Tunku Azizah is Craft Icon of the Year
Published on: Wednesday, November 13, 2019
KUALA LUMPUR: The Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah has been honoured with the 2019 Craft Icon of the Year award by the World Crafts Council (WCC) for her contributions in keeping the traditional craft heritage alive.
Apart from her majesty, the National Craft Institute (IKN) and Kraf Komuniti Ku (KKK) had been picked as the Craft Institute/Academy of the Year and Craft Village of the Year, respectively, in the list of award winners attached in the India’s Craft Village website (https://www.craftvillage.org.in/home.html).
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The award would be presented during the 2019 Third International Craft Awards (ICA) in GMR Aerocity, New Delhi on Dec 7, during the India Craft Week on Dec 4-8, according to WCC’s website. The awards promote, inspire and encourage people in keeping the craft heritage alive.
The award is a fitting honour for her majesty who had been actively promoting traditional crafts, starting from 2006. Tunku Azizah is synonymous with Tenun Pahang (Pahang Weave), and picked the exclusive fabric which has become the identity of the ‘Tok Gajah’ state for her attire at the Installation Ceremony of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara on July 30.
The selection of Tenun Pahang Diraja at the installation ceremony, according to Tunku Azizah was a sign of her appreciation as the patron of the Tenun Pahang Diraja Foundation and the chairman of the Tenun Pahang Diraja Development Committee.
Her efforts to uphold Tenun Pahang led to the rebranding of the fabric from Tenun Pahang to Tenun Pahang Diraja on May 8, 2006 with its development closely monitored through the Tenun Pahang Diraja Advisory Body under its patron at that time Sultan Ahmad Shah.
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Tenun Pahang was believed to have originated more than 300 years ago and those who knew Tunku Azizah said she was the driving force in the setting up of the Tengku Ampuan Besar Meriam Tenun Diraja Pahang Skills Institute in Pulau Keladi, Pekan, Pahang around 2010 to ensure the art would not be lost.
This was because Tunku Azizah saw that the production of Tenun Pahang Diraja required time and great care, with only 15 weavers in Pekan during her early involvement with Tenun Pahang around 2005.
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‘’I champion traditional handmadecrafts and do not support weavings and making songket and batik using machines.
‘’We must defend our national handiwork products which are so fine, beautiful and time consuming, including mats, embroidery, ’kerikam’, vase, rattan and ‘baju kurung,’’ she tweeted on her Tweeter account on Oct 28.
The efforts of Tunku Azizah is now starting to bear fruit as she had succeeded in turning out 200 weavers around Pekan before she moved to the next stage by teaching the weaving skill to men, which had rarely happened prior to this.
Tunku Azizah consented to the weavings of the Royal Pahang fabric by male inmates at the Penor and Bentong Prisons, in fact she often visited them to monitor their work.
Her interest with craft became more prominent at the national level after Tunku became the Raja Permaisuri Agong.
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