Crossing Borders: Expanding the Knowledge of Wikibooks with Wikimedians in Malaysia

I was deeply honored to get an invitation from Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia (WCUGM) to be a speaker at Wikibooks Sharing Session on October 19, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This event is part of the Wiki Boot Camp, a collaboration between WCUGM and IPG Kent Wikimedia Club (Kent Wiki Club). In this session, I had the chance to share knowledge about contributing content on Wikibooks.

WikiRenjana and WikiCitaRasa Efforts

In Indonesia, I have been leading projects focused on adding culinary content to Wikibooks. These projects are WikiRenjana and WikiCitaRasa. Through WikiRenjana, we documented 100 traditional Sundanese dishes and snacks on Wikibooks. Meanwhile, WikiCitaRasa introduced a series of training sessions that guided participants in writing Indonesian culinary recipes on Wikibooks using public domain references. Both projects were proudly initiated by Wikimedia Bandung Community.

Recognizing these efforts, Wikimedia Malaysia invited me to share my journey in developing Wikibooks content in Indonesia. They hoped that the projects I led could serve as an inspiration for their members to further grow the Malay-language Wikibooks. During the session, I had the opportunity to share my experiences and demonstrate how to write and edit content on Wikibooks, particularly in the culinary category.

Beyond than Knowledge Transfer

For me, this event was more than just a knowledge transfer. It marked the beginning of an effort to document local knowledge through the Malay-language Wikibooks. I believe that members of Wikimedia Malaysia have great capacity and potential to develop content on various topics through collaboration. In this way, the content of Malay-language Wikibooks can continue to grow and flourish.

In addition, adding content to Wikibooks that focuses on Malaysian culinary recipes can serve as an effort to preserve Malaysia’s local culture in the field of gastronomy. I hope the projects I have led in Indonesia can also be implemented by Wikimedia Malaysia. This would help make information about Malaysian cuisine more available and accessible to the public, especially on Wikibooks. Moreover, through documenting recipes, Wikimedia Malaysia can also expand into other types of content, such as uploading photos and videos on Wikimedia Commons, creating articles about Malaysian gastronomy on Wikipedia, and developing other related projects.

Participants’ Feedback

“The Wikibooks Sharing Session was aimed to understand and learn about what campaigns have been done in Indonesia in regards to Wikibooks. The WikiRenjana campaign to use Wikibooks to document local recipes has inspired us in Malaysia to figure out methods to utilize Wikibooks in a similar way. This will be the basis for our future 2026 campaign, WikiSelera, to create another compilation recipe book for local cuisines in the country.” — Farouk, Program Coordinator of Wikimedia Malaysia

“We are truly grateful for Mr. Rafly’s time and dedication in guiding us through the process of documenting traditional recipes, especially those of the Kadazandusun community. The knowledge and insights shared have been incredibly helpful in ensuring that this culinary heritage is preserved and recognized internationally through digital platforms such as Wikibooks. We hope this collaboration will continue to grow and benefit more communities across the region.” — Dr. Rosie Johnny, Advisor of Kent Wiki Club

“Through this activity, I was able to learn more about the uniqueness and diversity of my state’s traditional cuisine. I also realized that every traditional dish carries its own meaning and reflects the culture and lifestyle of the local community. Overall, this experience made me appreciate Sabah’s traditional food heritage even more and helped me realize the importance of using digital skills to preserve local culture in today’s modern world.” — Nereus, Vice President of Kent Wiki Club