Malaysian Minister's Wife Visits Sumbangsih Mulia SME Complex

Social visit: Datin Seri Sharifah Aziah Syed Zainal Abidin (L), wife of Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs, visits one of the shops at Sumbangsih Mulia SME Complex. Picture: Saifulizam/BT

THE spouse of Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Datin Seri Sharifah Aziah Syed Zainal Abidin, yesterday visited the Sumbangsih Mulia at the Beribi Industrial Estate. 

She was accompanied by Sri Norizan Sulaiman, the wife of the secretary general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, and Datin Zakiah Dato Hj Alias, the wife of Malaysia's High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam.

On hand to welcome the group was the Sumbangsih Mulia Building Manager, Pg Kahar Pg Md Salleh.

The $2.5 million complex officially opened its doors to house local entrepreneurs in February this year. The building has a total of 122 shop lots, outside and inside the air-conditioned building. 

Outside, 108 stalls are used to sell food products, 14 lots for fruits and vegetables, and the other 10 lots are occupied by barbecue stalls.

Meanwhile,in the air-conditioned area, 30 lots are provided for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) selling various local products such as Brunei handicrafts and dry food. "So far, 19 out of the 20 slots are occupied at the ground floor. On the first floor, eight businesses had been set up, and there is another two coming soon," said Pg Kahar.

One of the main attractions at the complex was the 'Batik Desa Mas' boutique, owned by a local, Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim. 

Zainal Abidin told The Brunei Times that he had started hand-printing batik since 2000. However, it was only during the last two years that he became more active, and so far had produced at least 50 pieces of batik. According to him, the visitors gave him good comments about his products which he took as encouragement. Some of them even bought some batik pieces to take home. 

The visit was part of Datin Sharifah's itinerary during her three-day stay in Brunei. 

The Malaysian minister, Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar, and his entourage were in Brunei to attend the friendly sports game with the Brunei Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They are scheduled to leave the country today.

The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/home_news/2007/10/30/malaysian_ministers_wife_visits_sumbangsih_mulia_sme_complex

Designing Nascent Brunei Batik Trade

HERE'S one business that need not worry about competition: Batik Desamas. Awg Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim is Brunei's sole batik producer and although he faces no local rivals, he wishes to see batik emerge from its tiny cottage industry shell into a sizeable sector.

It is, however, undeniably difficult to drive a batik industry into a recognisable at par with the lucrative batik markets of Malaysia and Indonesia when you are going it alone. 

 Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim started getting acquainted with batik painting in 2000, but due to his lack of knowledge in batik production he ceased his ambitious operation just a few years later. The attempt, nevertheless, showed him a sign that there was something in the venture that consumers would appreciate. During the initial period of his foray into batik production, he was invited to exhibit his art in a garment exhibition in Tokyo.

"I felt small next to the Malaysian and Indonesian businesses. But, surprisingly, a lot of Singaporeans and other foreign buyers were visiting my humble booth and some even bought my designs."

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim rekindled his love for batik painting in 2005 and is now actively marketing his art to local consumers. During a trade exhibition, Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Awang Goh King Chin invited Zainal to set up shop at his building, the Sumbangsih Mulia Building in the Beribi industrial estate.

Batik Desamas is now the designated platform for  Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim to showcase his art and sell them to batik lovers. 

"Brunei needs to create the industry for batik, but our batik needs to seek its own identity. Our designs must be distinct to that of the Javanese and Malaysian batiks," Zainal said, adding that at the moment, for commercial interest, his batiks are Malaysian inspired infused slightly with Bruneian designs such as the air muleh and Simpur flower.

"I will slowly try ... to introduce my batik towards Bruneian motifs."

He has established his trademark by using a part opaque, part translucent cotton material.

Raw materials imported from China are not cheap, so he cannot afford to sell his art at a lower price. Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim imports cotton and silk from China because the materials available in Brunei are not suitable for batik painting.

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim feels that it is his responsibility to teach the art of batik making to Bruneians and other interested groups. At the moment, he teaches tuition classes and according to him, most of his students are locals.

"I am trying to understand the Brunei market and I want to teach them the batik-making process in order to develop human resource for the batik industry."

In terms of the local market, he is confident that he is able to survive but does not have the capacity to develop bigger.

"Put simply, I can create the market and industry and I know Brunei has the potential (for batik making). However, the industry needs financial backing."

At the moment, to realise his dreams for the budding industry, Zainal is grooming a few people to the art.

The creative batik painter is able to churn out 10-15 garments a month (each garment measures two to four metres) and he caters to personal requests as well. Zainal is planning to introduce batik for interiors such as upholstery and curtains.

For a boost to Batik Desama's bottom line, Zainal looks forward to "Hari Raya (which) is usually a more profitable period for my business, much like other businesses in Brunei." 

The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/business/2007/08/11/designing_nascent_batik_trade