MYTHS 1.0: A Spoken Word Play on 'The Myth of the Lazy Native' by Syed Hussein Alatas
Date: 14–15/11/2026
Time: 3:30PM, 8:00PM
Duration: 90 minutes without intermission
Doors Open: 15 minutes before the event
from
RM40.00
Additional Fees Apply
Duration: 90 minutes without intermission
Doors Open: 15 minutes before the event
Ticketing
About
"As colonial capitalism defined useful labour — the labour of traders, money-making through commerce, selling goods to and from colonial European countries, or later in the 19th century, managing cash crop plantations — the community which did not possess such a class was considered non-industrious.” — Syed Hussein Alatas
Introduction, Myth of the Lazy Native (1977)
Who is the Lazy Native? More importantly, why did the term come about? What if the West never came to Southeast Asia?
MYTHS 1.0 is the first in a series of experimental devised spoken-word plays that ruminate on the question, exploring the history and evolution of Malaysian identity via Syed Hussein Alatas’ seminal text: The Myth of the Lazy Native. The play has been devised in close collaboration with the author's son, Prof Syed Farid Alatas. Ali Alasri, Amelia Jafar, and Khalish Jiwarey look deep into themselves, questioning who — and more importantly, why — is the 'Malay', in an attempt to find a tujuan.
MYTHS is a project that utilises the stage to study publications important to the Malaysian narrative. It combines research, theatre, and poetry to create new Malaysian poetic works in the form of devised spoken-word plays, while exploring poetry as a medium of communication and dialogue.
Price details
Standard
RM50.00
Student
Presentation of valid student ID required upon request at venue.
RM40.00
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