Multimedia Gallery - The Malaysian Insider

‘Whispering market’ of Kuala Muda

Kuala Muda district in Kedah enjoys a long history and various peculiarities. Its claim to fame was the 2004 tsunami which hit parts of the Kuala Muda shore. Despite the tragic event, some traditions...

Permatang Pauh goes to the polls

After 12 days of campaigning, Permatang Pauh folk voted on May 7 to elect a new MP for the hottest parliamentary seat in the country. This is a four-cornered fight among PKR president Datuk Seri Dr...

Glimpses of Permatang Pauh life

Permatang Pauh is under spotlight again following the disqualification of incumbent MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after the Federal Court upheld his five-year jail term for sodomy. The 71,890 voters...

Fishermen of Teluk Kumbar

A community area in Teluk Kumbar, Penang, known as Kampung Nelayan, is home to hundreds of families. Located on the shore facing the Strait of Malacca, the villagers have a strong symbiotic...

Learning the Quran by heart, together

Maahad Tahfiz is a school where students learn to read and memorise the Quran, alongside Islamic subjects such as Hadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). At the end...

Street food of Penang

Penang is known as a food paradise and this reputation rests largely on its street food. Locals and foreigners alike descend on the island to savour its many temptations. As melting pot, Penang...

Raft houses of Kampung Pendas

Kampung Pendas, Gelang Patah, Johor, is known for its fishing industry. Raft houses or ‘rumah rakit’ are a unique part of the fishing village’s identity, as they are used as 'cages' to breed...

The Mah Meri and the sea

Mah Meri is a subgroup of the Orang Asli tribe, Senoi, and live along the coast of Selangor, particularly from Sungai Pelek to Pulau Carey. Every year for many centuries, a small Mah Meri village in...

Welcoming Year of the Goat

Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, marks the start of the Chinese calendar. Each Chinese New Year is named after one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and for...

Anwar’s judgment day

The Federal Court has rejected opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appeal against a sodomy conviction and prison sentence imposed last year. The former deputy prime minister's legal battle...

Thaipusam 2015

Thaipusam celebrates the victory of Lord Muruga over the Surapadman devil. Lord Muruga is seen as the granter of favours and if a wish is granted, devotees are required to repay Him through offerings...

A day at HIV shelter

In 2013, there were 35 million people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide and since then, 1.5 million have died from the disease. The first cases of HIV were reported in 1981....

After the big flood

Scenes of devastation in the flood-ravaged east coast state of Kelantan greeted those who travelled there with aid convoys, leaving many in shock and disbelief at the scale of the disaster. Likening...

The life of ‘Caca’

In the heart of Kuala Lumpur, there is a tiny house. Wood and boxes are used to patch up the dirty house. There is no water and electricity. The house is dubbed a ‘Rumah Tampal’. It may not be a...

Remembering the tsunami… 10 years later

On December 26, 2004, Malaysians learnt the meaning of the word ‘tsunami’ when a 9.3-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast sparked a series of towering waves that wrought destruction...

Season for circumcision

'Khatan' is the term for male circumcision carried out as an Islamic rite. It is considered by some as a sign of belonging or introduction to the wider Islamic community. Islamic sources do not fix a...

Life after Hatyai treaty

December 2 marks the 25th anniversary of the Hatyai Peace Accord, when the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) laid down arms against the Malaysian and Thai governments, ending an insurgency that began...

Kampung Baru

As recently as 30 years ago, Kuala Lumpur was a predominantly low-rise city, with hardly any building more than a few storeys’ high. Fast forward to today, and the situation could not be any more...

The MRT takes shape

The Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project involves the construction of a rail-based public transport network which, together with the existing light rail transit (LRT), monorail, KTM...

The making of the lion’s head mask

There are two main forms of the Chinese lion dance, the Northern Lion and the Southern Lion. But around the world, especially in Southeast Asia, the Southern Lion predominates as it was spread by the...