Malaysian Batik Designs To Add Colour To 2023 National Day Celebrations

By Norhidayyu Zainal

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- This 2023 National Day celebrations at Dataran Putrajaya on Aug 31 is set to be a colourful spectacle with the addition of more than 400 colourful Malaysian batik attire, to be donned by the honoured guests to the event.

Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation (Kraftangan Malaysia), corporate communication division director Isnaniyah Ismail said Cabinet ministers, VIP guests and the 2023 National Day celebrations secretariat will be wearing batik attire on the day.

"We have designed alternative Malaysian batik designs from clay, using the filtered silk technique, featuring Hibiscus flowers and Malaysian tiger stripes motifs for the Cabinet ministers and honoured guests.  

“As for the secretariat, we have prepared the same type of batik with Clove, “Tanjung” flower and Chinese cloud motifs,” she told Bernama recently. 

Isnaniyah said the preparation of the special batik designs in conjunction with National Day, in collaboration with the Communications and Digital Ministry, is aimed at introducing the public to the Malaysian batik as Malaysia’s symbol of heritage and identity.  

She said they are the creations of Kraftangan Malaysia’s in-house designers involving four batik crafts entrepreneurs from Selangor and Perak and was completed in a month. 

Isnaniyah said Kraftangan Malaysia also held “This is Malaysian Batik” roadshows at ministries, government departments and agencies as well as institutions of higher learning.  

The objective of the roadshows was to encourage more people, especially civil servants, to wear Malaysian batik not just on Thursdays but on any day and at official events, in line with the Public Service Department circular dated Aug 21, 2023. 

“It is our hope that everyone will adopt the culture of Malaysian batik to show their patriotism towards our national heritage,” she said, adding that all Kraftangan Malaysia’s branches have also been decorated with the Jalur Gemilang (national flag) during the National Month. 

“We also held several National Day programmes, such as the Perak Crafts Festival at Dataran Menara Condong, Teluk Intan in Perak from Aug 25 to Sept 3; Borneo Crafts Festival at 1 Borneo Mall in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Aug 24 to Sept 10); Merdeka Promotion at Johor Crafts Complex and Angsana Johor Bahru in Johor (Aug 25 to Sept 3) and Merdeka Promotion at Aeon Mall in Melaka (Aug 29 to Sept 9).

“There are also discounts of up to 50 per cent for crafts at our Kuala Lumpur Crafts Complex for the whole of the National Month,” she said. 

-- BERNAMA