BATIK

Batik industry is one of the oldest industries in Malaysia. The industy of batik in Malaysia has been existed around the year of 1921 (Wan Hashim, 1996). Throughout the years of its existence, the industry contributes to the Malaysian economic well being by first, creating jobs and business opportunities in rural areas (Wan Hashim, 1996).

 In Malaysia, there are two major types of batik which are Hand-drawn and Block-printed batik. Hand-drawn batik is where designs are drawn on fabric or cloth with hot liquid wax by using a metal object called “canting”. When the wax outlines are done, the workers use the brushes to paint the dyes within the outlines. The use of brush allows for the creation of shaded and multi-hued designs.

 Prior to the “canting” process, this cloth is stretched across two metre length frames with at least one waist height. The cloth is tacked periodically to keep the material taut. The workers will do the “canting” process in standing mode differently from Javanese, where “canting” workers do the process by sitting down on the floor. Most of the hand-drawn, canting batik artists or workers are young women whereas for block-printed batik is mostly dominated by men.Batik in Malaysia is dominance by two states which are in Kelantan and Terengganu. The batik factories or workshops are particularly numerous around the cities of Kota Bahru and Kuala Terengganu.  Most of these workshops are usually small family establishments as this batik production uses a relatively simple and inexpensive technology.