SARONG TRAIN COMING THROUGH
Hundreds to throng trains to encourage communication
Keretapi Sarong, an event inspired by No Pants Subway, is expected to see hundreds s of people dressed in colourful sarongs flocking g to trains in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
KUALA LUMPUR: Expect hundreds of people dressed in colourful sarongs to flock to trains in the city on Saturday.
Keretapi Sarong is an event inspired by No Pants Subway, a flashmob which, in 2009, organised 1,200 New Yorkers to ride the subway without wearing pants in a snow storm.
The event is organised by RandomAlphabets (RA), a non-profit organisation that puts together event-based projects in and around Kuala Lumpur.
“Our objective is simply to bring people together and have fun,” said Zain HD, 28, who spearheads RA.
Participants are encouraged to write their “sarong stories” on a piece of A4 paper and hold it up during the event.
Keretapi Sarong’s catchphrase, “Every sarong has a story, what’s yours?”, is meant to encourage people to communicate in different ways.
“Observers can take pictures, smile or wave at participants,” Zain said.
“It is a very simple, low-commitment way to communicate.”
These “sarong stories” will also be posted on the Keretapi Sarong official website ( www.keretapisarong.posterous. as well as RA’S Facebook page.
In the website, Gaelle Linard, 26, took a photo of herself donning a blue sarong, coupled with a large smile.
Her sarong story is a sign that reads “Now I’m Malaysian. (Who cares I’m only a Minah Salleh.)”
In another photo, a blank-faced Sufri Safuan, 24, clad in a green sarong, holds a sign that says “My boss made me do this.”
Keretapi Sarong is scheduled for 4pm on Saturday. The venue will be announced on the website today.
RA’S first project, the KL Freeze in Unison at Lot 10 and Pavilion in April 2008, attracted over 1,000 participants.
Since then, RA has put together projects such as the KL Chapter World Pillow Fight Day at 1 Utama in Selangor and the Glee Flashmob Dance at Gardens, Mid Valley in Kuala Lumpur.
“Previously, we got publicity for our events through the newspapers and radio. What’s different about Keretapi Sarong is that we are printing posters to reach out to a crowd that may not have access to the Internet and other media,” Zain said.
The posters can be seen all around Taman Tun Dr Ismail.