Lights, Story, Action: StoryFest 2026 finale sees top young storytellers rewarded

PEKAN, 6 August 2026 - 32 participants from 16 secondary schools across Pekan, among them Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Pekan, SMK Sultan Ahmad, SMK Nenasi, SMK Chini and SMK Paloh Hinai took to the stage at Pekan Public Library to compete in this year's storytelling competition. 

The participants spent three weeks honing their craft under the guidance of Centre for Modern Languages (CML) instructors, Hamizah Zahari, Khairul Amri Abdul Aziz, Farah Liyana Ahmad A'azmey, Nor Suhardiliana Sahar, Shamsul Harbi, Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim and Wan Noor Farah Wan Shamsuddin, before stepping up to perform their original stories.

The stories tackled a colourful mix of topics, among them ‘My First Time Joining a Competition’, ‘A Day Without My Phone or the Internet’, ‘The Power of Saying Thank You’ and ‘Darkness Could Not Break Amethyst’. 

Every story was written from scratch by the students themselves, with guidance from their CML instructors and respective school teachers.

Nur Rania Fitriya Ahmad Taufik, a student from SMK Seri Pekan, shared her thoughts on the experience: "I love meeting new friends from other schools. Of course, I was nervous about the competition, but I just did my best. The teachers helped me a lot."

Chief Judge Associate Professor Dr. Hafizoah Kassim said she was proud of the students for having the courage to perform in front of an audience, and praised their strong storytelling and stage presence throughout the competition.
The Closing Ceremony took place at Pekan Public Library in the afternoon, graced by the presence of Tengku Dato' Ahmad Ashraf Tengku Dato' Sri Asmawi, representing Dato' Mohamad Nizar Dato' Sri Mohamad Najib. 

Also in attendance were Professor Datin Ts. Dr. Mimi Sakinah Abdul Munaim, Assistant Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), UMPSA; Maria  Hamzah, Director of the Pahang State Public Library Corporation; Associate Professor Dr. Zuraina Ali, Dean of the CML, UMPSA; and Associate Professor Dr. Nik Aloesnita Nik Mohd Alwi, Project Leader for the Social Innovation and Community Knowledge Transfer Grant, CDU250134.

The competition concluded with the announcement of the top five winners at the Closing Ceremony. 

First place went to Adriana Firlee Izhar of SMK (LKTP) Chini, followed by Siti Aisyah Ahmad Tarmizi of SMK (LKTP) Chini in second place, and Mohamad Nor Soleh Ashari of SMK Peramu Jaya in third. 

Fourth and fifth places went to Julia Qaisara Mohd Rafi of SMK Chini 2 and Muhammad Firas bin Muhammad Fahmi of SMK Dato' Mahmud Mat, respectively. 

All five winners received their prizes at the ceremony, in recognition of the creativity, confidence and storytelling flair they brought to the stage.

StoryFest 2026 Event Coordinator, Alia Najaa Md Noor and the Head of Pekan Public Library, Nor Karmila Mahmud, extended their appreciation to the teachers, coordinators and students of all participating schools for their enthusiasm and support in making this second edition of StoryFest a success, and said they look forward to growing the collaboration in the years ahead.

By: Wan Noor Farah Wan Shamsuddin, Alia Najaa Md Noor, Aisyah Hanum Abu Bakar, Centre For Modern Languages (CML) And Naqiah Puaad, Centre for Corporate Communications