Malaysia Info Guide
for Locals & Visitors

Sepak Manggis is an outdoor game played by the hardy Bajau and Iranum men in Sabah.

Players face each other in a circle and aim to strike the "bunga manggis" a floral display containing money, handkerchiefs, edibles and colourful flaglines. The manggis is hung from a 10m high pole.

Sepak Takraw is one of Malaysia's most popular sports. In this game, players kick a rattan ball to their opponents over a net.

The players use heels, soles, insteps, thighs, shoulders and heads - everything but hands - to keep the small rattan ball aloft.

Silat is the Malay art of self defence.

This fascinating Malay sport is also a dance form. It has been known in the Malay Archipelago for hundreds of years.

In Silat, the practitioner develops spiritual strength according to the tenets of Islam. Silat demonstrations are held during weddings, national celebrations, and silat competitions.

The wau or giant kites flown in the East Coast have intricate patterns and come in all shapes and sizes.

The most popular shape is the Wau Bulan or Moon Kite, so called because it resembles the crescent moon. There is a major kite competition held annually in Kelantan which attracts participants from the region.

Kite fighting is a popular sport and involves opponents attempting to bring down or cut the strings of their rival's kites. Glass powder is used on the strings to provide the "cutting edge" and the rest involves skill in manoeuvring the kite and use of wind power.

Top spinning or gasing is a popular village pastime particularly during the harvest months in the East Coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu.

There is serious competition for adults who use tops that may weigh up to 5kg and which are lined with metal for weight and balance. The tops are strung and thrown to spin on special platforms.

The spinning tops are then lifted onto wooden bats and transferred to metal receptacles on bamboo posts.

The winner is the one who manages to get his top to spin for the longest period.

An indoor, two player game favoured by women, the game is played on a piece of wood in which there are two rows of eight holes scooped into the wood. The last hole, on each row is larger and known as "home".

The objective of the game is to be the first to fill up the holes with exactly seven marbles and players begin dropping marbles into the holes according to their turns.

Winning depends on calculation and estimation.