Our Team
《移様》聚焦于马来西亚外籍劳工在异乡的日常实践，透过工作、休息、适应与思念等生活片段。
透过影像叙事、实地考察与社区互动，我们希望呈现更具人性、立体而真实的移工生活面貌。我们期望社会能够理解他们的处境、听见他们的声音，并看见其在家庭、社区与社会结构中不可被忽视的价值与尊严。
这个展览希望让公众重新看见外籍劳工真实而多面的样貌，听见那些在主流叙事中常被忽略的声音，并推动更具理解与包容的社会视角。
Team Reflection 团队感想
徐永恩 Vivian Che
Project Coordinator
在做这个主题之前，我必須承认，当时的我是既害怕又期待的。害怕面对接下来几个月的未知，也害怕自己做得不够好，无法好好完成该做的事情。不过很庆幸的是，過程中遇到的人和事，慢慢让我没那么害怕了，反而多了一点期待，期待可以听到、看见更多不一样的故事。
过去我一直觉得，自己对外籍劳工这个课题并不陌生。但真正开始去听他们说话、记录他们的生活，再把这些内容整理出来的时候，才发现其实以前更多只是“知道”，而不是真的“理解”。很多我习以为常的日常，对他们来说，并不是理所当然的。
在这个过程里，让我最不安的，并不是听见他们面对的困难，而是意识到自己和这些处境之间的距离。我们生活在同一个城市，却很少真正看见彼此。这种靠得很近、却长期忽略的状态，让我开始重新思考自己在这个社会里的位置。
当然也有感到开心的事情，我遇到了一群很友善的abang和kakak。他们的真诚与鼓励真实可感，也缓和了我们在拍摄与交流中的紧张。
这些相遇与经验，让我意识到，这段过程不仅是记录别人，更是在学习如何看待不一样的生活样貌。外籍劳工在语言、文化与制度之间不断调整，而我们所能看见的始终只是其中很小的一部分，却已足以让我重新思考什么是“看见”。
或许，《移樣》最终指向的，并不是一个答案，而是一种持续观看、持续自我提醒的状态。
Before starting this project, I have to admit I felt both fear and excitement. I was afraid of the uncertainty in the months ahead and worried that I might not do well enough to complete what needed to be done. But thankfully, the people and experiences I encountered along the way gradually eased that fear. Instead, I began to feel anticipation. The anticipation of hearing and seeing stories that were different from my own.
I used to think I knew about migrant workers, but through listening to them, documenting their lives, and organising their stories made me realise that what I had before was mostly “knowledge,” not real “understanding.” Many everyday things I take for granted are not at all obvious or given to them.
What made me most uneasy during this process was not hearing about the challenges they face, but noticing the distance between their lives and mine. We live in the same city, yet we rarely truly see each other. Being physically close but long unseen made me rethink my own place in society.
At the same time, there were moments of warmth. I met a group of kind abang and Kakak, whose sincerity and encouragement were very real and comforting. They helped ease the tension during filming and conversations.
Through these encounters, I realised this project is not only about documenting others, but also about learning to see different ways of living. Migrant workers constantly adjust to new languages, cultures, and systems. What we see is only a small part of their reality, yet it is enough to make me reconsider what it really means to “see.”
Perhaps Traces does not point to a final answer. Rather, it encourages continual observing, listening, and self-reflection.
罗方柳 Loh Yu Xuan
Project Executor
在真正靠近之后，许多原本笼统模糊的印象，才开始变得具体而复杂。
当我真正开始跟许多来自不同国家的移工实际接触与交流时，我逐渐意识到，自己的看法并非一开始就中立。过去因为遭遇过让人不安、甚至带有骚扰性质的经历，让我对这个群体产生了防备，也形成了一定的刻板印象。而在采访的过程中，我也不得不承认，这样的情况确实真实存在，个别经验甚至让我一度感到害怕，也让我明白自我保护是必要的。
但同时我也逐渐懂得，偏见虽然常源自真实经验，却不该被无限放大。十个人之中，或许会有一两个让人不适的个体，但这并不能代表全部。否认风险并不现实，但将风险上升为对整个群体的单一想象，也同样不公平。
通过一次次建立信任的对话，我看见了更多真实的个体，包括他们的热情、善意，以及在异地生活中的辛苦和焦虑。有些起初让我不安的互动，后来发现可能只是表达方式的差异，未必带有恶意。
如今，我偶尔会在嘛嘛档遇见曾采访过的移工，我们会像朋友一样打招呼。这个展览让我真正走近他们，他们在我眼中不再是一个抽象的“外劳”群体，而是一个个具体的“人”，带着各自的人生在异乡努力生活着。
所以，在保持清醒与自我保护的同时，我们也可以用更理性的眼光去看待复杂的群体——承认其中的不安和矛盾，却也愿意靠近、倾听与理解。正是在这样的过程中，我们才能真正看见他们，而不再只是以标签定义。
Only after getting truly close did many of my previously vague and generalized impressions start to feel more specific and complex.
When I began interacting and having real conversations with migrant workers from different countries, I gradually realized that my perspective was not neutral from the start. Past unsettling experiences, even some that were basically harassment, had made me cautious around migrant workers and shaped certain stereotypes. During the interviews, I had to acknowledge that such situations do exist. Some individual experiences even made me feel afraid and reminded me of the importance of self-protection.
At the same time, I started to understand that while prejudice often comes from real experiences, it shouldn’t be endlessly amplified. Among ten people, there might be one or two who make others uncomfortable, but that doesn’t represent everyone. Ignoring risks is unrealistic, yet turning those risks into a single, fixed image of the whole group is equally unfair.
Through repeated conversations built on trust, I began to see more real individuals—their warmth, their kindness, and the challenges and anxieties they face living far from home. Some interactions that initially made me uneasy later revealed themselves as simple differences in expression, not ill intent.
Now, I sometimes meet the migrant workers I’ve once interviewed at local food stalls, and we greet each other like friends. This exhibition allowed me to really approach them. In my eyes, they are no longer an abstract group called “migrant workers,” but individuals, each with their own life, striving in a foreign land.
So while staying alert and protecting ourselves, we can also look at complex communities more rationally—acknowledging discomfort and contradictions, yet still willing to come closer, listen, and understand. It is through this process that we can truly see them, instead of defining them only by labels.
江欣恩 Kong Xin En
Secretary / treasurer
提到移工，都有一种刻板印象。那就是“他们很危险”，“他们是坏人”，“离他们远一点”，“他们不友善”等类似的话。这些话对我们是一种保护，但是对他们却是一种伤害。那些话就像是一把手术刀，既可以救人，同时也可以伤人。
也许是被大量灌输了这些话，我在每次的外出采访基本都无法完完全全卸下防备跟警惕，一直担心自己的东西会不会被偷等等的问题。但是其实我在思考的事情是我们对他们有警惕，但是另一方面他们是否会对我们也有警惕呢？
而且我在第一次外出采访的时候也有想过我们十有八九会被拒绝，甚至做好了被拒绝的情况。但是在外出采访的途中，我发现其实移工也不是每一位都会拒绝我们、都不好沟通。有些移工很爽快就答应我们的采访、也允许我们跟他们拿他们的照片。
所以其实不是每个移工都是跟“他们很危险”，“他们是坏人”，“离他们远一点”，“他们不友善”这种话挂钩。刻板印象已经形成一种“一杆子否定所有人”的模式了。这种模式其实是不健康的，我们不应该让大家觉得这个世界、这个社会完全是黑暗的，其实也有光明。
有坏人就会有好人，我们不应该因为肤色、种族、国籍、背景等元素去判定一个人的好与坏。应该有的警惕不可以少，但是应该放下的刻板印象也需要跟警惕一样不可以少。保持警惕，也保持公正。
我要谢谢来观看我们展览的参展者！谢谢你们愿意来聆听他们的声音、观看他们的故事。也谢谢你们可以理解他们、尊重他们。你们每一次用心的观展，就是我们每一次努力的认可。真的很谢谢你们！
When migrant workers are mentioned, certain stereotypes often come to mind: “they are dangerous,” “they are bad people,” “stay away from them,” or “they are unfriendly.” These words may be a form of protection for us, but for them, it’s a form of harm. These stereotyped words are like a double-edged knife—capable of saving, yet also capable of causing harm.
Because I had been repeatedly exposed to these ideas, I found it hard to completely let my guard down during every field interview. I kept worrying about whether my belongings might be stolen, among other concerns. But then I wondered: while we are cautious around them, might they also be cautious around us?
On my very first field interview, I even expected that most migrant workers would refuse to talk to us, and I was prepared for that. Yet as the interviews went on, I realized that not every migrant worker was unwilling to engage or hard to communicate with. Some were happy to be interviewed and even allowed us to take their photos.
This made me see that not every migrant worker fits labels like “dangerous,” “bad,” “keep your distance,” or “unfriendly.” Stereotypes have a way of “judging everyone by the same brush,” and that mindset is unhealthy. We shouldn’t make the world seem entirely dark—there is also light.
Where there are bad people, there are also good people. We should not judge someone’s character based on their skin color, race, nationality, or background. Caution is important, but letting go of stereotypes is just as important. Be cautious, but also be fair.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who visits our exhibition. Thank you for listening to their voices and seeing their stories. Thank you for understanding and respecting them. Every moment you spend here with attention and care is a recognition of our efforts. Truly, thank you.
黄韵欣 Ng Yun Xin
Content Editing Team Leader
对“外劳”这个词，说实话，我并不是一开始就毫无偏见。
但后来决定要以他们为毕业制作的主题时，身边最先出现的不是鼓励，而是提醒，提醒我要小心、要保护好自己、不要独自行动。
那一瞬间，让我突然意识到一个问题，从什么时候开始，“外劳”这个词，已经不再只是一个中性的身份描述，而是被默认为某种潜在的危险？他们的这些提醒不是源自于个人的经验，而是一种被媒体或身边人所影响并做出的判断，也是现在社会对于这个群体投射出的刻板印象。
然而，在了解他们的生活后，我才发现，他们不过是一群为了生计而努力工作的人罢了。
就算做不到和他们成为朋友，但至少，基本的尊重该有。他们并未伤害他人，也未刻意扰乱社会秩序，那么他们的劳动与付出就理应被看见。
To be honest, I didn’t start out completely without prejudice when it came to the term “migrant worker.”
When we later decided to make them the focus of my graduation project, the first reactions I got were not encouragement, but warnings to be careful, to protect myself, and not to go alone.
That moment made me realise something: when did the term “migrant worker” stop being just a neutral label and start carrying an assumed sense of danger? These warnings weren’t based on personal experience, but on judgments influenced by the media and people around us. They reflect the stereotypes society projects onto this group.
Yet, as I got to know their lives, I realised they are simply people working hard to make a living.
Even if we never become friends, at least they deserve basic respect. They haven’t harmed anyone, nor deliberately disturbed social order. Their work and contributions deserve to be recognised.
翁慧敏 Ong Hui Min
Content Editing Team Member
外籍劳工不仅为马来西亚做出了巨大贡献，更填补了本地人普遍不愿从事的劳动力缺口。然而，在他们付出良多的情况下，社会所展现的往往不是感激，而是充满偏见与歧视。
马来西亚在面对外劳群体时，依然存在根深蒂固的“排外”情绪，这并非一朝一夕能改变。我们或许不强求彼此能成为亲密好友，但至少应做到相对友善，并给予他们作为一个人最基本、应有的尊重。
Migrant workers not only contribute greatly to Malaysia, but also take on labour roles that many locals are unwilling to do. Yet despite all of their contributions, what they often encounter from society is not appreciation, but prejudice and discrimination.
In Malaysia, deep-rooted xenophobic attitudes towards migrant workers still persist, and such mindsets cannot be changed overnight. We may not expect to become close friends, but at the very least, we should choose to treat them with kindness and extend the basic respect that every human being deserves.
陈美婷 Tan Mei Ting
Public relations and Publicity Team Leader
我因为这个展览有机会接触到不同的移工，看见不同生命所绽放的勇敢与魅力。
在拍摄学校的清洁移工 Kakak Lia 时，只要一提及家人，我便感受到她的坚韧，也感受到那份遗憾、不舍与勇敢。她的眼泪一颗一颗落下，她说自己舍不得缺席孩子的童年，但若不离开，就无法给予他们更好的生活。她独自在马来西亚工作已经十年，从未回过家，只能透过手机，看着孩子成长、父母逐渐变老。
当我们问起未来的打算，她希望能尽快回家，见父母、见孩子，把这失去的十年一点一点补回来。kakak Lia 的故事也让我反思自己与家人的关系，我的母亲是否也曾这样想念我、牵挂我、爱护我。谈起家人的她，与平日总是满脸笑容的样子截然不同，我知道那是刻在心里、埋在深夜里的思念。
我祝福 Kakak Lia 早日回家，也祝福所有与家人分离的移工们，终有一天能回到家乡，回到家人的怀抱。
Because of this exhibition, I had the chance to meet different migrant workers and witness the courage and strength that shine through their lives.
While filming Kakak Lia, a migrant worker who cleans at our school, I felt her resilience the moment she talked about her family. Along with that resilience, there was also a deep sense of regret, longing, and bravery. As her tears fell one by one, she shared how hard it was to miss her children’s childhood. Yet, if she hadn’t left home, she wouldn’t have been able to give them a better life.
She has been working alone in Malaysia for ten years and has never returned home. All she can do is watch her children grow and see her parents age through her phone. When we asked about her future plans, she said she hopes to go home as soon as possible, to see her parents, to see her children, and slowly make up for the ten years she has missed.
Kakak Lia’s story also made me reflect on my own relationship with my family. I wondered if my mother has ever missed me in the same way, worried about me, and loved me from afar. When she spoke about her family, she was completely different from her usual smiling self. I could feel that this longing is something deeply rooted in her heart, quietly carried in the night.
I wish Kakak Lia a safe return home, and I hope that all migrant workers separated from their families can one day return to their homeland and into the arms of their loved ones.
李佳欣 Lee Jia Xin
Public relations and Publicity Team Member
感谢每一位愿意停下脚步、走进这个展览的大家。这次的移工展览，对我来说不只是一个作品，而是一段重新学习“看见他人”的过程。
很感谢那些愿意分享故事的移工朋友。他们把日常以及思念交到我们手中，让我们打破刻板印象。倾听，本身就是一种尊重。希望这个展览，能让大家看见那些一直被忽略的身影。
也很谢谢我的朋友们，在这个并不轻松的展览主题里，我们并没有选择放弃。希望多年后，我们记得的不只是这个展览，而是那段认真对待他人，也认真对待彼此的过程。
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to pause and step into this exhibition. For me, this migrant worker exhibition is not just a project—it has been a journey of relearning how to truly see others.
I am especially grateful to the migrant worker friends who shared their stories with us. They entrusted us with glimpses of their daily lives and your longing for home, helping us challenge and move beyond stereotypes. Simply listening is, in itself, a form of respect. I hope this exhibition helps everyone see the people who have long been overlooked.
I also want to thank my friends. With such a challenging theme, we could have chosen to give up—but we didn’t. Years from now, I hope we remember not just this exhibition, but the process of taking others seriously, and caring for each other along the way.
梁铭泰 Leong Min Thai
Public relations and Publicity Team Member
外劳在马来西亚往往都是被歧视的群体，从工作到生活，甚至到自己的身份和文化上，很多马来西亚人都会找东西去批评或贬低他们。这也导致很多时候，他们在这里的时间都是很坎坷的。
实际上，这些外劳在马来西亚的各个领域中贡献着自己的力量，也是我们国家能够正常运作的因素之一。与其带着已有的偏见看待他们，还倒不如好好地认识这个群体，理解他们在马来西亚的处境后再做出判断。
他们很多如你我他一样，都是为了自己的目标努力，不求各位拿着善意或突然地对他们友好，但至少把他们当人看待，不要以“恶”为主要的相处模式。
Migrant workers in Malaysia are often a group that is treated with discrimination. From their work to their daily lives, and even their identities and cultures, many Malaysians find reasons to criticise or look down on them. This has made their time in the country a difficult and arduous experience.
In reality, migrant workers contribute their labor across many sectors in Malaysia and are one of the main reasons our country is able to function as well as it does today. Rather than viewing them through preconceived biases, it is more meaningful to truly get to know this community and understand their situation in Malaysia before passing judgement.
Many of them, like you and me, are simply working towards their own goals. We do not ask for everyone to treat them with special kindness or sudden friendliness. But at the very least, to treat them as human beings, and not use hostility as the default way to communicate with them.
黄芷枰 Ng Zhi Ping
Design Team Leader
对于“移工”这个群体，我并不感到陌生。相反的这个议题与我的生活有着非常直接和深刻的连结。因为我的家中有一位陪伴我多年的 Kakak，她从我年幼时便来到我们家工作，一直到我慢慢长大。在这些年里，我不仅看见她照顾家庭的日常付出，也见证了她从一无所有到逐渐建立起自己生活的过程。她把我们当成家人，我们也早已把她视为家中的一分子。因此，当我们选移工为主题时，我只希望观众能够暂时放下现有的刻板印象，不再只把移工看为劳动力。
这个展览中的影像和文字，让我联想到 Kakak 平日里很少被我们真正看见的内心世界。她的离乡背景、她对家人的思念，以及她在异乡生活中所承受的孤独与压力。透过这些作品，我开始反思自己是否曾在无意中忽略她作为一个“个体”的感受，而不仅仅把她视为一个照顾家庭的角色。
借此，我希望观众们通过这个展览能更了解移工。
The group ‘migrant workers” are not unfamiliar to me. In fact, this topic is very close to my life. In my home, there has been a Kakak who has been with us for many years. She came to work for my family when I was very young and has been with me as I grew up.
Over the years, I have witnessed not only her daily efforts in caring for our family, but also her journey from having nothing to gradually building a life of her own. She treats us like family, and we have long considered her a part of ours. That’s why, when we chose migrant workers as the theme for this exhibition, my hope was simply that visitors could put aside existing stereotypes and stop seeing migrant workers as just labourers.
The images and texts in this exhibition reminded me of Kakak’s inner world, which we rarely get to see—her experience of leaving home, her longing for her own family, and the loneliness and pressures she faces while living in a foreign country. Through these works, I started reflecting on whether I had unintentionally overlooked her feelings as an individual, instead of seeing her only as someone who takes care of the household.
Through this exhibition, I hope visitors can gain a deeper understanding of migrant workers.
叶文希 Yap Mun Hei
Design Team Member
一开始选择“外籍劳工”作为展览主题时，我其实并没有太大的兴趣。当我向身边的朋友提起这个主题时，得到的反应多半都是：“啊？为什么会想做这个主题？”这样的反应，某种程度上也反映出我们对外籍劳工议题的冷漠与忽视。
当我真正开始下手去做后，我才逐渐意识到外籍劳工对马来西亚的重要性。许多本地人不愿从事的 3D 工作（dirty, dangerous and demanding），如制造业与建筑业，长期依赖外籍劳工支撑。他们的付出不仅维持了产业的运作，也对国家整体经济发展作出了实质贡献。
然而，社会上仍有不少人将外籍劳工视为“问题”的来源。事实上，他们只是为了生活与家庭而跨国工作的人。正如马来西亚人到其他国家工作时，也会被视为“外劳”，我们同样不希望在别的国家遭受歧视与偏见。将自己置换到他们的处境中，我也开始反思社会对外籍劳工的刻板印象，并更深刻地理解了这个展览主题的意义。
When we first chose migrant workers as the theme for this exhibition, I wasn’t particularly interested. When I mentioned it to my friends, most of them responded with, “Huh? Why would you choose that?” In a way, their reactions revealed how indifferent and neglectful we can be toward issues affecting migrant workers.
It wasn’t until I really started working on the project that I began to understand how important migrant workers are to Malaysia. Many 3D jobs that locals are reluctant to take—like manufacturing and construction—have long depended on migrant workers. Their efforts not only keep these industries running but also make significant contributions to the country’s overall economic growth.
Still, many people in society continue to view migrant workers as the source of many issues in Malaysia. In truth, they are simply people working across borders to support their families. Just as Malaysians working abroad may be seen as “foreign workers,” we wouldn’t want to face discrimination or prejudice in another country either. Placing myself in their shoes helped me reflect on the stereotypes society holds about migrant workers and gave me a deeper understanding of what this exhibition truly represents.
潘建骅 Fon Jun Zhe
Design Team Member
马来西亚社会常将外籍劳工简称为“外劳”，这标签背后，总隐隐把他们当成可替换的经济单位，让本地人与他们之间多了一层无形的隔阂。同时，他们还常被扣上不公的“黑锅”。
“非法劳工比例高”被反复提起，政府与媒体常把外劳与违法行为被捆绑在一起，歧视与排斥的循环就这样越陷越深。然而，不少南亚劳工是被中介骗来，工资低、护照被扣、住处恶劣，甚至因证件问题入狱。而报道常用非法、无证的标题来引起讨论，却很少问：这种“被迫非法”的处境，到底是谁造成的？招聘链的哪一环出了问题？
对我来说，这次策展是个意外的转变。从一开始对移工议题完全漠不关心，到采访中听见他们压抑多年的思念情绪，发觉到造成距离的，不是文化差异，而是报告上只有冷冰冰的数字单位，让我们习惯性的把他们当成背景噪音，而不是有血有肉的人。
这次的展览不是要否认人们的安全顾虑，而是想邀请大家移开视线，多一点好奇，如果多一些接纳，少一些防范，或许误会会少一些，人心会近一些。这不只是他们的故事，也是我们重新“看见”的开始。
Malaysian society often shortens migrant workers to the label “foreign workers.” Behind this label lies an unspoken tendency to see them as replaceable economic units, creating an invisible barrier between them and local communities. At the same time, they are often made scapegoats for societal issues.
Statements like “a high proportion of illegal migrant workers” are constantly repeated, with the government and media frequently linking migrant workers to crime, fueling a cycle of discrimination and exclusion. In reality, many South Asian migrant workers were deceived by agents—they receive low wages, have their passports confiscated, live in poor conditions, and may even be imprisoned over documentation problems. Headlines that focus on “illegal” or “undocumented” workers spark debate, but rarely questions on who actually created this situation of being “forced into illegality”? Where in the recruitment chain did things go wrong?
For me, curating this exhibition was an unexpected turning point. I started out largely indifferent to migrant worker issues, but through interviews, I heard the long-suppressed feelings of longing they carry. I realized that the rift between us is not about cultural differences—it comes from reports that reduce them to cold numbers, training us to treat them as background noise rather than real people with lives and emotions.
This exhibition does not aim to dismiss concerns about safety. Instead, it invites viewers to shift their perspective, to be a little more curious. With more acceptance and less suspicion, misunderstandings may decrease, and hearts may come closer. This is not just their story—it is also the beginning of us truly “seeing” them again.