2 days ago
Malaysian pals create mahjong set with local elements like kuih lapis and satay
Businessman Wong Kai Yi, 31, first learned to play mahjong, a traditional Chinese game, during the pandemic. He never imagined that by 2022, he would go on to create a Malaysian-themed wooden mahjong set featuring local food, heritage and cultural elements.
"It all started with a question that kept playing in my head: Mahjong has been played in Malaysia for over a century, so why is it still mostly limited to the Chinese community?
"That was when I had the idea to reimagine mahjong with Malaysian cultural elements so that more people could feel connected to the game," says Wong during an interview in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
MyJong blends traditional mahjong with Malaysian culture.
Mahjong is played with 144 tiles marked with different Chinese characters and symbols. Often played in lively social settings, the game combines strategy, memory and a little bit of luck. MyJong is a playful blend of "My", which stands for Malaysia – referencing the country's two-letter code – and "Jong", which comes from mahjong.
"It's a straightforward name, but it captures everything I wanted to express - a version of mahjong that's rooted in local culture, easy to remember, and proudly Malaysian," explains Wong, an architect by training who runs an art and design studio in PJ.
He felt that it was important to incorporate elements of Malaysian culture into MyJong as a way of preserving local heritage."On one hand, it preserves cultural symbols by giving them a new platform. On the other hand, it reimagines how we interact with tradition - making it something playful, engaging and inclusive."
Wong (left) and Ng aim to make MyJong more accessible to all Malaysian communities.
Infusing local elements
The idea to create MyJong took shape three years ago when Wong was working as a designer at a mixed media installation company in Kuala Lumpur. Wong and his colleagues were preparing for a group exhibition where team members were encouraged to explore a personal passion project for the show.
"Around that same period, I had just returned from the UK after completing my architectural studies, and my sister introduced me to mahjong. We'd play on weekends, and I got quite hooked.
"At the same time, I started thinking about how to make it more accessible to other Malaysian communities," says Kuantan-born Wong, who has been living in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, for the past five years.
Together with his former university friend and music school owner Adrian Ng, 31, he came up with the idea to create a Malaysian-themed mahjong set. That was how MyJong was given Wong's background in architectural studies, it felt almost natural for him to conceptualise and design MyJong. While creating MyJong, the duo kept asking themselves: What would these tiles look like through a Malaysian lens?
The flower tiles feature cultural elements such as wau, kolam, kelebit (a warrior shield of Sarawak's Dayak community), lion head (symbolic in Chinese culture) and batik.
"From there, we explored various cultural motifs, tested how they translated visually, and refined them to suit the tile format. Some ideas looked great on paper but didn't work as engravings, so we went through several rounds of trial and error.
"Each element had to strike a careful balance; it needed to be graphically clear yet culturally meaningful," Ng shares.
The tiles in a standard mahjong set are divided into three main suits - dots (tongzhi), bamboo (suozi), and characters (wanzi). There are also special tiles such as winds (directions), flowers, seasons and sometimes jokers, depending on the game with dots represent numbers one to nine, used for scoring combinations.
The creators of MyJong replaced the dots with Malaysian snacks like kuih lapis, curry puff, satay and otak otak to represent numbers.
MyJong is uniquely Malaysian, crafted after many months of detailed research and careful design.
"Food is one of the strongest connectors of people in Malaysia. Everyone has a favourite kuih or snack they grew up with. I thought, why not make the game feel even more local by weaving these elements into the tiles?
"This was one of the ways to stay true to the design system while making it more familiar and fun," said Melaka-born Ng, who helps with MyJong's production, operations and promotions, while Wong handles the design and conceptual side of things. Under flowers, the tiles feature cultural elements such as the wau, kolam, kelebit (a warrior shield of Sarawak's Dayak community), lion head (symbolic in Chinese culture) and batik.
"We wanted these to reflect Malaysian heritage - symbols that are not only beautiful but also emotionally familiar. Congkak brings back memories of childhood, wau connects to traditional kampung life, and kolam is instantly recognisable across cultures. "These motifs naturally reflect our diversity, and I wanted the game to feel inclusive to all Malaysians, not just those familiar with the original format," Ng adds.
A relatable game
Traditionally, mahjong tiles are made from bone, bamboo or tiles are made from cengal and merbau wood sourced from Malaysia.
Ng holding a MyJong tile with a wau motif.
"Cengal is very durable and has a rich colour. Merbau is a dense hardwood, known for its excellent strength and stability. They are also durable, which means they are less likely to shrink compared to other woods," says Ng .Each MyJong set takes about two months to make. After handpicking the wood, it is cut in a factory, then laser-engraved, sanded and varnished.
"The biggest challenge is in the making process. It involves a lot of manual labour, but we prefer having control over the details. Cengal is beautiful but incredibly tough to work with. We failed many times and nearly gave up. Making these sets has taught us a lot about patience," Wong admits.
They have also experimented with materials like resin, concrete and acrylic - pushing the boundaries of how mahjong can be reimagined and experienced.
Each tile is carefully sanded to ensure a smooth finish, free from any wood splinters or rough edges.
"We wanted to explore mahjong not just as a game but also as an art object. Acrylic gives the set a modern, almost playful look - it's translucent and catches the light beautifully. The concrete version, which we made for a collaboration with a bookstore, has an industrial, sculptural feel.
"Each material tells a different story and gives the player a new experience, even though the structure of the game remains the same," says Wong, adding that they have exhibited their handcrafted game sets at art events in KL, Penang and PJ.
In the last three years, Ng and Wong have made about 20 sets. One set has even made its way onto the luxury train Eastern & Oriental Express, while other sets are in the homes of mahjong enthusiasts in Malaysia and Singapore.
They have also created custom MyJong tiles for several local companies, including a bookstore, a restaurant and even a whisky label. While the team follows the traditional 144-tile structure for four-player mahjong, orders for their three-player format (84 tiles) are more common. The starting price of a handmade MyJong wooden set of 84 pieces is RM3,500.
All about MyJong tiles.
Since mahjong has deep traditional roots, one might wonder how purists have responded.
"Some seasoned players, especially the older Chinese uncles and aunties, were skeptical at first. They viewed it as more of an art piece than a playable set.
"But once they tried it, they realised it followed the exact same rules. Many of them ended up appreciating the storytelling behind the designs and said it added a new layer of meaning to the game," says Malaysians' responses were encouraging.
"A lot of them said this was the first time they felt curious about mahjong because it felt fresh, modern and fun. Some even use the sets as display pieces. It has helped shake off the old-fashioned image of mahjong and opened it up to a more design-conscious generation," says Ng, who shares MyJong photos on their Instagram handle.
Ng uses a laser engraver to etch the design onto each tile.
Though mahjong can be complex for beginners, Wong believes MyJong is more accessible.
"By using local visuals - like curry puffs, wau and kolam - we've made the tiles more intuitive and relatable. We also include a simplified rule sheet and created a three-player version to make it less intimidating. It is a way to introduce the game to people who might have felt like outsiders before," says Wong.
Though both men admit that balancing full-time jobs with their side hustle is tiring, they have persevered and prefer handcrafting each set instead of large-scale manufacturing.
"From the start, we have held back from mass production. We didn't want it to seem like we were capitalising on Chinese culture just to make a profit. "Our goal was to create something that lets people appreciate Malaysia's rich heritage – through a game," concludes Ng.
