KUCHING: The Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, has consented to give her 35-year-old Sarawak Keringkam (an embroidered shawl traditionally worn by local Malay women in Sarawak) to the Sarawak Museum to be displayed to the public.
"This was the wedding gift (that was placed) in one of the 16 trays that I got when I married my husband (Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah).
"As it is a Sarawak Keringkam, today I would like to present it back to the government of Sarawak to be displayed at the museum," said Her Majesty in her speech at the opening ceremony of the Lembaran Emas Series 2: Borneo Textile Symposium, here today.
Tuanku Azizah also called on skilled weavers to continue to share their knowledge and to pass down the art of keringkam to future generations.
"We find that people now are engaged in weaving...it is important for them to pass down their knowledge for us to document every part of it, to enable us to pass it down to future generations," she said.
Tuanku Azizah said as the textile industry was growing rapidly, it was crucial for national textile communities to take the opportunity to promote their products to international markets.
The symposium aims to foster good ties between the community and textile industry players, in addition to being a platform for the exchange of ideas towards the preservation and sustainability of textiles around the world. - Bernama