A Curious Cat

They say curiosity killed the cat, but that isn't always the case for Raja Malek, it nurtured a lifelong love for learning, and a continuous pursuit of creativity

- Koyyi Chin

This story has many beginnings, but they all have one constant: it starts with a well-dressed man known to many as Raja Malek, a multitalented enigma who prefers to be called “Chelek” instead.

Hairdresser, set designer, visual artist, creative director… the man is a local legend among those in-the know, and has worked with creative powerhouses like Datuk Zahim Albakri, Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina, and the late Jit Murad.

But that’s skipping too far ahead, so let’s begin his story this way:

It is the summer of 1983, a few years prior to Chelek’s return to Malaysia, where he finds himself standing stock-still in a bookstore located in Knightsbridge, London. And cradled reverently in his hands was a hardcover book titled Eiko by Eiko: Eiko Ishioka, Japan’s Ultimate Designer, which details the life’s work of the late Eiko Ishioka, a world-renowned Japanese art director, costume designer and graphic designer.

Flipping through the pages, each filled with vibrant pictures and notes of Ishioka’s past work, something seemed to have gripped an enraptured Chelek, who was in his 20s then and was working as a young hairdresser with a fervent love for fashion.

Finished with reading the book, he puts it back in its rightful place on the shelf and walks out of the bookstore empty-handed.