In Kota Bharu, the capital of Malaysia's northeast state of Kelantan, most 10-year-olds are glued to screens. Nik Imanuddin Hadeef Nik Izdiharuddin is behind a white screen instead, switching voices between shadow puppet characters and carving his own wayang kulit figures by hand.
His start was accidental. A Year Two science assignment asked pupils to bring in an object that casts a shadow, so his mother, Nur Hazween Mohd Hasni, suggested making cardboard puppets of classic figures like Dewa Panah and Pohon Beringin. That one homework task lit a fuse — he kept asking for more puppets, and two years on he's hooked. His favourite character is Pak Dogol from Hikayat Seri Rama, a figure he admires because "he can fight jinn and other huge creatures."
The turning point came through an unlikely channel: TikTok. Scrolling for wayang kulit content, the boy found the page of Che Ann (Kang Boon Ann), a Kelantanese practitioner who runs the Sri Cindayu Wayang Kulit Association. They met early last year, and he was accepted for training — learning puppet manipulation, the accompanying music, and the fundamentals of becoming a tok dalang (puppeteer). Soon after came his stage debut at Tok Bali, performing in public for the first time. He says the hardest part is voicing: every character has a distinct voice, and the audience must be able to tell them apart by ear alone.
The effects reach beyond the stage. His mother says the once-shy boy is now confident enough to enter school storytelling competitions, and the whole family has been drawn in — his father, an ambulance driver, started learning about the art only after his son did. His ambition? "I want to be a doctor, but I also want to play wayang kulit until I die."
Why should travellers care? Wayang kulit is one of Kelantan's signature cultural traditions, but like many heritage arts it struggles to find young practitioners. Stories like this one point visitors towards where the art still lives: community troupes such as Sri Cindayu in Kota Bharu, and performance hubs like Tok Bali on the coast. If you're heading to Malaysia's east coast, catching a shadow play — or a cultural centre demonstration — beats any souvenir. And for families travelling with kids, it's a neat reminder of how a school project and a bit of curiosity can open a door to a whole heritage.
