KUALA PILAH: The seemingly endless stream of requests for traditional songkok has inspired one songkok maker here to continue making the Malay headgear for the past 25 years.
And despite competing in a male-dominated industry, Hasnisalfina Mohd Yunus, 50, said she is committed to continuing her late husband’s songkok-making business and legacy.
Hasnisalfina said she mastered the art of making songkok after marrying her husband in 1992.
“My late husband opened a songkok shop at the Malay Bazar, Kuala Pilah in the 1960s. He named his shop M. Yunus after his own name, Mohd Yunus Buyong.
“At the time, business was brisk because we were the only songkok shop in Kuala Pilah.
“After my husband died in 2004, I took over the shop and renamed it to Sri Warisan, which now operates at Medan Selera Kuala Pilah,” she told the New Straits Times Press when met.
Hasnisalfina said her songkok were very popular, especially during the Hari Raya festive season.
“Sales are higher during festive seasons compared to regular days but I never set a sales target.
“This is because I meet my customers’ demand by making between 250 and 300 songkok of various kinds and sizes.
“The songkok are priced at between RM25 and RM75, depending on the type of velvet used, size and whether they are readymade or booked in advance,” she said.
She added that manufacturing a quality songkok required skill, patience and accuracy.
“I don’t hire workers because making a songkok is complicated and requires expertise to meet the customers’ expectations.
“I can produce 10 songkok a day if I give it my all but if the stocks are sufficient, I will sew clothes like baju kurung, baju kebaya, baju Melayu and men’s shirts.”
She, however, admitted that the demand for songkok was decreasing over time.
“In the past, many children donned the songkok and school and many older Malays in the villages wore them.
“However, the songkok is now worn most during the festive season or when certain people wish to enter the palace,” she said.