Keretapi Sarong

Keretapi Sarong is an annual flash mob event held across Malaysia, where the participants wear a traditional sarong while riding the train or rapid transit on certain days to promote Malaysian culture and diversity.^[1] The event was first held in 2012, stalled for three years, and revived with the new organizer.

Keretapi Sarong

Keretapi Sarong 2023
Date	Malaysia Day (2017-2023) Saturday in September before Malaysia Day (2024-now)
Venue	Major train stations in Klang Valley, Malaysia; and other countries
Location	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; other cities and countries
Organised by	Random Alphabet (2012-2016) LOCCO (2017-now)
Goal	To promote culture and diversity of Malaysia during Malaysia Day (since 2017)
Methods	Wearing traditional sarong while riding the train and gathering at the secret location

History

Keretapi Sarong was first introduced in the year 2012, inspired by No Pants Subway Ride flash mob in New York City in 2002 where the participants ride the subway without wearing pants for a day. ^[2] The first organizer of the event is Random Alphabets.

In 2013, Keretapi Sarong was also being held overseas, including in London, Melbourne, Washington, D.C., Boston and Philadelphia.^[3] The 2014 edition also saw 12 cities holding the same event, such as Tokyo, Dublin, Amsterdam and London.

After the original event was not held for three years, the new organizer, Local Companion (LOCCO), revived the Keretapi Sarong flash mob event during Malaysia Day as an effort to promote the use of public transport and encourage wearing traditional attire, which is the sarong.^[4]

Keretapi Sarong was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

The 2022 edition saw the popularity of the event with 5,000 participants as well as being held for the first time outside Kuala Lumpur, which is Ipoh.^[5] The 2023 edition is also being held in Johor Bahru, Ipoh and Kuala Terengganu, as well as overseas, like at Battersea Power Station in London.^[6][7]

Keretapi Sarong in Kuala Lumpur

Year	Theme	"Secret Location"	Meet-up Stations	Ref
2012	n/a	n/a		[2]
2013	n/a	n/a		[3]
2014	n/a	n/a		[1]
2015-2016	Not held
2017	#SayangMalaysia	National Museum, Kuala Lumpur	KG09  Bandar Utama  SP29  Puchong Prima  KD09  KS02  KJ28  Subang Jaya  KJ01  Gombak  AG18  Ampang	[4]
2018	n/a	Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC), Kuala Lumpur	KG09  Bandar Utama  SP24  IOI Puchong Jaya  KD09  KS02  KJ28  Subang Jaya  KJ01  Gombak  AG18  Ampang	[8]
2019	n/a	Independence Square, Kuala Lumpur	KG09  Bandar Utama  KB06  KG35  Kajang  KD09  KS02  KJ28  Subang Jaya  KJ1  Gombak  AG18  Ampang	[9]
2020-2021	Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022	Retro Kuala Lumpur	Pavilion Kuala Lumpur	KG09  Bandar Utama  KB06  KG35  Kajang  KD09  KS02  KJ28  Subang Jaya  KJ1  Gombak  AG18  Ampang  KA01  KJ15  KE1  KT1  KS01  KL Sentral  KT5  KLIA T1  KT3  Putrajaya & Cyberjaya	[5]
2023	Ethnicity & Unity	Independence Square, Kuala Lumpur	KG09  Bandar Utama  KB06  KG35  Kajang  KD09  KS02  KJ28  Subang Jaya  KJ1  Gombak  AG18  Ampang  KA01  KJ15  KE1  KT1  KS01  KL Sentral  KT3  PY41  Putrajaya Sentral	[6][7]
2024	Face of Malaysia	Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC), Kuala Lumpur	KG10  TTDI  KB06  KG35  Kajang  KD09  KS02  KJ28  Subang Jaya  KJ1  Gombak  AG18  Ampang  KA01  KJ15  KE1  KT1  KS01  KL Sentral  KT3  PY41  Putrajaya Sentral  PY34  UPM  PY07  Sri Damansara Sentral	[10]
2025	Serumpun	TBA	KG08  Mutiara Damansara  SP22  Kinrara BK5  KB06  KG35  Kajang  KD09  KS02  KJ28  Subang Jaya  KJ1  Gombak  AG18  Ampang  KA01  KJ15  KE1  KT1  KS01  KL Sentral  KT3  PY41  Putrajaya Sentral  PY34  UPM  PY07  Sri Damansara Sentral	[11]

Reactions

This program has been well received by the Malaysian train operator, Prasarana Malaysia, since the start of the event. It is also supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture of Malaysia.