Wabikong's Sai enters the agency space with Works Media Agency

Malaysian content creator Sai Chuah (pictured), better known simply as Sai (@sai_cx), is stepping into the agency space with the launch of Works Media Agency (WMA), a creator-first business that aims to rethink how brands, creators and content come together.

Founded by Chuah alongside Jin Lim of Aspect Ratio Studios, WMA will focus on three core pillars: influencer and KOL (key opinion leader) campaigns, content production, and talent management.

For Chuah, however, those disciplines are no longer separate. "A brand campaign in Malaysia today really does live or die on the creator running it, the cultural insight behind it, and the craft of how it gets made. Trying to split those between three different vendors is how good ideas get watered down. We built WMA so all of it sits in one room," he said.

The agency brings together two complementary perspectives. While Chuah brings years of experience building creator-led content through WABIKONG and his own personal platform; Lim contributes production expertise through Aspect Ratio Studios, which has spent more than a decade producing branded content and social campaigns for Malaysian brands.

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Flipping the traditional agency model

Beyond offering integrated services, WMA is also challenging what Chuah believes is an outdated agency model. In an exclusive conversation with A+M, Chuah shared that: 

The way briefs work in this industry feels backwards.

"A brand pays for a campaign, the agency gets the credit and the spotlight, and the creator just gets plugged in at the end like inventory."

Instead, WMA wants creators to lead with ideas they genuinely want to make before matching them with brands.

"With WMA, the creator comes in with something they actually want to say or build, and we take it to the brand. The brand gets to hop on something that's already real, instead of trying to manufacture authenticity from scratch."

The move also reflects Chuah's observations of Malaysia's growing creator economy, particularly within the Chinese Malaysian content space.

"The Chinese Malaysian creator market has been growing fast for a few years now, but lately it's starting to plateau. Everyone's hustling solo, and there's a ceiling to how far that takes you," he explained.

According to Chuah, WABIKONG had organically become a space where creators collaborated on larger projects. WMA formalises that model by acting as a bridge between creators, brands and audiences. Chuah is currently the director of Wabikong Productions. 

Beyond influencer marketing

Despite its strong creator roots, Chuah is keen to distinguish WMA from conventional influencer agencies. "If WMA was just another KOL agency, we'd be no different from the rest," he said. "Anyone can put a list of creators together and sell it as a service these days."

Instead, he describes the agency as one focused on multi-format storytelling, where a single campaign idea is developed across different formats and platforms rather than ending with a single creator post. He also believes online influence should extend into real-world experiences.

Citing initiatives such as WABIKONG's One Better Festival, which attracted around 20,000 visitors, and its consumer brand Aistru, Chuah said creator-led campaigns can become much more impactful when digital storytelling connects with offline experiences.

It's the agility to move faster and think wider than the bigger shops, because we're a creator team that built an agency, not an agency that hired some creators.

That philosophy is reflected in the agency's early talent roster, which includes Malaysian YouTube veterans Dennis Lim Ming and Ling Big Yong, alongside creator Vikram, whose Mandarin-language content gained widespread attention through the viral "WE NOT APUNENE" track.

Looking ahead, Chuah expects WMA to develop more collaborations where creators and brands build products and campaigns together rather than simply pairing up for sponsored content.

He pointed to his previous collaboration with Santan, AirAsia's food brand, which resulted in the launch of the "Uncle Sai Char Koay Teow". The limited-time menu item sold more than 30,000 units in its first month.

"That's the model we want to scale," he said. "A creator with real cultural credibility, a brand willing to actually step into the creator's world, and a product that wouldn't exist without both."

For Chuah, WMA is ultimately about building stronger foundations for Malaysia's growing creator economy. He said:

Malaysia is having a real creator moment right now, and the world is starting to notice.

"The question for the rest of us in the industry is whether we'll build the infrastructure that lets our creators do their best work, on their own terms, for the long haul. WMA is our answer to that."

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