Education via Family Memories of National Development: The Suara (((Pembangunan))) Project in Malaysia

Description

What does “development” sound like across generations? How do young people narrate development from the ground up?

Suara ((( Pembangunan ))) (Malay language, stylised to mean “Voices of Development”) is a participatory oral history and sonic project with young people to document the generational legacies of national development in Malaysia from the grassroots. Malaysia is an upper-middle-income country guided by a strong developmental state. Through collaboration with Pusat Sejarah Rakyat (The People’s History Centre) in Malaysia, an interactive workshop was conducted with six young people from varying backgrounds, involving hands-on training in oral history documentation and sound practice, followed by intergenerational interviews to explore the legacies of national development manifested through their families and communities. This is followed by production of creative, multilingual “audio essays” by the young people for public dissemination.

Through the conversation, the project coordinators, Dr. Aizuddin Anuar and Zikri Rahman, reflect on how young Malaysians explore the lived stories behind national development through intergenerational voices, memories, and sound. The session was moderated by Dr. Por Heong Hong.

Period	15 Apr 2026
Held at	Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
Degree of Recognition	National