Wear Local Batik, 'Songket' And Weaved Clothes: Rosmah
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 -- The Prime Minister's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has urged all national leading figures and corporate personalities to wear batik, 'songket' and locally weaved clothes, especially when attending major functions.
"I and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, are lovers of batik textiles. We wear them at official functions, both in the country and abroad.
"We are proud of wearing batik textiles...the products of local entrepreneurs' toil," she said when officiating the 2010 National Crafts Day at the National Craft Complex in Jalan Conlay here Thursday.
The event was also attended by Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim; Najib's mother Tun Rahah Mohd Noah; the Deputy Prime Minister's wife, Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman; and Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
Rosmah said Malaysians should be proud that the crafts entrepreneurs in the country could produce various esthetic products of quality, practicality as well as having uniqueness.
"If we look at countries like India, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, their citizens are proud to use their locally produced crafts.
"We should emulate them by using our locally produced crafts be it for daily wear, interior decoration, landscaping or in other forms," she said.
Rosmah said crafts entrepreneurs should also be more determined to produce new and innovative creations to compete in both the local and global markets
"We should compete with other crafts producing countries by producing creative products at competitive prices," she said.
Rosmah said the crafts sector that was mainly in the hands of women could generate additional income for families besides raising their living standard.
"Of the total 6,167 crafts entrepreneurs, 4,117 or 67 per cent are women. This field, especially in textiles and weaving, gets good response as it did not involve heavy work and can be done from the home.
"The value of craft products sold by women has registered a rise of 31 per cent that is from RM124.2 million in 2004 to RM162.7 million in 2007," she said.
Rosmah said Kraftangan Malaysia as a body responsible to develop and promote entrepreneurs and the national crafts industry needed to play a more active role to spur the use of crafted textiles, especially in Muslim apparel.
"I am given to understand that Kraftangan Malaysia will have a Muslim Apparel Promotion, so I urge that it be consolidated with the Islamic Fashion Festival (IFF) to expand exposure and display of our textile crafts.
"I would also like to suggest that Kraftangan Malaysia take part in efforts to organise a World Textile Crafts Exposition in countries that produce textiles," she said.
The National Crafts event will be held over one month.
Petikan Akbar Utama Malaysia Feb 25 2010
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