The power of batik.

Can anyone define batik? My simple definition is a cloth decorated with flowery design using wax as a mean of controlling the colour input and also of the design. I may be wrong and I am not arguing about it. Originally these batik cloth are hand made but today many of these batik cloth are machine made, in factories, nice flowery design but not authentic. In Malaysia batik were originally made in Trengganu and Kelantan but today they are made everywhere, but the pattern are still of traditions as per made in Trengganu and Kelantan. In Indonesia, the design is a bit more refined and made on finer cloth than those found in Malaysia. I am told that Indonesia has a longer batik making tradition than in Malaysia. I think if you give a present to ladies you might like to give the Indonesian batik rather than those made in Malaysia. They would appreciate it more. If you are giving that to a Malay lady but if you are giving it to a foreign tourist they can hardly tell the difference. Tell me if I am wrong. But over the years Malaysian batik has improved and the quality of batik manufactured in Malaysia today is more than good enough to be comparable with any batik manufactured anywhere in the world.

Why am I talking about the power of batik? I am just thinking about what batik can do in our lives. As I said, if you give a present to your wife, I being a Malay, I would think twice before giving my wife a batik I buy from Kelantan or Trengganu. Not that I am being unpatriotic but its just that in her eyes, and also in many Malay lady's eyes, an Indonesian batik has a higher value. I remember years ago when I used to go on duty to Labuan Island (its an island off the coast of Sabah if you do not know where it is), my wife always says, "Buy some Indonesian batik". I wondered why but I just bought whatever I could carry without being hassled by the Custom on going into the Labuan Airport (Labuan Island has a free port status). In some cases I even used to use the services of those who have not bought any batik to carry those Indonesian batik for me (and for us who are married). There is a quota as to how many pieces of Indonesian batik cloth one can bring out of Labuan Island. But I found that everything over on tat island is as expensive (or shall I say as cheap as in KL. I might as well buy things in KL instead of in Labuan Island). Indonesian batik is an exception, they bring them in (legally?) from the nearby Indonesian territories. I must confess that most of us got cheated when we talk about Labuan Island being a Free from Tax place. As we also get cheated when we purchase things in Langkawi (it is off the north west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and also being of free port status), things are not cheap in Langkawi as well, unless you want to buy crockery. But who wants to own so many pieces of crockery.

Back to batik, the cloth is powerful. During the period of the Prime Minister Tun Razak’s era, about 25 years ago, in Malaysia, he always wore batik during functions. So everyone followed. The batik industry flourished. But his successors did not follow him wearing batik at functions and so batik lost its glamour. But still many people wear batik during functions. And batik has been upgraded in that instead of cotton, other fabrics are made into batik. Silk is one of those fabrics, and silk batik are very popular among the higher crust of the Malaysian society. And in Indonesia batik has never lost its popularity and its design has always been very traditional. You will see that every Indonesian President (except Sukarno) wears batik. Be the President a man or a lady. As I write this, our present Prime Minister is once again encouraging people (Government servants especially) to wear batik on Saturdays and at official functions. I would therefore say that batik is once again being recognised as an industry which has the encouragement by the Malaysia Government.

In Malaysia batik has certain reputation, pleasant or unpleasant its up to your conclusion. In Genting Highland, the gambling heaven of Malaysia, to enter the Casino you have to wear batik. What if do not have one with you? At the Casino's entrance there is a place where for a fee you can hire a long sleeve batik shirt. So you gamble in batik.

And batik can also be the deciding factor in Malaysian politic, at least some time in the past. You can even get assurance of favourable votes through batik then. Some political parties in Malaysia knew that Malaysian are glutton for cheap stuff, especially the older rural folks. During Election time ten, when they went campaigning they brought a lot of batik cloth. Not the expensive kind but those they probably got free from some party members who own batik factories. So they gave away those batik cloth to these rural voters with the message that if they voted for their party candidate they will get more batik or even get more subsidy when that party forms the Government. Malaysians, especially the rural Malay folks like to receive subsidy from the Government. You see, in Malaysia, politic is cheap, (and its a mean of getting rich), if you are the candidate for the right party even if you are a dunce you can still win the election. Admittedly most candidates are not dunce really, they are just buffaloes, they get dragged by the nose by the President of the party. Why? Because if they do not want to get dragged by the nose they will not be chosen as the candidate of the party during such General Election.

Back to batik. If you happened to go to Trengganu or Kelantan, you will see many shops selling batik. In Kuala Trengganu you have to go to Pasar Payang and in Kelantan you go to Pasar Siti Khatijah. You can choose from many designs, many types of fabric and you can bargain. You will find that if you come early in the morning you can get these batik cloth cheaply, the sellers believe that if you are the first customer you bring luck to the shop; other customers will follow you and will buy more. And if you buy more you can still get them cheaper; cheaper by the dozen they say. Don't ask me whether what they believe in is true or not but I have been told that they actually believe in those superstitions. Nonsense? Not really if you are a trader, you will believe anything if you are trader, as long as you make the money. Most, if not all, Chinese believe in 'fong sueh' (correct spelling?), and even the Malays now believe in that. There was a programme where it showed one famous Chinese lady, who is supposed to be an expert on the subject, that was aired recently on Malaysian Astro TV station. And I know that many of the audience are Malays as well. Why do Malays who are Muslims believe in those things? Yes they do. And of course my Ustaz tells me that if you believe in anything that bring you luck then you have gone 'syirik', that is believing in something similar to Allah, and you go to the deepest hell for that. I believe in what my Ustaz say, but some Malay Muslims do not.

Back to batik. I do not like to wear batik now. I used to like wearing it, but I found it uncomfortable. I get very conscious of people judging you by the type and the design of batik you wear. You see, as a Muslim man, I believer that I should not wear silk clothings. And most important people in Malaysia, Muslim or non-Muslim, when they wear batik they wear silk batik. And if you do not wear silk batik they consider you of lower class. So I avoid wearing batik. I would rather wear normal shirts, probably of good design bought at a reputable shops or wear ‘baju Melayu’ on those important occasions, and I feel more comfortable in them. So I do not wear batik nowadays. And I do not own many batik shirts. Those I used to have I just keep them in storage.
Batik is very versatile. Ladies make them into blouse, skirts, ‘kebayas’, ‘selendang’. If any reader is not familiar with these terms, I cannot help. You have to ask someone else who knows. I use these terms because that is how people tell me and how I call them, nothing more than that. Like I call a cat a cat but I cannot tell the difference between a Siamese cat and a Persian cat.

I used to think that those who wear batik were sissy, until I saw Hawaiian shirts. To me then and still is, Hawaiian shirts are batik but made for a function when you are in Hawaii. Don't argue with me about this, I am ignorant of the history of Hawaiian shirt. But I still hold on to that belief whether anyone likes it or not.

So batik has a lot of pull and power. When they make batik, if batik is not in fashion they loose money. Many people depends on batik for their livelihood in this part of the world. They have re-created batik, make new patterns, new designs and on new textiles so that they do not go out of business. They create fashions as well so that its popularity does not wane. And batik power is a wonder in Malaysia, they can make or break the Government.