A Tale of Textiles
When it comes to cultural Malay fashion, chances are, the first few that immediately come to mind are the baju kurung, songket, batik, kebaya, sarong and baju Melayu. Though we know that the techniques and textiles used to create these clothes vary depending on which Malaysian state one is from, the story of how they came to be is still a mystery. With the help of avid textile collector and Asian art history expert John Ang, Tatler uncovers the hidden world within Malay textile art.
ANG THE COLLECTOR
In the mid-19th century, Ang’s great-great-grandfather, Tan Hiok Nee, began trading textiles in Telok Blangah after a brief stint of tin mining in Pahang. According to Ang, he worked closely with the first sultan of Johor Bahru in the mid-1800s, who at the time was known as Temenggong Abu Bakar as he hadn’t become Maharaja till 1868. Having obtained several surat sungai according to the Kangchu system, Tan established gambier and pepper plantations along the Johor River. When Johor Bahru was finally
