Duo revitalises mahjong
sets with unique M’sian
twist
Co-founders of Myjong, Wong Kai Yi and Adrian Ng incorporate elements of local culture into traditional mahjong tiles.
While mahjong has deep roots in Chinese culture, its popularity has spread worldwide, and its players aren’t limited to elderly Chinese women any longer.
Closer to home, Wong Kai Yi and Adrian Ng, founders of Myjong, are infusing a uniquely Malaysian flavour into mahjong sets.
“I thought, ‘Why is mahjong only played by the Chinese community?’ When I was a kid, we used to play different games like gasing and congkak. So, it got me thinking if the Chinese elements or characters in mahjong make people feel like it’s very exclusive,” Wong, 31, told FMT Lifestyle.
To achieve a more Malaysian feel, the duo introduced mahjong sets made from wood like chengal, merbau, plywood and merbau with resin as well as acrylic – a departure from the usual plastic tiles in sets.
“The wood, especially chengal, is tropical wood. It can really bring out the Malaysian vibe,” said Wong. The elegant merbau and chengal sets are particularly striking while the acrylic set has a sleek and modern look.
The duo also incorporated symbols of Malaysia’s diverse heritage into their sets – some tiles feature designs of a wau, lion head, kolam as well as motifs representing Indian, Malay and indigenous cultures.
Meanwhile, on the “Tongzi” (dots) tiles, Wong explained that they replaced the circles on these tiles with images of Malaysian favourites such as cendol, curry puffs, ketupat, kuih lapis, satay and others.
By including these local elements in their tiles, they aim to broaden the game’s appeal. “We came up with the name ‘Myjong’ because it’s short for Malaysian mahjong,” added Ng, 32.
They also added symbols and letters on some tiles to help players recognise the characters printed on them too.
Ng walked the FMT Lifestyle team through the process of crafting the chengal and merbau sets. After the wood is sourced, it is sent to a local service provider to be cut using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine.
After the tiles were ready, Ng laser engraved Wong’s intricate designs onto each piece at their studio in Petaling Jaya. Next, he sanded the tiles to smooth the surfaces, applied varnish and left each tile to dry.
Ng shared that they make sets for three players with 84 tiles and for four players with 144 tiles. Each, he added, typically takes about a month to complete, although the merbau with resin set takes longer due to its complexity.
Looking back, they shared that their interest in mahjong began during the pandemic after Wong’s sister taught them how to play the game.
Wong, who was working with acclaimed artist Red Hong Yi then, was encouraged by Red to work on a passion project on his days off. He chose to focus on mahjong and invited Ng to join him.
They displayed their first set made from plywood at an exhibition in 2021 and were delighted to receive positive feedback, even from the non-Chinese community.
Today, in addition to selling the sets, they also display their handicrafts at exhibitions. At some of these exhibitions, they conduct workshops on how to play mahjong.
Asked what he enjoys most about the game, Wong said: “It trains your mind to think really fast. For instance, you may plan to form a set of tiles. But half-way through, you realise that you can’t. You have to switch and keep thinking ahead.”
And as players converse, they connect with each other, he said, which is a great way to strengthen relationships.
“By introducing elements of Malaysian culture, we want non-Chinese to understand, pick up and play this game. I don’t want it to be an exclusive game for the Chinese because I feel it’s not supposed to be like that,” said Wong.
“The second intention is to highlight the diversity of multicultural Malaysia in the sets, make it ours and show it to the world,” Wong concluded.
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kt comments:
Useful game for Polling Day when you want to avoid voting for hopeless politicians 😂😂😂
Nowadays you can play video games, computer games or binge-watch you Favourite streaming series.
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