Kerepek Online.

Being a proud Malaysian (who's equally frustrated but not jaded), I have to post this.

Kerepek Online is for Malaysians, who once in awhile get a nostalgic crave for local crackers. Normally, these are sold in markets and kedai runcits (neighbourhood sundry shops). You can hardly locate any of these traditional crackers in big foreign supermarkets but now you can find it online to ease that crave anytime, anywhere (in Malaysia).

I applaud the idea because this isn't just about entrepreneurship but it's about conserving a part of our heritage that is slowly eroding before our eyes. Something about the mismatched use of fonts and colours in this website that is SO... Malaysian (haha!). I don't think we've ever been the design bestowed bunch except for a few chosen and very talented ones. But it's this very 'graphic disorder' that somehow gives the site a feeling of local authenticity.

My interpretation:

A clean, well-designed, visually engaging flash site that's wired in all sorts of imaginable (and unpronounce-able) social networks with weird multi-coloured humanlike organisms who don't resemble any animals or aliens or monsters which any human can recognize, just won't do. It gives people the impression that the these Kerepek-ians behind the screen are just some 20 something anti-government UK graduate designers with spare family cash who think they know how to produce crackers the authentic makcik way because they did it over tea on Sunday afternoons in London or in an easier way, who know someone who knows how to produce crackers, decide to mash Kerepek with the Web in an experimental sort of way to see what comes out of it since they don't have to wake up for 9am meetings the next day.

However, the irregularities in fonts and patterns and the super enthusiastic and unedited style of writing perhaps says a lot more truth about the owner: a sub-urban/rural boy (or girl) who finished tertiary education in a local uni who is passionate about his (or her) family/relative's business or feels responsible to takeover the business and sees the potential in expansion yet understands that things cannot remain the way they are, tries his (or her) best to bring Kerepek-dom from Kampung to Kuala Lumpur, truly believing that this business method will bring in the bucks. Somehow.

I haven't bought anything yet. I'm still a sceptic over transactions online (unless it's an air ticket, room reservation, concert or movie tickets and Amazon.com) but I promise I will support at least one packet of Kerepek ;)

Long live Kerepek!