KUASA: Democratic Engagement & Community-Driven Media

The Organization

KUASA (Persatuan Kebangkitan Usaha Angkat Suara Awam – Association to Raise the Voice of the People) is a national, bipartisan organization encouraging Malaysians to serve as the ultimate check and balance for governmental policy and management.

Core principles: Participation, Information, Parity, Consistency.

KUASA's sister organization, Kampus Radio, focuses on youth engagement and campus activism.

Both organizations had been doing meaningful work but lacked cohesive media strategy, modern branding, and scalable content production. I volunteer all my time to these organizations, bringing experience from Colombian activism and media work to help catalyze new processes.

Brand Transformation

When I arrived, KUASA's visual identity was fragmented and didn't reflect the energy of their mission. I redesigned the complete branding—logo, color system, typography, visual language—to create bold, accessible, youth-oriented identity that could work across digital and physical spaces.

The new brand communicates urgency, inclusion, and empowerment. It positions KUASA as contemporary movement, not traditional NGO.

Truth or False: Media Literacy Education

One of my first major initiatives was designing and executing "Truth or False"—an interactive campus program educating university students about fake news, AI-generated content, and media manipulation.

The approach: Rather than lectures, we created hands-on activities that immersed students in the complexities of the contemporary media landscape. Students experienced firsthand how easy it is to manipulate images, generate convincing false narratives, and spread misinformation.

The goal: Build critical media literacy among Malaysia's next generation of citizens and leaders.

I conceptualized the program, designed all materials, coordinated campus activations, and trained facilitators. The program successfully reached multiple universities and continues to expand.

PBT Survey: Listening to Grassroots Communities

Perhaps the most significant project was the PBT (Local Council) Survey—a comprehensive research initiative reaching grassroots organizations across Selangor state.

The problem we identified: The relationship between residents and local councils (Majlis Bandaraya/Majlis Perbandaran/Majlis Daerah) is broken. Councils collect assessment rates, deliver services, and respond to complaints—but engagement between residents and councils is extremely poor. Communities are stifled by confusion, misinformation, and bureaucracy.

Our approach:

I helped conceptualize, design, and execute a survey reaching resident associations and village committees across all municipalities of Selangor. The goal: understand what communities need from local government, how they perceive councils, and visualize the interactions between citizens and government.

The survey established insights that help Malaysians improve their relationship with local government and participation in civic processes.

I designed all survey materials, coordinated data collection, analyzed results, and created visual presentations of findings for public dissemination and advocacy.

This work demonstrates how research and design can bridge the gap between citizens and institutions.

KUASA Live: Weekly News Program

In 2024, I helped ideate, produce, and strategize KUASA Live—a weekly program delivering Malaysian news in Malay in 10 minutes.

The format: Fast-paced, accessible, youth-oriented news commentary that cuts through noise and delivers what matters. Published consistently every week for over a year.

The results:

1,397,116 views in the last 365 days 2,700 subscribers Top video: 165,541 views Multiple videos exceeding 40,000-60,000 views

This is a small feat in absolute terms but considerably higher than any other program created by the organization. It proves that consistent, well-produced content with clear value proposition can reach audiences even without advertising budgets.

My role: Content strategy, production coordination, visual design for thumbnails and graphics, platform optimization, performance analysis, and continuous iteration based on audience data.

I also conduct workshops that technically train and educate those working in the NGOs—teaching video production, social media strategy, content planning, and analytics interpretation.

Current Work: AI-Driven Content Innovation

I'm currently developing new AI-driven content that will further energize the organization. This includes:

• AI-assisted video production to increase output without sacrificing quality
• Automated content repurposing across platforms
• Data-driven content strategy using AI analysis of engagement patterns

The goal: maximize impact with limited resources by intelligently leveraging technology.

Why I Do This Work

I volunteer because I believe design and communications can serve democratic transformation. My experience in Colombian peace activism taught me that civic engagement requires accessible information, compelling narratives, and strategic media.

Malaysia's democratic journey is fragile and vital. KUASA and Kampus Radio provide platforms for citizens to participate meaningfully in governance. Amplifying their work amplifies democratic possibility.

Skills Demonstrated

Brand strategy and visual identity design for civic organizations Educational program design with interactive, experiential learning Large-scale research coordination and data visualization Content production at scale with limited resources Cross-cultural collaboration (Colombian working in Malaysian context) Volunteer leadership and capacity building

Legacy

KUASA's brand is stronger. Their content reaches more people. Their research informs advocacy. Their educational programs build critical thinking.

This is design in service of democracy.