{
  "id": 10800947,
  "title": "Odes to KL city, underground subcultures, and ‘Tbaka Daghat’: How Malaysian zine makers are documenting the country",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/odes-to-kl-city-underground-subcultures-and-tbaka-daghat-how",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/09/30/odes-to-kl-city-underground-subcultures-and-tbaka-daghat-how-malaysian-zine-makers-are-documenting-the-country/236680"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR, September 30 — Zine culture in Malaysia has persisted since the pre-internet era and continues to thrive in the digital age. Traditionally, zines were fanzines, blending \"fan\" and \"magazine,\" created by enthusiasts to showcase their interests in niche topics such as punk rock, heavy metal, science fiction, or sports. However, Malaysian zines have expanded to encompass socio-political essays, poetry, illustration, photography, and high-concept art. Some zine makers now use them as a means of grassroots archiving, documenting local heritage and subcultures to ensure history belongs to the everyday people, not just the winners.\n\nAbdul Mutalib Jaamat, a zinemaker and founder of the underground music blog \"Altar Aksara,\" is actively archiving Malaysia's 30-year history of underground music, with a focus on vinyl releases. Despite the country no longer having a vinyl pressing plant, underground bands find creative ways to release vinyl, commissioning it from Europe or the United States, or utilizing their networks and circles of friends for production. Mutalib aims to document this history in a two-volume book series, covering the years 1996 to 2015 and 2016 onwards, to ensure these bands' contributions to Malaysian culture are not forgotten.\n\nZaidi Musa, a 44-year-old owner of an independent bookstore in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, is working to preserve the state's unique tobacco farming culture, specifically the 'Tbaka Daghat' (terrestrial tobacco) industry. After learning about a second-generation tobacco farmer, Mok Chu Romah, from a conversation with a retired teacher, Zaidi has started a postcard series showcasing Kelantan's leaf tobacco culture and recently released a documentary on the last operating match factory in Sungai Keladi, which has been in operation since 1933. Zaidi believes that documenting these aspects of Kelantan's heritage is crucial to preserving the state's history and identity.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR, September 30 — Zine culture has existed in Malaysia since the pre-internet days and it is still surv...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Odes to KL city, underground subcultures, and ‘Tbaka Daghat’: How Malaysian zine makers are documenting the country",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/odes-to-kl-city-underground-subcultures-and-tbaka-daghat-how-10806272",
        "published": "2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}