A filepic of the Miss Ratu Kebaya cultural event in George Town in Penang in 2018. Photo: Jeremy Tan/The Star
Malaysia has joined hands with four other countries to submit a multi-national nomination for the kebaya to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for the year 2023.
The kebaya is a garment representing a significant part of the cultural heritage and identity of women from the Malay, Peranakan (Chinese, Baba Nyonya, Chetti, Siamese, Kristang) and other communities in Malaysia, as well as other countries in South-East Asia.
"Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand have jointly submitted the multi-national nomination for the kebaya to Unesco as it represents and celebrates our rich and shared history, promotes cross-cultural understanding, and continues to be present across South-East Asia," said the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) in a statement today.
According to Motac, with the consensus for multi-national nomination, all participating countries were involved in a series of working meetings since early 2022 with Malaysia hosting the first physical workshop in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan in November 2022, followed by the second workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia in February this year.
"With the involvement of government officials, experts, and kebaya community representatives from all participating countries, the kebaya nomination dossier was updated and streamlined as per the new format by Unesco.
"A final online workshop was led by Singapore to finalise the nomination dossier in March 2023,” it said.
According to Motac, the kebaya meets the definition of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) element as traditional craftsmanship skills such as embroidery and sewing techniques are involved to make this traditional women’s garment.
"The kebaya is also associated with other forms of cultural heritage, such as festive occasions and weddings. There is an active community of makers and wearers of kebaya who share and transmit the knowledge and socio-cultural value of the kebaya from one generation to another,” the statement read.
Motac said the multi-national nomination effort should ensure that the kebaya is safeguarded through the transmission of formal courses and workshops, promotional efforts, and documentation or research efforts with the support of nominating states and their communities.
"The kebaya presents us an opportunity to promote and celebrate this shared cultural heritage found in the South-East Asian region,” the statement said.
Motac said the results of the nomination would be decided during the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024. - Bernama
