Traditional songkok maker works hard to complete Raya orders

GEORGE TOWN: A month before Ramadan is always a busy time for Haja Mohideen Mohd Shariff, 68, a well-known songkok maker in Penang.

Sometimes he has to work round the clock to meet orders from customers, who are from as far as Singapore, for his handmade “Songkok”, a stiff oval headgear.

Haja Mohideen said he was only 12 years old when he first learned how to make a songkok from his father.

He is now passing the skill to his son-in-law, Abdul Kader Mydin, who assists him daily at his shop, OSM Mohd Shariff, which is located next to Nagore Mosque in King Street here.

“Usually, we start getting orders for various types of songkok a month before Ramadan. During this time, we will have to produce an average of 700 songkok to meet the orders.

“I am happy that Abdul Kader can continue with the family business as the art of making the handmade songkok is now a dying trade,” he told Bernama here today.

He said most of the songkok sold in supermarkets were machine-made and could be produced in bulk, but lack in quality compare to hand-made songkok.

Today, songkok making is a dying trade in Penang, with only a handful of songkok makers left in the state to continue with the tradition.

According to Haja Mohideen, the process of making a songkok starts with the inner frame that is made of 18 layers, comprising old newspapers stitched together with a layer of brown paper and fancy stitching cloth.

“This is later cut into an oval shape for the top, according to head size, while a long rectangular piece of the same material is used to form the wall or sides of the songkok.

“Joining the oval top and the surrounding rim of the wall is a delicate process,” he added.

He said the finished songkok must be able to “stand steadily” on a flat surface before it could fit nicely on one’s head.

The uniqueness of handmade songkok was that each of them had a different curve compared to the machine-made ones which were all the same, he added.

Haja Mohideen said many uniformed organisations, such as the police, army and the cadets, often made orders for brown, purple and green songkok.

He said he and Abdul Kader could produce 15 pieces of songkok daily and their handmade songkok are supplied to traders in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Singapore.

He said majority of his customer preferred black or blue velvet medium high songkok.

Songkok with gold and silver trimmings were reserved for the royalty, he added.

The price of the songkok depends on its size, type of fabric and pattern.

The songkok produced by OSM Mohd Shariff are sold for between RM23 and RM35 each.

– BERNAMA