The art of local heritage: Staff at the batik factory in Teluk Bahang, Penang, adding colour dyes to the fabric. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: The market for Malaysian batik has shown signs of growth this year, with domestic travellers boosting the industry.
Batik factory director Quah Chin Choon said Malaysians travelling to Penang have shown keen interest in batik products.
“Both men and women are intrigued, especially local tourists from the south. We have a regular flow of Malaysians and even some Singaporeans coming to buy batik.
“They don’t look for anything specific, they just come and buy either long-sleeved or short-sleeved shirts, tops, dresses and other items. Some come in and buy multiple pieces for family and friends.
“Since the local market is growing, we have started stitching more ready-to-wear baju kurung and kebaya to cater to them,” he said when met at his shop and batik factory in Teluk Bahang.
He said the batik business has picked up by 40% this year after sales dropped by 95% last year.
Quah said he was hopeful that business would improve further as more cruise liners would be calling on Penang at the end of the year and beginning of next year.
“We are looking forward to European tourists returning as they have the purchasing power,” said Quah, who added that people were also no longer buying batik masks as fewer people were using them these days.
“During the pandemic, batik masks were all the rage,” he said, adding that batik-making workshops for schools were popular now.
“Two days ago, we had two busloads of children coming in for a batik-making workshop,” he said.
He added that there were also orders from hotels for custom-made batik items.
“Business from hotels are returning, but large companies and associations that used to order batik shirts are not really coming in with the orders,” he said.
However, Quah said he has been forced to increase his prices as the cost of raw materials like dye, wax and cloth has gone up, citing factors such as currency exchange as some materials are imported.
