Jeffrey exchanging greetings with an exhibitor at the Borneo Craft Festival.-Information Department photo
KOTA KINABALU (Sept 29): Civil servants and private sector employees in this state are encouraged to wear batik with local Sabah patterns every Thursday.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan, when making the call, stressed that the use of batik with local Sabah motifs is a step towards preserving traditions and can help promote local products.
“I invite all government officers and private sector workers to wear local batik from our state as a way for us to expose local products to the outside community. There are various interesting motifs on our batik, including the Rafflesia flower, Pitcher Plant and others, which we should preserve because they are part of our tradition.
“Therefore, I encourage batik entrepreneurs and local traditional craft producers to be more creative in making and producing attractive and high-quality products to showcase to outsiders,” he said during the Borneo Craft Festival (FKB) 2024 at the 1Borneo Shopping Mall yesterday.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry suggested that entrepreneurs implement programs or training sessions as a way to introduce their products.
“What we need to do is effective promotion and marketing, so I urge our craft entrepreneurs to participate in relevant programs and training as a channel to sell their products and to improve their craftsmanship.
“As we saw on stage earlier, our young people have become models showcasing traditional clothing, which is a way to promote handicrafts. We need to develop this by providing them with training, encouragement, and, most importantly, support from various parties, including the government,” he said.
At the event, Jeffrey presented certificates of appreciation to 11 departments and agencies involved in the organization of FKB 2024, including the Sabah State Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, the Sabah Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, the Sabah Information Department, the Sabah Broadcasting Department, Kota Kinabalu City Hall, the Sabah State Education Department, and the Sabah State Archives Department.
Also present were the director general of Malaysian Handicraft, Datuk Ainu Sham Ramli, and deputy director (development), Abdul Halim Ali, director of Malaysian Handicraft Sabah Branch, Abdul Rahman Omar, and director of the Sabah State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Office, Ibrahim Othman.
