#trending: 'It looks like a nightclub!' Neighbours in Malaysia go viral for friendly rivalry over Hari Raya light decor

SELANGOR, MALAYSIA — With less than two weeks left until the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ends, Muslims all over Malaysia have begun decorating their homes in preparation for Hari Raya Puasa or Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Two households in the Taman Ehsan Ibu neighbourhood of Rawang, Selangor, in particular, have recently gone viral for their friendly rivalry.

In a video posted by TikTok user "oby.max__" last Thursday (April 6), the user films multiple colourful lights strung up around the front porch of his house.

Off-screen, he mourns in Malay: "Hai, Alhamdulillah (praise God). I thought my house was the most beautiful (with these) twinkling lights."

He then pans to his next-door neighbour's house, where another man is seen hanging up decorations on a fence outside as disco lights and lasers flash across its facade.

"It turns out the person next door wants to compete!", the TikTok user exclaims. "What lights are they using? I don't know. (It looks) like a (night) club!

"I thought I already won — they (also) want to win!"

Less than an hour later, another video popped up on TikTok, this time posted by the neighbour in question.

In the video, user "iejamurad" shows off her own disco-like display before similarly panning to what appears to be Oby's house.

"When you don't want to lose to your neighbours," the caption cheekily said in Malay.

The TikTok user added that she had only put up her lights after her neighbour had finished his own Hari Raya set-up.

Oby's video has been viewed 1.8 million times while Iejamurad's has been viewed 715,100 times.

Netizens were entertained by the reveal of both sides of the story at the same time, especially as many pointed out that the two neighbours' videos coincidentally appeared adjacent to each other on their For You page in TikTok.

"I (just) saw the neighbour's POV (point of view) three seconds ago," wrote one top comment on Iejamurad's video.

In response to the comments that people had already seen her neighbour's lament, she jokingly said: "Mention him (in the comments). Let him look."

Many also marvelled at Iejamurad's extravagant "club lights" and lasers, commenting: "She (went) straight to disco."

"People will be afraid to enter because (they are) afraid of getting electrocuted," teased another comment.

Others praised the healthy competition, calling it "cute" and a great way to celebrate the festive period and bring the neighbourhood closer together.

The next day, Oby posted a humorous follow-up video of him declaring that he would trash all of Iejamurad's Hari Raya decorations.

In the video, taken outside Iejamurad's house in the day, Oby sashays towards the camera in a red t-shirt and kain pelikat, or traditional Malay menswear.

A green tinsel garland, commonly used for Hari Raya decorations, is draped around his arms. Abruptly, he stops and turns to throw the garland at another man packing a box on the ground, exclaiming in Malay: "Aik! (Take this) and throw it away!"

He continues with an exaggerated stride to the garbage bin located outside the house, throwing the lid open and pointing into the bin as the onlookers laugh.

"Aih, I want you to go in here," he says to another person who is standing just out of frame. "Before I stuff you in, you go in by yourself lah."

TikTok users continue to be amused by the friendly feud, with one commenting wistfully: "It's fun to (have) a neighbour like this."

In reply, Oby shared: "Between my neighbour and I, we always bicker because they like to disturb me when I latah."

Latah refers to a culture-bound syndrome observed predominantly in Malaysia and Indonesia.

According to an article in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, people with the Latah syndrome "respond to minimal stimuli with exaggerated startles". Most episodes are "intentionally provoked for the amusement of onlookers".

Last Monday (April 3), TikTok user "hakimy_mohamad" also went viral with a video of his neighbour's grandiose light show-esque display, which garnered 1.4 million views.

Netizens likened it to the i-City Theme Park in Selangor, which boasts a City of Digital Lights zone that uses more than one million LED lights to create a "lightscape".