centre for the youths, where they learn to interact with customers and learn basic skills such as preparing meals, serving food and washing dishes. Apart from full-time staff, the café also hires people who live too far to commute to make cookies which are sold in the café. On Wednesdays, the café is open for parents to bring their autistic children to experience working in the café for a day. The menu varies from day to day. On some days you might find pasta and lasagna, and on others you might find nasi lemak and roti jala. The food here uses all natural healthy ingredients. Autism Café Project doesn’t just run the café, they also provide food packing and catering services for events. At the moment, they’re planning to open another café which would allow them to hire more autistic youth. In the meantime, they’re looking for donations of secondhand items such as cookware and furniture for their new space.

You might notice the growing number of specialist bars around KL, from whiskey to wine. However, one that you won’t see many of is a rum bar. Recently opened in Bukit Damansara, JungleBird claims to be a ‘Rumah Rum’. Its design is unique in that it didn’t adopt the clichéd tiki bar blueprint often associated with rum. Instead, JungleBird, like its namesake cocktail, stays true to its Malaysian roots. The interior is decorated with bamboo stilts and rattan furniture, while the wallpaper carries a leafy motif, giving the place a familiar tropical and resort vibe. What you come here for is obvious – the JungleBird cocktail. Here’s a free history lesson (you’re welcome): In the 1970s, the JungleBird was invented at the Aviary Bar in the old Hilton KL (when it was located at Jalan Sultan Ismail). The version here offers a refreshing respite from our city’s heat. It also looks like an actual jungle bird, with pineapple leaves sticking out of the glass. If you’re not a fan of fancy cocktails, we recommend the Rum Old Fashioned – the cocktail makes use of house-made chocolate cardamom bitters, which imparts the cocktail with a slight spiciness.

Ever since opening their first branch in Jaya One almost nine years ago, Brussels Beer Café has gone on to open multiple outlets all over the country. Their latest opening in Tropicana City Mall doesn’t stray far from their usual script of serving up good and reliable Belgian food and Belgian beer. However, this outlet offers a slight change of scenery compared to the other branches – the hardwood flooring and lots of natural light from the floor-to-ceiling windows give the space a relaxed and modern ambience; the other outlets have a more European pub vibe. You won’t be disappointed with the selection of European beers here. In fact, they pride themselves on it. There are premium Belgian beers like Hoegaarden, Stella Artois and Leffe on tap, and there are also bottled drinks from various countries (think Scottish stout, Irish cider and more). For food, we recommend their mussel pots – each pot gets you about 500 grams of mussels. The mussels are imported from the Netherlands every week so you know they’re fresh, and they’re served three ways – steamed with white wine; steamed with Hoegaarden; or cooked with bacon, sundried tomatoes and wine. If you want something more filling, go for the Brussels pork burger. The pork patties are prepared Belgian style and are as soft as they come.

Crime Cocktail Bar is inspired by the speakeasies of the American prohibition era when alcohol was illegal. And being a speakeasy itself, Crime’s location along TREC’s Electric Boulevard isn’t easy to find. You actually have to head to Crave Oysters and Seafood first, and then the staff there will give you a code to key in at the hidden doors at the side of the restaurant in order to gain access to Crime. The interior at Crime stays true to the prohibition era bars. With exposed brick and cement walls, leather couches, portraits of famous crime bosses on the walls, and swing music blasting from the speakers, the surrounds feel like something straight out of a 1920s mob movie set. The bartenders (or ‘soul makers’ as they’re called here) at Crime are well trained in the art of mixing drinks. In the menu, you’ll find that each bartender has their own signature cocktails alongside Crime’s signatures. While the cocktails here can border on experimental, there are enough choices to suit any preference. If you’re new to cocktails, try the Grand Bloom – gin, crème de cassis, rosella jam and fresh lemon juice. The taste of alcohol isn’t too strong in this one, so it’s easy and sweet. For something unique, the best-selling Silk Road is the go-to drink. The concoction of bacon fat-infused whisky with fresh lemon juice and balsamic vinegar definitely tastes better than it sounds.

Apart from the slew of cocktail bars we see mushrooming all around KL, wine bars have been quietly making a name for themselves among the city’s wine connoisseurs.Adding to that growing number, international wine retailer Wine Connection has opened their flagship store in TREC. Located a bit further away from the bustling area of bars and clubs along TREC’s Electric Boulevard, Wine Connection provides a quiet respite from the party crowds. It’s a clean, sleek space – marble floors, and wood shelves filled with countless bottles of wine. Huge windows fill the space with lots of natural light during the day; and at night the space is lit up by dangling light bulbs. The alfresco space is where the tables and chairs are at. Wine Connection is especially proud of their incredible selection of over 200 labels, and they should be. You can find a huge array of wines from countries all around the world – think whites, reds, champagne and sparkling from France, Argentina, New Zealand and more – all specially curated by their team of experts, who taste over 2,000 wines annually before selecting the top five percent to be a part of their collection. Doubling as a retailer and wine bar, Wine Connection also allows guests to enjoy a bottle or a glass on the premises. Other additional benefits offered include wine delivery around the country (but check with them first before placing an order) as well as free tasting sessions every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. There is no food serve

Don’t worry Ed Sheeran fans, his concert at Axiata Arena on November 14 is still happening. Ed recently cancelled his tour dates in Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong and Jakarta and rescheduled other dates after breaking his wrist, elbow and a rib in a bicycle accident. The cancellations sparked worry among fans that he could go on to cancel his KL show. However, Ed confirmed that he’ll be playing the rest of his dates from Singapore onwards, which include stops at KL, Bangkok, Mumbai and Dubai. ‘A follow-up visit to my doctors today confirmed that I will be good to go from the Singapore shows onwards,’ Ed has said.

Everyone’s favourite local film last year, ‘Ola Bola’ is set to become a musical. It’ll be produced by Enfiniti Group, the same company that brought us ‘Puteri Gunung Ledang’, ‘P.Ramlee The Musical’ and KL’s longest-running production, ‘MUD:The Story of Kuala Lumpur’. ‘OlaBola The Musical’ will be directed by Tiara Jacquelina, who will be making her debut as director. The crew is made up of a who’s who in the industry – lead singer of local indie band Seven Collar T-Shirt Saiful Ridzuan has been recruited as their music director; award-winning set designer Raja Malek is joining the production team; and jazz singer-songwriter Mia Palencia and rapper Altimet will be writing the lyrics. At the time of writing, the crew hasn’t been confirmed.   If you loved the movie and are apprehensive about a stage adaptation, don’t worry; Tiara says that the plot and general story of ‘Ola Bola’ would be retained. There are some surprises in store though – Tiara promises that there are elements that’ll keep the musical fresh and contemporary. Taking the example of hit Broadway musical ‘Hamilton’, many of the songs in ‘OlaBola The Musical’ will be hip hop and R&B. ‘OlaBola The Musical’ will also be the first production to be staged at the newly refurbished Istana Budaya in February 2018. The musical is slated to be staged from February 22 until March 22 2018. For more info, visit enfiniti.com.my

‘Escape from the SEA’ is a group exhibition by The Japan Foundation KL in collaboration with the National Art Gallery and Art Printing Works (APW). Running until April 23, the artworks in the exhibition explore questions surrounding borders, identity and history within the context of Southeast Asia. The exhibition is spread between two galleries – the National Art Gallery and APW – and features works by artists from across Southeast Asia and Japan. It explores the fluidity of our region’s shared history, while highlighting issues unique to the artists’ locality. The exhibition ran into some controversy recently for removing one part of the two-piece artwork by Pangrok Sulap. The artwork, titled ‘Sabah Tanah Airku’, consists of two 8 x 12 feet tarps with woodblock print; the piece that was removed was a portrayal of some of the sociopolitical issues affecting Sabah. Various artists have come out to condemn the removal, calling it an act of censorship. In protest, Pangrok Sulap has withdrawn from the exhibition completely. Nevertheless, here are some other works you can expect at this exhibition. The Complete Futures of Malaysia (Chapter 1); Ali Alasri, Faiq Syazwan, Mark Teh, Wong Tay Sy This part installation and part research project intends to generate discussion about our nation’s future. The project includes children’s artworks visualising a post-Wawasan 2020 Malaysia being displayed next to newspaper clippings and other artworks relating to the Wawasan 2020 ideal,

Coming all the way from Edmonton, Canada, Tennyson will be making their first appearance in KL at The Bee this Saturday. Tennyson are Luke and Tess who play jazz-inspired electronic music. We spoke with them ahead of their gig this weekend. I read that you guys started out as buskers in Edmonton, Canada. How did you go from busking cover songs to making electronic music? Luke: Both projects overlapped for a couple years. We would play jazz cover shows in coffee shops, and then in between those shows fly out to other cities in Canada to perform as Tennyson. More and more young people are making electronic music nowadays. What do you think about the claims that ‘guitar music’ or ‘indie rock’ is dying? L: It seems like kids get into whatever is most appealing and accessible. It’s a lot easier to make music with a laptop than learning an instrument and finding other bandmates. This is your first intercontinental tour. How does it feel travelling to another side of the world to play your music? Ever worry about the reception? Tess: It’s unbelievable and so exciting for us to get to experience new countries, and even more exciting to be able to share our music with people all over the world. So far the reception has been very enthusiastic, which is super encouraging. Do you think making music is easier when your bandmate is your sibling? T: Being sibling bandmates works better than you might expect. Any fights while on tour are usually forgotten within the hour, and growing

Photo: Rumah Pusaka Chow Kit Rumah Degil, the last remaining traditional Malay house that used to stand on Chow Kit road is under threat. After the land on which the house stood was sold, Rumah Pusaka Chow Kit – the heritage body involved in restoring the house – dismantled it in 2015 in hopes of rebuilding and restoring it as a creative commercial hub. But the plans fell through. At the moment, Rumah Pusaka Chow Kit is appealing to the public to save the house – they are looking for people who are interested in acquiring and rebuilding it, regardless of location. The house was built in 1926 by Haji Jaafar Sutan Sinombar – a descendant of Sutan Puasa, a Mandailing who some historians believe is the founder of KL instead of Yap Ah Loy. It was once the stronghold for the Mandailing community in KL, and is the only remaining legacy of Sutan Puasa. The house earned its nickname – Rumah Degil, or The Stubborn House – after surviving the Japanese occupation, the communist insurgency and the rapid development around KL. After all that it has faced, let’s hope Rumah Degil will remain degil. For more information, visit fb.com/rumahpusakachowkit.

Today, Malaysians woke up to find out that history has been made. Mohd Faiz Subri was announced the winner of the prestigious FIFA Puskás Awards at the 2016 FIFA Football Awards in Zurich this morning. Faiz isn’t just the only Malaysian to have won the award, he is the only person from Asia who has ever done so. The FIFA Puskás Award was established eight years ago to honour the year’s ‘most beautiful’ goal. Faiz, who plays for Penang FA, managed to beat two other candidates with his unbelievable free kick – that swerved in mid-air – garnering a whopping 59 percent of the votes. The other finalists were Daniuska Rodríguez from Venezuela and Johnath Marlone from Brazil. Apart from winning the award, Faiz also managed to get a selfie with his favourite footballer at the star-studded event. Before the awards ceremony, Faiz tweeted his intention to get a selfie from 2016 Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, which he managed by the end of the night. @FIFAcom Finally,another dreams come true,with THE BEST @Cristiano Alhamdulillah pic.twitter.com/o03PaDm1Qp — faizsubri13 (@faizsubri131) January 9, 2017 This is certainly a big celebration and a much needed boost of confidence for Malaysian football. When else can we say a Malaysian footballer has beaten Lionel Messi and Neymar for an award that’s based on footballing merit? You can relive the historic goal here: For more info, visit fifa.com/the-best-fifa-football-awards.