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Other Expats
Al Ibrahim: You’d have to be really good, really fast or really nice

Al Ibrahim: You’d have to be really good, really fast or really nice

By Other ExpatsUpdated

From a studio session in KL to a detention room in Sabah, Al Ibrahim gets real about the "routine" hurdles of being a Black creative in Malaysia. Discover how he navigates the local art scene and the vital role relationships play in building a lasting career.


In the first week of December, we managed to convince Al Ibrahim to re-record an interview we had recorded a month earlier. After listening to that session while editing, we realised it could be better.

So, we reached out to the awesome audio producers at The Small Room to help out, then we got Al to join us in the studio. He talks more about that and how relationships play a part in whether your clients, friends or customers return to deal with you after the first time.

Al Ibrahim is a writer and photographer, and a professional videographer at Mindvalley, and talks about the art scene in KL, how he got stopped by immigration at the Kota Kinabalu Airport in Sabah and sent back to KL, and the frequent ‘routine’ checks of Black men by the police in KL.

The Other Expats’ sound design is by the Big Mean Sound Machine, and the intro was created by Small Room Productions.

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Other Expats

Other Expats

Shares information, tips and guides on living in Malaysia as non-white expatriates based on our own experiences and research.