One day to celebrate and reflect with Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia

On 30 August 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 27 community members were invited from across the country to attend the annual strategic meeting of Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia. As a programme manager for ESEAP Hub, I was invited to attend and had the privilege to learn from local leaders gathering from Sabah, Sarawak, and West Malaysian communities. I shared the vision of ESEAP Hub as a service provider for East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific region. 

For ESEAP Hub, WCUGM’s role is instrumental in the establishment and implementation of Hub’s theory of change. Four Wikimedians from Malaysia take part as ESEAP Community Connector and drive the leadership as members of the Steering Committee. In the coming months, ESEAP Hub will collaborate with WCUGM in project partnership for training of trainers on AI, indigenous communities, and gender responsiveness within the ESEAP region. Our ongoing discussion to support Brunei Darussalam will also hopefully be realized by the end of the year. 

This meeting started at 8am by Taufiq, WCUGM’s chair and Wikimedian of the Year 2023. He shared the importance of sharing Malaysia’s vision to the Wikimedia ecosystem. The meeting is divided into discussion of movement, society, ecosystem, and future. Sakti, Senior Partnership Manager from the Wikimedia Foundation’s emphasized on the 2030 strategy of providing free knowledge service and equity. It will be done by contextualizing global missions to local context.

WCUGM has had a significant role to play especially in Malay language related projects in the Wikimedia ecosystem. Furthermore, programs and activities including WikiGap Malaysia, Wiki Loves Ramadan, Wiki Loves Earth, collaboration with Japan, Korea, Estonia, and Greece communities throughout the year were planned and executed successfully. 

Community leaders shared the challenges facing their outreach programs and plans for collaborating with wider audiences particularly utilizing social media, local network, and regional cooperation. Main concern from the volunteers requires technological tools of providing standard UI/UX interface particularly for Wiktionary. This infrastructure development will support the work of Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia and invites non-English speakers to participate actively and contribute their existing knowledge to the open source community. Moreover, this aligns with Foundation’s goals and ESEAP Hub’s mission for improving engagements from diverse communities.

The day ended at 10pm with newly elected board members. Taufiq is once again named the chair of WCUGM, with 4 new board members, in which 3 of them are women. At midnight, we also celebrate WCUGM’s 10th year anniversary and Malaysia’s 69th Independence day. The spirit of togetherness and vision of the future strengthened us that night. It will also be a reminder for continuing the journey of free knowledge.