Batik Malaysia Story

Malaysia Batik : Crafted for World Movement

The Malaysia Batik - Crafted For The World Movement was established by Yayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysia (Penyayang) in 2003 under the patronage of the late Tun Endon Mahmood, the wife of the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia. One of its objectives is “To ensure the long-term relevance, growth and progress of the Malaysian batik industry.

Penyayang and its wholly owned subsidiary, Batik Guild Sdn. Bhd. are the organisers of the Malaysian Batik: Crafted For the World Movement's activities.

The Movement and Its Aims

Malaysia Batik : Crafted for The World  Movement has been conceived as a long - term vehicle in championing the batik industry. With this movement, Tun Endon's trademark brand of enthusiasm and passion is brought to the Malaysia batik industry in the hope of encouraging creativity, showcasing and discovering talent and bringing Malaysia batik on to the international stage.

The OBJECTIVES of the MOVEMENT are:

• To revitalize the Malaysian batik industry and showcase it locally and internationally.
• To ensure the long-term relevance, growth and progress of the Malaysian batik industry.
• To improve the economic welfare of smaller batik producers, especially in rural areas.
• To encourage innovation in design, use of materials and technology towards the betterment of the batik industry.

• To find and create markets for the consumption of batik products.
• To reinforce batik as an inherent part of Malaysian identity and personality

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MALAYSIA BATIK - CRAFTED FOR THE WORLD MOVEMENT 2003 - 2013

2003 Batik Extravaganza

Tun Endon launched the Malaysia Batik - Crafted for the World movement and the Piala Seri Endon batik design competition in 2003.

The year-end celebrations saw the Batik Extravaganza, which included a Batik Street Carnival. Centred mainly around the Bukit Bintang area, a carnival atmosphere was created, with fun, games, fashion shows, concerts with popular stars and batik bazaars in malls around the Klang Valley. There was also the Batik Fun Walk - bringing attention to batik in wholesome, family- oriented way.

Alongside this were Batik trade and craft shows. Exhibits and demonstrations were also staged in some malls and hotels.

2004 Sharing With The Nation

Roadshows were held in Penang (5th and 6th June 2004) and Sabah (23rd July 2004). Fashion shows featuring the Piala Seri Endon entries and exhibits explaining the Malaysia Batik - Crafted For the World Movement were brought to Penang and Sabah.

A Buyers - Sellers Meet and Seminars on branding and networking opportunities, plus a gala fashion show where the Kuala Lumpur International Batik (KLIB) Convention & Exhibitions 2005 was announced, were highlights of the weekend programme held in September 2004.

Batik Week 2004 once again saw a carnival atmosphere with fun, games, fashion shows, concerts featuring popular stars and batik bazaars in malls around the Klang Valley.

Piala Seri Endon : Fashion and Soft Furnishing. A second category was added to the prestigious batik design competition. The number of entries was high in this second year of the competition.

2005 Sharing With The World

There were many International events and highlights organized by the Malaysia Batik - Crafted For the World movement in 2005!

The year began with a bang! In January, there was An Italian Affair : Batik Expressions, which saw Malaysian batik used by Italian fashion designers. In May, Malaysian batik was shown in The Hague. In June, Malaysian batik was used by Italian designer Mariella Ferrera and made into fabulous beachwear. It was featured on Italian State TV.

In September, Piala Seri Endon winner, Masrina Abdullah collaborated with Italian fashion brand Roberto di Camerimo, resulting in a vibrant range of cocktail and evening dresses that were featured on the Milan catwalk as a part of the Autumn/Winter Fashion show.

In December - the very first Kuala Lumpur International Batik (KLIB) Convention & Exhibition 2005 was held at the Putra World Trade Centre. Batik week 2005, which had the usual fun, games, fashion shows and batik bazaars in malls around the Klang Valley, was held alongside the KLIB.

Yayasan Budi Penyayang initiated the launch of the World Batik Council (WBC), with members from around the world. Penyayang CEO, Dato' Leela Mohd Ali, was elected first Chairman of the WBC. 

A new category was added to the Piala Seri Endon which now had three categories : Fashion, Soft Furnishing and Handicraft.

Sadly, our patron, Tun Endon Mahmood, passed away on 20th October just before the KLIB 2005. The movement lost a dearly-loved patron and the industry lost a valuable champion. The then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi took over the patronage of the Malaysia Batik - Crafted For the World Movement so that the work of the late Tun Endon would continue.

2006 Malaysia Batik Goes Global

For Phase 4, spanning 2006 and 2007, our theme was Malaysia Batik Goes Global. The work to bring Malaysian batik overseas continued with a visit to Bahrain, where batik was utilized by well-known local fashion designers for some of their creations.

In May 2006, batik workshops were held for kids in Penang at the Seri Endon Victory Ventures Camps to discover batik and express themselves creatively in teams. All paintings exhibited were donated to Cancerlink.

Cancerlink Cancer Champs were also held in May. Batik was utilised as therapy for cancer survivors in this program held at Fraser's Hill, which had 84 participants. The paintings were later exhibited during Batik Week 2006.

Penyayang was invited to set up the Laman Batik Seri Endon at the International Landscape and Parks Festival held in Jully 2006. The event, held at the Lake Gardens in Kuala Lumpur, included batik demonstrations and a fashion show attended by Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid.

Malaysian Batik Association is Formed 

Penyayang initiated the launch of the Malaysian Batik Association (Persatuan Batik Malaysia) in November 2006 to draw batik industry stakeholders together so they would have a voice. Penyayang CEO Dato' Leela Mohd Ali is its Chairman.

Batik Handicraft Workshop - A Batik Handicraft workshop was held. Speakers at this event included the Assistant Director of Research & Development of Kraftangan Malaysia, the Head of Art and Design of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and an educator who spoke about aspects of the competition. 

The Piala Seri Endon 2006: Fashion,Soft Furnishing and Handicraft. No further categories were added to the competition. Penyayang felt that it was time to review the Piala Seri Endon rules and regulations and consulted some of the country's leading experts. No major changes were made.

Batik Week 2006 - The carnival continued again with fun, games, fashion shows, concerts featuring popular stars and batik bazaars in malls around the Klang Valley.

2007 Malaysia Batik Goes Global

Launch of Galeri Seri Endon. In August, the Galeri Seri Endon, showcasing the products of several Piala Seri Endon winners and also some established fashion designers, was launched by Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Nur Zahirah.

Natural Dyes Research Project. Awarded a grant by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) for research into natural dyes, a research team was set up. Results of the work that was done were presented at the KLIB by Edric Ong, a member of the research team.

In November and December 2007, the following events were held concurrently:

• Kuala Lumpur International Batik Convention & Exhibition 2007 was successfully held at the KLCC Convention Centre.
• Piala Seri Endon
• Batik Fun Walk
• The Malaysia International Batik Festival

2008 Overcoming Challenges

Overcoming Challanges was the theme for 2008 - 2009, as we tried to address some of the issues facing the industry.

•  "Unleasing Creative Thinking" Workshop

            A workshop was held in Kelantan on 1st and 2nd of November in cooperation with the Malaysian Handicraft Development Board. Held 

            at the Board's Kelantan branch, the event saw some 79 participants, all of whom were batik artists, managers and business owners 

            from Kelantan and Terengganu.

• Galeri Seri Endon's first anniversary

          The gallery's first anniversary was celebrated with a tea and fashion event. The guest of honour was Datin Seri Shuryani Shuaib, wife of

          the then Minister of Unity, Culture, Arts & Heritage.

• The Piala Seri Endon continue with is three categories.

2009 Overcoming Challenges

The were two promotional events held at the Galeri Seri Endon

• 2nd Anniversary celebrations, August 2009
• Batik Celebrations, 12th of November 2009

KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL BATIK (KLIB) CONVENTION & EXHIBITION 2009

Convention

• 11th - 12th of December 2009

           The convention brought some 13 speakers and experts in batik from around the world to Kuala Lumpur to share their knowledge and   

            expertise.

Exhibition and Bazaar

• 11th - 13th of December 2009

          The competition with its 3 categories: Fashion, Soft Furnishing and Handicraft was held. The finals of the PSE was held at the Kuala

          Lumpur Convention Centre on 13th of December 2009.

OTHER RELATED EVENTS:

• Batik Workshop - Contemporary Batik

          10th - 11th of October 2009

          A workshop was held in Kelantan in cooperation with the Malaysian Handicraft Development Board.

• Batik Treasure Hunt

         6th of December 2009

         Recreational family fun held at the Lake Gardens Kuala Lumpur.

2010 is Penyayang's 10th anniversary and it also marks the hundredth year since batik arrived on Malaysia shores.

2010

PIALA SERI ENDON

The annual Piala Seri Endon batik design competition will continue with three categories: Fashion, Soft Furnishing and Handicraft.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

• Batik Fun Walk

          A press conference will be held in October for the event that will once again take place in December.

• Batik Workshop

          A workshop themed "Innovating The Industry" will be held in November 2010.

2011

PIALA SERI ENDON

Ninth year of this prestigious batik competition.

KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL BATIK CONVENTION & EXHIBITION 2011

This event will once again bring together batik lovers and enthusiasts from around the world. Following requests from producers, there will be more workshops. There will be fashion shows and the exhibition as well.

Other related programmes are in the pipe-line.

26 & 27 November Semi Finals of the Piala Seri Endon 2011

4 December Batik Fun Walk 2011 (A 2.3 km Walk in area of Jalan Ampang, MATIC)

24 November  - 7 December Batik Xchange at Central Market

(Batik Sales, Fashion Shows, Batik Demos, Craft Sales)

9 - 11 December Kuala Lumpur International Batik Convention & Exhibition (KLIB) 2011 at Kuala Lumpur

Convention Centre (This will be the 4th KLIB to be held)

11 December Grand Finals of the Piala Seri Endon 2011 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

2012

November Semi Finals of the Piala Seri Endon 2012

November Batik Fun Walk 2012  (A 3.9 km walk in area of Bukit Tunku and Seri Pacific Hotel)

November - December Batik Xchange at Central Market

(Batik Sales, Fashion Shows, Batik Demos, Craft Sales)

December Grand Finals of the Piala Seri Endon 2012 at Shangri- La Hotel Kuala Lumpur

2013

November Semi Finals of the Piala Seri Endon 2013

November Batik Fun Walk 2013  (A 3.9 km walk in area of Bukit Tunku and Seri Pacific Hotel)

November - December Batik Xchange at Central Market

(Batik Sales, Fashion Shows, Batik Demos, Craft Sales)

December Grand Finals of the Piala Seri Endon 2013 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

but the longer-term impact on Asian and indeed global trade could be huge. Japan will seek to reduce its reliance on China as a market and as a manufacturer of goods for export by Japanese-owned companies. Other investors may worry, too, about political stability in Northeast Asia, in which case Asian manufacturing will be affected.

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