The Rain Rave Water Music Festival, which was held at Bukit Bintang from Apr 30 to May 2, sparked widespread debate among Malaysians, with some praising the government’s efforts in promoting tourism and others condemning its “party-like” setting.
A tourist who went to the festival for himself uploaded a TikTok video about his thoughts regarding the event, where he personally felt that it missed the mark in portraying itself as “Malaysian”.
Hits & misses all around
In the TikTok video shared by Roman Travels, he said he went to the festival after seeing that it had garnered mixed opinions from the public.
He then went on to describe parts of the festival that made him see both sides of the debate more clearly.
“The event itself was actually well done. Good DJs, solid setup and for the people that were there, looked like they were having a really good time. But for me personally…something just felt a bit off.
“I’ve been living in Malaysia for about 9 months now and one of the things I’ve really come to appreciate is the culture here.
And being at the event, it just didn’t feel very Malaysian to me – the rave aspect was overshadowed by the rest of the event.”
‘Felt like a mismatch’
Roman also explained the reason why he felt the festival didn’t strike him as a Malaysian one was partially due to perception.
“The name leans into the whole “rave” vibe and a lot of the content you see online from people focuses on that side of things and misses the cultural part of the event.
“So it ends up feeling like a bit of a mismatch between what it could be…and what it feels like.”
Roman said that while he’s unsure about whether a rave event’s aligned with Malaysia as a whole, he joked that it could be due to him being “too old”.
Before and during the Rain Rave Water Music Festival, it attracted fierce criticism from various parties, who slammed it as an event that violated the country’s morals, culture, and norms.
Despite the criticism, the festival completed its three-day run and generated RM200mil in revenue, according to a tourism industry group.
Watch Roman’s video here:
@romantravels There’s been a lot of mixed opinions about the Rain Rave Water Music Festival 🇲🇾… So I went to see it for myself 👀 And honestly, I can see both sides. The event itself was actually well done. Good DJs, solid setup and for the people that were there, looked like they were having a really good time. But for me personally… something just felt a bit off. I’ve been living in Malaysia for about 9 months now and one of the things I’ve really come to appreciate is the culture here. And being at the event, it just didn’t feel very Malaysian to me – the rave aspect was overshadowed by the rest of the event. I also think part of it comes down to perception. The name leans into the whole “rave” vibe and a lot of the content you see online from people focuses on that side of things and misses the cultural part of the event. So it ends up feeling like a bit of a mismatch between what it could be… and what it feels like. Not sure if a Rave in Malaysia feels aligned with the country but that’s just me, maybe I'm just too old 😅😂 That’s my thoughts and experience on the event – curious what you think about it. #visitmalaysia2026 #malaysia #festival #travel #explore ♬ Beauty And A Beat – Justin Bieber
What do you think of Roman’s observations? Share with us in the comments!
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