No Jit?

Following the passing of Jit Murad in Febuary 2022, a slew of major news outlets in Malaysia and Singapore reported on his death or published obituaries fitting of a stalwart of the arts scene. 

In these articles, Jit was described in various ways - playwright, actor, comedian, and activist, among others. Yet, academic scholarship about Jit do not often reflect this diversity of talents, most of which tend to focus on his plays and writings. 

As an artist so perceptibly influential and who was celebrated in the mainstream - with a career on stage, TV and film going back over three decades - how is Jit presented in scholarly literature and in what contexts? 

Join the discussion as Dr. Niki Cheong (King’s College London) hosts Dr. Susan Philip, Dr. Ann Lee and Fasyali Fadzly as they consider Jit’s place in academic discourse surrounding national and regional arts, with writer and broadcaster Kam Raslan as respondent.

Biographies

Host:

Dr. Niki Cheong
Niki Cheong is Lecturer in Digital Culture and Society at King’s College London. His research interest sits at the intersection of digital culture, media and politics. Previously, Niki was a theatre practitioner in Malaysia, and he was also formerly editor of The Star’s R.AGE. He is known as The Bangsar Boy, a nod to the newspaper column he authored for over a decade, a selection of which was published as a book titled Growing Up in KL: 10 years of the Bangsar Boy. 

Panelist: 

Dr. Susan Philip
Susan Philip was formerly Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Malaya. She has published extensively on theatre in journals such as Asian Theatre Journal, Australasian Drama Studies, and Journal of Commonwealth Literature, as well as on digital media, webcomics, and crime fiction. Her work also appears in Making Heritage in Malaysia and various books on theatre.

Dr. Ann Lee
Dr Ann Lee is an award-winning playwright and independent researcher in the areas of freedom of expression, humour studies, and gender and sexuality. Her work for the stage is published in Southeast Asian Plays (Aurora Metro) and Sex, Stage and State (Kuali Works). Her essays have been published by Marshall Cavendish and Matahari Books, among others, with reviews such as of RED LINES: 60 Global Cartoonists Talk Fear and Favour (MIT Press) on artsequator.com. Currently External Advisory Committee member at Sunway University, she has most recently presented research about Malaysian arts and censorship at the Asia Pacific Network for Cultural Education and Research (ANCER).

Fasyali Fadzly 
Fasyali Fadzly is a theatre educator and researcher at the National Academy of Arts, Culture, and Heritage (ASWARA) in Malaysia, mentoring emerging theatre practitioners. He actively contributes to the performing arts scene as a grant panelist, jury member, and competition judge, while moderating discussions on Malaysian theatre. His research with the My Art Memory Project focuses on theatre archiving and history, contributing to a deeper understanding of Malaysia's performing arts heritage.

Kam Raslan
Kam Raslan is a Malaysian writer and broadcaster. Originally a film-maker working in London, Los Angeles, Malaysia and Indonesia, he has written for many publications including The Economist, Mekong Review and he had a long-running column in The Edge Malaysia.