What to Know About Keretapi Sarong’s Highly Anticipated Event on 14 September
What is Keretapi Sarong?
You may have heard about this highly hyped event before. Still, according to their website, “Keretapi Sarong is a unifying event where people from all walks of life gather to celebrate Hari Malaysia. (This is) for us to celebrate our culture, music, and traditions. People gather at designated stations in their sarong & traditional attires to a “Secret Location” that will only be revealed on (the day of the) event. In 2023, it was held at Dataran Merdeka, where 10,000 participants were recorded!
This year, it will be held on September 14 (Saturday) starting from 8:30 am.
What is the theme this year?
This year's theme is ‘Bangga Malaysia.’ This event is the chance to show off your best traditional attire, such as kebaya, baju kurung Pahang, baju kurung Kedah, and more. Wear proper shoes, sneakers, or loafers because you will walk often.
Which stations should you meet at?
The event organisers, Locco, have announced the starting train stations for Keretapi Sarong, which can be found here:
What do you bring along with you?
According to X user @Fawaa___, or Farah, these are some of the items to bring along:
- Mini perfume (you’re probably going to start smelling at a certain point)
- Mini Fan
- Foldable fan or Baba Nyonya fan to get into the mood
- Jalur Gemilang (they only give this out for free at specific points).
- Powerbank (make sure your phones are fully charged, too)
- Tissue to wipe your sweat
- Bottle of water
- Money/digital camera/camera/tripod
- TNG card or transportation card to hop on the LRT/MRT
But do keep your belongings safe as there will be huge crowds. Here is a video of exactly how busy it can get:
Collecting freebies
Who doesn’t love free stuff, right? There will be many stalls from brands such as Wonda Coffee and AirAsia in the past where you can redeem gifts, free drinks, free food, and even join in on some fun games.
Various activities
There will be random pockets of fun and activities to enjoy. The fun begins on the trains as people sing, play games, and even do some joget.
When they arrive at the final location, people of all ethnicities and races gather to dance randomly for dances like Zapin, and then the music may suddenly switch to a Sumazau dance!
There are even booths to play traditional games like batu seremban, congkak, and gasing matches.
According to Farah, sporting matches, such as rugby, football, tug-of-war, and more, are even being held.
This year, songstress Noraniza Idris, also known as the ‘Queen of Ethnic Pop,’ will be performing.
What if I’m not in KL?
Besides our capital city, the Keretapi Sarong flashmob is also held in several other states, including:
- Kelantan
- Kuantan
- Johor Bahru
- Kota Bharu
- Ipoh
- Bukit Mertajam
- Alor Setar
- Paris
- Berlin
Win flight tickets & other prizes
Several companies are sponsoring lucrative prizes, such as a return flight ticket from KL to Phy Quoc worth RM2,634 and a return flight ticket from KL to Kuching worth RM2,150, hotel stays, and more. Check out this official checklist and the T&C to join:
Where to get information?
To learn where the final location is, and if you have any questions, join their official Telegram group and follow them on Instagram.
Will you be attending this year?
Featured Image Credit: instagram.com/locco.my, x.com/Fawaa___