A fresh look at Malaysian culture through young writers’ eyes

Last year, writer-editor-trainer Brigitte Rozario launched the Pipit Writing Competition to encourage older teenagers and passionate young writers to express their creativity. Twentytwo13 was among those who sponsored the prizes.

Rozario received an overwhelming number of entries and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing.

Now, one of the Pipit winners – Naufal Faiz – is featured in Rozario’s new anthology of Malaysian stories, Caught in Culture.

The collection reflects Malaysia’s vibrant multi-ethnic society, with 15 young authors offering unique takes on tradition, modernity and identity. Their stories explore the tension that arises from cultural values that are not fully understood, yet still expected to be followed.

Rozario also runs the successful Junior Writing Programme (JWP). At the end of the seven-month course, she publishes a compilation of the teenagers’ stories. She has previously released seven JWP-related books, along with a collection written by programme alumni.

Her experience and guidance played a key role in Naufal’s development as a writer.

“I felt very nervous, as it was my first time being open to criticism and sharing my work with the public. But at the same time, it felt incredibly liberating,” said Naufal, a consolation prize winner in last year’s Pipit Writing Competition.

“My story is titled Makan, which means ‘eat’ in Bahasa Melayu. It explores Malaysian eating culture and is inspired more by my observations of others than by my own experiences.

“It was essentially an exercise in putting myself in someone else’s shoes and writing from a first-person perspective.”

Naufal thanked Rozario for guiding him and helping improve the flow of his story.

Another Pipit participant, Davina Sanjna – who won third place – also has a story in Caught in Culture. A graduate of the Junior Writing Programme, Davina wrote about adoption in The Son.

Meanwhile, Ezfar Aedlycia Abdullah’s story, Bin Abdullah, explores superstition and the paranormal.

“Previous generations may have bowed their heads and accepted everything as it was, but our generation is full of rebels – we question everything,” said Ezfar Aedlycia.

“Even in 2025, we’re still a little superstitious. You’d think that with globalisation and the digital age, we’d slowly lose touch with these traditions. But nope – they’re still going strong.

“In this book, our stories explore traditions drilled into us since childhood. We question old perceptions and offer fresh perspectives.”

Thamitira Rooban shared a similar view, saying culture and tradition are open to interpretation.

“Malaysia has always been known for its multiculturalism. This country is home to a beautiful community of races and religions living together in seamless harmony – well, most of the time,” said Thamitira, whose story, As Luck Would Have It, is about a boy of mixed parentage trying to understand the cultural traditions in his family.

“Every culture has values that are instilled from an early age. While tradition is something to be honoured, it’s also something the younger generation questions – not to disrespect our elders, but simply because we want to understand why.”

Rozario thanked everyone for their hard work and reminded them that the deadline for this year’s Pipit Writing Competition is Aug 31.

Caught in Culture is available at BookXcess and Gerakbudaya for RM33.90.