KUALA LUMPUR: Minecraft, Valorant and Playstation may be familiar names with today’s computer-savvy youths. But gasing? While urban dwellers may not have heard of it, gasing, which is also known as a “spinning top”, is a traditional game that is popular in Malaysian villages and especially among the Malay community.
In a move to ensure this traditional game stays alive, the Malaysian Gasing Alliance (Pegamas) has created a gasing using polymer materials.
Pegamas president Prof Shamsudin Sulaiman (pix), who is a former Universiti Putra Malaysia Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering lecturer, said his innovation started back in 2008 when he attended a gasing competition in Pahang and observed that demand for gasing exceeded supply.
“There aren’t many shops that sell gasing, making it inaccessible to everyone interested in learning to play it. The only way to buy one is to go to a specialised craftsman.
“And as the traditional gasing uses hardwood, it can be pricey. This can discourage (people) from learning to play it.”
Shamsudin was speaking to theSun on the sidelines of the MyGasing Championship at the Malaysian Games Festival organised by the National Department of Culture and Arts in collaboration with Kuala Lumpur City Hall. The event was held from Friday until yesterday.
He said he and his gasing compatriots designed one using polymer material. It took them five years to complete as it was a challenge to identify the correct type of material to use.
“It was (mostly) trial and error in those five years. In 2013, we settled on polymer as it has a similar weight and impact resistance as a hardwood gasing. This innovation is cheaper to make and only costs RM14. We don’t have to cut trees either, so it is environmentally friendly. Some of our gasing have been made from recyclable material. It is cheaper to buy and safer for children and teenagers.”
Shamsudin said another benefit of the polymer gasing is that it does not break easily compared with traditional ones.
“We delivered our gasing to schools to test it, and the children loved it. It is easy to carry, safe and cheap.
“I’ve seen schools having gasing clubs for students. This is great, this will keep our Malaysian culture alive for years to come.”
Shamsudin said it is important to keep traditions and culture alive so that future generations will get to experience it for themselves.
A total of 16 teams participated in the Under-18 category of the championship. Ten of those teams consisted of students from different states.
One team even represented Singapore in the adult category.
The festival played host to 1,368 participants, including teams from the Customs, Fire and Rescue Department, the National Anti-Drugs Agency as well as the corporate sector, that took part in traditional games such as tug-of-war and sepak takraw apart from gasing.
