MALAYSIA’s quintessential charm lies in its rich everyday culture – from the bustling pasar malam and 24-hour mamak eateries to the timeless kopitiam where locals gather over coffee and a set of kaya toast and half-boiled eggs. Whether in vibrant Kuala Lumpur or a quaint old town, Malaysia holds a culture that is unlike elsewhere. While we are familiar with big cities, did you know that our nation is home to over 200 towns, with many still waiting to be discovered?
Small Towns Malaysia, helmed by business partners Ash Raja and Jonathan Dexter, is dedicated to capturing this side of Malaysia. Through their lens shared on video-sharing platforms such as TikTok, the 34-year-olds aim to document quaint towns and villages, showcasing the landscapes, warmth, fun facts and people that make Malaysia one of a kind. Each video feels like a journey home, reminding us there is more to Malaysia than meets the eye.
From schoolmates to business partners
While Ash and Dexter have known each other since secondary school, their friendship only blossomed in college, thanks to a photography elective in their course. Armed with their own cameras, they began experimenting with visual storytelling, which quickly gained attention.
“People liked our photos and started engaging us for jobs,” Ash recalled.
What started as side jobs to earn extra cash during college soon grew into a full-fledged business. Initially, the pair planned to move into corporate careers after graduation but their work proved more lucrative than expected. So, J&A Productions, a photography and videography company, was born. They began with wedding photography, expanded to corporate shoots and eventually took on outdoor projects in the hospitality industry.
Birth of Small Towns Malaysia
Their foray into the hospitality industry sparked the idea of Small Towns Malaysia, a project driven by their desire to showcase the beauty of Malaysia on their own terms.
“Corporate clients put in the money, so they control our creativity. When we started Small Towns Malaysia, we wanted our videos to be 100% our vision and the concept worked – people loved our videos. Now, we have clients who appreciate what we do and let us have a free hand, which is great,” Ash explained.
What began as a creative escape from commercial work quickly gained traction on TikTok, resonating with audiences across and beyond Malaysia. Through intimate closeups, slow-moving scenes of daily life and historical heritage and breathtaking drone shots of landscapes, Ash and Dexter bring life to Malaysia’s forgotten places, creating authentic, engaging stories in short videos.
While filming, the both of them take it upon themselves to learn fascinating facts about old towns, such as discovering from locals that Taiping is the wettest town in Malaysia, Kuala Lipis used to be the capital of Pahang, Temerloh is home to the nation’s longest street market and more.
However, Small Towns Malaysia’s journey is far from finished. The 34-year-olds shared they have a list of over 600 towns and villages to shoot. With a list that long and an aim to shoot a minimum of four locations every month, Dexter acknowledges that the monthly target is still on the low end.
“If we do one a week, that is only 52 towns a year and that would mean we would never finish our list of towns. And that is not even accounting for the productions happening at J&A Productions.”
Ash agreed, adding that although they have fallen short of their monthly goal this year due to busy work schedules and new client collaborations, the supportive community on TikTok drives the duo to continue their passion for filming and creating content.
“It is the people. Commenters would ask, ‘Hey, why have you not visited my town? Can you come to my town?’ And we feel obligated because we have done other people’s towns, why can we not do other towns?” Ash said.
To keep up with this goal, the team adheres to a planned shooting schedule, staying at least three days in a town every week.
“Our shoots are structured in blocks. Within those blocks, we are free to exercise our shoots, allowing us to exercise spontaneity. When shooting on the streets, we never know what is going to happen. Suddenly we see a nice interaction between people or this uncle is telling me about a nice place around the corner,” shared Dexter.
When asked about memorable experiences from their video shoots, Dexter noted it is the morning wet markets and pasar malam.
“We want to pay for their food but they always insist on letting us try their food for free out of the kindness of their hearts and that is really nice. They would always interact with the cameras as well – they would smile, they would wave, all really cute stuff,” he recalled.
However, this journey is without its challenges. From difficult client projects to unpredictable weather, Dexter noted they are often at the mercy of the weather. Despite these challenges, the duo has reached significant milestones, including nearing the 100,000-follower mark on TikTok. For Ash, the biggest achievement lies in bringing awareness to these small towns, encouraging Malaysians to explore and appreciate their own country.
“We feel like we are making a difference in getting these towns recognised,” he said.
Community-focused platform
Ash and Dexter also develop friendly and working relationships with many townsfolks, who would always welcome them back with open arms. On top of videos and weekly TikTok Live sessions, the duo plans to launch a TikTok Shop to support local artisans by featuring products from each town and village.
“We are going to produce jerseys of each state and town, along with other locally sourced items,” Ash revealed, adding that they are also open to collaborations. The shop aims to provide a platform for small businesses, bridging the gap between urban audiences and rural sellers.
When asked if they have tips for budding content creators, Ash said that it is important to stick to your guns and creativity.
“Most of the time, they are too embarrassed of putting their content out there for fear of getting judged. People are always going to criticise and give advice,” he said.
“Sometimes the criticism you get might not be for you but it is always good to weigh them out and see if you can improve. It is also easy to forget why you are creating content in the first place,” Dexter added.
Ash said Small Towns Malaysia’s most important asset is its followers who keep feeding the duo with inspiration for the project.
“They give us ideas and our account has become such a community-based platform. The community is strong here and it helps us make our videos better.”
For Ash and Dexter, Small Towns Malaysia has become more than just a creative outlet – it is a platform to share the genuine spirit of Malaysia, one small town at a time.
