Meet the Malay Teacher Who Is Fighting To Keep the Hokkien Art of Puppeteering Alive

‘Potehi’, which literally means ‘glove puppet theatre’ in Mandarin, is a living and breathing Hokkien ancient art form.

28-year-old Jasniza Johari may not have ‘Puppeteer’ in her ambitions list growing up but fortuitously ended up becoming one of the remaining few keeping this dying art alive as part of the Ombak Potehi team. We sat down for a short interview with this interesting individual.

RD: Tell us more about the Ombak Potehi team and what you all do.

JJ: We are a team of young people who are working to revitalise Potehi for today’s audience which started with a project to document the artform and to ensure its sustainability for future generations, spearheaded by renowned ethnomusicologist Prof Tan Sooi Beng from University Sains Malaysia.

We look to Beng Geok Hong, one of the surviving original troupes as our mentors to teach us the technical aspects. We have written new scripts based on our own original stories, including local languages and dialects which injects local flavour into the artform.

How did you first get involved with Ombak Potehi?

I joined community arts projects lead by Prof Tan as a teen. Even after I finished high school, I was invited back to join several projects. I did solely puppetry at first, then progressed to singing and narration, as well as writing Malay parts of the script and some lyrics to our songs.

Do you have any musical background?

I don’t have much formal background in music, only some minimal exposure. When it comes to learning the art form from the key members of Beng Geok Hong, a lot of it is informal. The Aunties do not use musical scores, all they have is really the knowledge and experience of performing for so many years resulting in a very unconventional music lesson.

Tell us what a typical week of juggling work and theatre is like.

It does not happen all year round, but my work as a special needs teacher on weekdays can be quite demanding, so I have to squeeze in all the rest I can get before going to the night rehearsals, which is only during festival season e.g., the Georgetown Festival.

Are there any other groups left in Malaysia?

It is a dying art which we hope to document and sustain for the future generation. There are less than a handful of traditional troupes left in Malaysia, one of which is Beng Geok Hong.

Where does your team typically perform?

We usually perform at arts festivals, some local and some international such as in Bangkok, Taipei and Tokyo. We have done a short stint at TEDxPetalingStreet and done fundraising shows and previews at the Penang House of Music. We have been included in the calendar of performers at the Georgetown Festival for many years now.

Where do you source the unique puppets from?

Some of our puppets come from China and Taiwan. What’s interesting is that we now work with a local wood artist Keng Hwa Carving Studio and other local artisans to produce puppets, props and costumes that you can only find here!

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