Voice of Australia | Tram Sarong 2026

A chronological recap of key highlights at Tram Sarong 2026.

Tram Sarong Clayton

Tram Sarong Clayton, written and interviewed by MASCAvoice Editorial Writer, Insyirah Ashari, accompanied by Andi Abd Jalil.

Meanwhile, in the bustling suburban area of Clayton, at 8:50 AM stood a group of attendees in their sarongs. Me, being one of them, had the experience of riding the train to our next meet-up spot at Town Hall. The journey took roughly 30 minutes, and we occupied the time by chatting with the people around us. Some were familiar to me, and others were completely new faces. I struck up an opportunity to converse with a pair of brothers – Danial, 19 and Irfan, 15, who were dashing in their matching sampings and tanjaks. They were respectively born in Penang and Kedah, but grew up as a family in between Ipoh and parts of Malaysia and Australia.

When asked about why they were here, Danial responded by saying, “You know, it's the feeling of FOMO, where you know like – when you look at social media and all that, like, you see those people celebrating , like this, like Keretapi Sarong Malaysia, we haven’t experienced that because we have been living here (Australia) for quite some time.”

Seeing the Malaysian diaspora dress their best in these two train carriages heading to Town Hall, I asked them about the details of their outfits and why they chose to wear it today. “To be honest, I am being completely honest. It’s mostly whatever is in mind. It’s more of an improvisation..” Danial told us that he and his brother wore whatever they could find and tried to style it as best as they could to make it feel more Malaysian. “We bought this tanjak over in Malaysia, like, last year. So we figured – Oh might as well use it.”

An outfit would not be complete without the ultimate accessory – their smiles as they were talking about celebrating this Sunday surrounded by the Malaysian community. As we headed towards our meet up point, we exchanged our goodbyes to prepare for our arrival at Melbourne’s Town Hall.
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Irfan, 15 (left) and Danial, 19 (right) – Picture taken by Andi Abd Jalil

Tram Sarong MHall

Tram Sarong Malaysian Hall, written and interviewed by Nurain, Mhall.

Assalamualaikum and hi! I’m Nurain, a first-year student at the University of Melbourne, and I finally got to experience my very first Tram Sarong in Melbourne! Back in Malaysia, I never had the chance to join Kereta Api Sarong. So, Alhamdulillah, experiencing it here felt extra special :> !

Let me bring you along to this little historical moment!

It was 7 a.m. and somehow my body was 100% fully charged! Everyone was already getting ready. Everyone looked so pretty and handsome, and I could see everyone’s excitement. Some even brought their own cameras! Before leaving, we took some pictures, filmed a TikTok, and at 9.10 a.m., made our way to the High St stop. It felt so unusual seeing us in traditional clothes waiting for the tram, when we would normally be carrying our uni backpacks haha!

At 9.40 a.m., we arrived at Town Hall, where many Malaysians had gathered. People were singing, taking pictures and meeting old friends. It was such a wholesome sight to see everyone’s faces light up when they spotted people they had missed. Some tourists were curious about what was happening, so we happily shared a little bit about Malaysian culture. Some even congratulated us, saying “Happy Malaysia Day!”. After a group photo and collecting our food coupons, we continued to the Immigration Museum.

As we arrived, there were so many people, long queues for food and the delicious smell of satay being grilled! I really loved the lion dance performance, and there was even a durian-eating challenge! Of course, the food was amazing too, especially the satay. There were also activities like portrait drawing and, yes, Gen Z’s favourite, the photobooth!

Looking back, being surrounded by Malaysians here in Melbourne made me feel a little closer to home. I also met a few non-Malaysian, and seeing them appreciating our culture made me feel incredibly proud and grateful to be part of a beautiful culture. So excited for next year’s Tram Sarong!

TRANSCRIPTION

Insyirah: Seeing as you guys are actually a part of the Malay community that actually moved here, I wanted to ask you guys, what made you guys wake up at 8 AM, get ready, come to Clayton station at 8.50, and join Tram Sarong today?

Danial: You know, its the feeling of FOMO, where you know like – when you look at social media and all that, like, you see those people celebrating , like this, like Keretapi Sarong Malaysia, we haven’t experienced that because we have been living here (Australia) for quite some time.

Danial: And I did know that Tram Sarong was there last year, but it wasn't as much.

Insyirah: As big as this one?

Danial: Yeah, as big as this one. We figured like “Oh, come on it’s Sunday, might as well just wake up in the morning and celebrate the Malaysian culture here,”

Insyirah: All right, on to my next question, I wanted to ask you guys, what's the inspiration behind you guys’ outfit? Because I see the tanjak, I see the – the Baju Melayu. Is this the Baju Melayu Johor?

Danial: I think it's more leaning towards a kurta.

Insyirah: A kurta? Yeah, yeah. With the sarong. What’s the inspiration behind you guys’ outfit?

Danial: Um, to be honest, I am being completely honest. It’s mostly whatever is in mind. It’s more of an improvisation..

Danial: So we just like – slip in our kurta, Slip in our, I don’t know, like chino pants? And then grab the sarong and, like, try to style it however we want.

Danial: We bought this tanjak over in, I think over in Malaysia like last year. So we figured “Oh might as well use it”