There are no fans like "Star Wars" fans. Say what you will of other fandoms, but The Force has been strong since 1977 and has only been getting stronger since. To the untrained Jedi eye, at the foreground, the hype surrounding "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" might've seem to have cooled to a simmer, but in the background fans are only getting ready for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" when it comes to cinemas this December.
But movies aside, in countries like Malaysia where there is no grand studio backed official "Star Wars" day celebration, it's up to the fans to celebrate significant "Star Wars" dates. Undeniably the most important one would be the intergalactic "Star Wars" day known as May The Fourth (a pun on the popular "Star Wars" catchphrase, "May The Force Be With You"), where the date was actually chosen by the fans themselves and not creator George Lucas or Lucasfilm to celebrate everything "Star Wars". To observe the celebration this year, the official Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club had dutifully taken upon themselves to organise a special two-day celebration over the weekend of 30 April to 1 May 2016 at The School, Jaya One in Petaling Jaya, where exciting activities like Malaysia's largest lightsaber flashmob (with over 120 participants), cosplay competition and a fan panel were among the highlights.
Over the two days, fans came dressed for the occasion in their best Jedi and Sith costumes and the general public had the chance to discover really cool Star Wars merchandise and figurines that were on sale, and not forgetting the rare collectibles that were also put on display. There was also a life-sized BB-8 and Darth Maul replicas to the delight of the attendees, however that, sadly, wasn't on sale! The president of the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club, Syed Sharbini Rafie says that this would be the first time the club has taken on a bigger venue to celebrate the event. "The response for Star Wars Day Malaysia 2016 has been really encouraging and a lot of people are taking in the new and bigger format of the event quite well."
(Photos Source: Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club Facebook group)