What's up with Malacca's psychedelic trishaw?

I’ve always wanted to attend the Christmas Eve mass at Christ Church Malacca, the famous 18th-century Anglican church built in Dutch Colonial architecture style. And last Christmas weekend, I finally ticked it off my bucket list.

The celebration was simply lovely. We were welcomed with smiles, along with other tourists who wanted to indulge in the Christmas spirit. We sang along to Christmas carols and observed the mass. The pastor and his funny quirks simply made our day!

I must say, I have so much love for Malacca. I love the old heritage buildings, its unique cuisine, the smell of incense, the sounds of craftsmen at work and of course, the people too.

What I am not so crazy about though, are the psychedelic trishaws in Malacca.

Malacca's obnoxious trishaws

In the past, the Malaccan trishaws have been classy – well, almost classy. Decorated with colourful plastic flowers, butterfly canopy, replica of bullock cart roof or a humble umbrella, they were pleasant to look at.

And the riders were quite friendly too, always offering to share information about the history of Malacca with passengers for no extra charges. Being local, their knowledge was valuable.

Today, the trishaws were no longer what they used to be. The trishaws are now decorated with cartoon characters, spinning cartoon accessories and obtrusively bright and flashy neon lights.

Among the ridiculously decorated trishaws I managed to catch were the ones themed Hello Kitty, Doraemon, Pokémon, Spiderman, Olaf, Minions, Baby Shark, Didi, Little Pony and Ultraman.

These flamboyant and multi-coloured trishaws are honestly painful to look at. I swear, if you look at them long enough, especially during the nighttime, you might end up with temporary blindness, thanks to the bright neon lights.

But not to worry, the good news is, before you come across a trishaw, you will probably hear them first from a kilometre away - hence you will have enough time to put on your shades and earpiece to save yourself from unnecessary suffering.

Yes, the trishaws in Malacca, unlike any other places in Malaysia, are equipped with sound systems and PA systems which blast loud music into the air. When I say blast, I don’t mean they were playing the music super loud. What I mean is, the music was on a deafening volume, so much so that it was no longer music – it was noise. Loud, irritating, maddening noise.

On my way to the hotel after attending the Christmas Eve mass, I had to endure 15 minutes of torture strolling along Jalan Gereja and Jalan Merdeka, passing by Stadthuys, St Paul Hill, the Coronation Park, A Famosa and the Independence Memorial building. Every step of the way, I was accompanied by tens of trishaws making rounds in the city.

I heard an Indonesian dangdut song coming from a trishaw carrying a Malay family, a Tamil dance hit from Thalapathy Vijay coming from a trishaw carrying an Indian family and Selena Gomez’s Calm Down coming from a trishaw carrying a Chinese family. Once in a while, trishaws playing loud readings of Quranic verses joined in the party too.

Now, try to imagine the excruciatingly painful noise created by these trishaws moving side by side, row by row, one after another, with their speakers blasting to different songs, music and even language. Seriously, one could easily suffer from migraines being exposed to such a loud environment. I do wonder if the drivers are tone-deaf, to begin with.

The trishaws reminded me of the minibuses in Kuala Lumpur back in the 80s and 90s where the drivers would compete with each other to see who has the loudest music on. But then again, Kuala Lumpur isn’t a world heritage site and bus passengers aren’t tourists visiting a historical place.

I used to love walking along the streets of Malacca city in a slow and laid-back manner, enjoying the charming city. Unfortunately, with the obnoxious trishaws conquering the streets around the city, I’d rather take a Grab and risk getting caught in Malacca’s horrible traffic than suffer temporary blindness, deafness and migraine.

Just another touristy spot

In 2008, Unesco declared Malacca a World Heritage Site for its exceptional multicultural heritage. Before Malacca was designated the title, it was a quiet, rustic and unpretentious town. Its simplicity was its biggest charm. Sadly today, Malacca seems more like yet another touristy spot in the country.

Besides towering hotels, malls and fancy bars trying to cater for the surge of tourists to Malacca, we also have way too many tacky souvenir shops scattered all over the heritage city.

While the increase in the number of visitors to Malacca is a positive thing, and the developments Malacca has to go through in order to cater for these visitors are understandable, it does feel like the soul of Malacca and its unique identity is slowly disappearing.

And this is not just the doing of the obnoxious psychedelic trishaws.

Today, entertainment value and commercialisation have taken over the appreciation for Malacca as a heritage town.

During my visit to Malacca, I spotted Black Panther and Spiderman in front of A Famosa, the famous fort built by the Portuguese in the early 16th century.

The men in superhero costumes were entertaining children and charging RM2 for every photograph taken with them.

As I observed children and their parents lining up with big smiles at the entrance of the oldest European structure in Southeast Asia just for a photo with the fictional characters, I wondered what these superheroes had to do with the history of Malacca.

Mind you, there were more characters roaming the heritage area for a quick buck - Kungfu Panda, Gold Man and a very depressed-looking teddy bear were among them.

A few steps away, at the People’s Museum of Malacca, I saw a statue of a dinosaur.

Quite honestly, I have no idea what a dinosaur was doing at a museum dedicated to recording and preserving the progress of Malacca over the decades – but still, there were people taking turns snapping photographs with the dinosaur, even adults!

The thing that irks me the most is the fact that these “attractions” have been endorsed by the state government itself. Even the official website of Malacca City Council proudly carries the images of the obnoxious trishaws.

A member of Parliament in Malacca also promoted a Minion-themed trishaw as an icon of Malacca, equating it to the double-decker buses in London.

Seriously, how can they not see everything that is wrong with it?

Anyway, as much as I was confused with the non-cultural, non-heritage attractions and entertainment around the city of Malacca, my faith was restored on my final day in Malacca as I went for a night walk along Jonker Street.

I met a few street vendors selling food and beverages dressed up in traditional attire, complete with their headpieces. There was a Chinese lady selling drinks in her Malay costume and a Malay man selling food items in his Yap Ah Loy costume – yes, wrong state, but what a lovely idea.

Clearly the people of Malacca know what cultural and heritage tourism is, likely more than their state government.

Some suggestions

I believe tourism in a heritage city like Malacca should be understood as a social phenomenon which is more than just visiting historical sites and enjoying the entertainment around.

Different specialised experiences which are true to the identity of the site should be made available for tourists to take part in, such as local customs, history, art, and the traditions and cultures of the city.

I hope the state government of Malacca considers hiring people with talent and creativity in order to come up with better ideas to preserve the world heritage status and at the same time live up to the expectation of different types of tourists.

First of all, we can do away with the ridiculous decorations on the trishaws. Replace them with something simple, classy and truly Malacca. Perhaps the trishaws can represent the identity of the local folks in Malacca and their hybrid culture.

I also think the state government should cover the expenses to makeover all the 300 trishaws there are in Malacca so as to not burden the riders.

And please let us do away with the loud music. Let us stick to some soft like Dondang Sayang, Jingkli Nona or other traditional melodies of Malacca that are soothing to the ears.

About the superheroes and fictional characters, perhaps they can be limited to public parks where children can still enjoy them. And come to think of it, the state government should consider having characters from Malacca's very own history around the heritage site.

Having a character resembling Afonso de Albuquerque tell the story of the invasion of Malacca by the Portuguese in front of A Famosa would be an absolute blast in my honest opinion. And perhaps a scheduled performance of silat, demonstrating the attempts by Malacca warriors in protecting their kingdom against invasion would be a nice touch too.

The Malacca state government must always aim to hold the city’s identity and patriotism above everything else. No matter how it decides to improve, evolve and satisfy its visitors, it must always be done in line with its world heritage site status.

And if the state government fails to stay true to its world heritage status, then the Tourism Ministry must step in and play its role. - Mkini

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FA ABDUL is a multi-award-winning playwright and director in the local performing arts scene, a published author, television scriptwriter, media trainer, and mother. Her ultimate mission in life is to live out of a small suitcase.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.