KUALA LUMPUR: Fans of traditional crafts will be able to get their fix at this year's National Craft Day (HKK) 2023 which runs from March 1 to March 13 at the Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex.
With the theme "Ini Kraf Malaysia", this year's HKK features booths from 380 different craft entrepreneurs and communities, hailing from various cultures from across Malaysia.
Apart from craft shopping, activities available for visitors include educational craft seminars, live craft making demonstrations, and DIY craft making lessons.
There will also be occasional traditional performances showcasing the beauty of some of the crafts found at the event, such as the Malay joget and other traditional dances from the Chinese, Indian, Sabah and Sarawak cultures.
Showcased crafts include traditional textile crafts like batik, forest-sourced crafts like rattan, metal crafts like pewter and various other types of traditional crafts.
At least 45,000 visitors are expected to check out the event with around RM14.5mil in craft sales over its 13-day run, according to Kraftangan Malaysia director-general Ainu Sham Ramli.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said that the event was part of the overall government preparation for Visit Malaysia 2025 while also improving the livelihoods of people.
"We have already seen a 44.1% increase in traditional crafts sales in 2022 compared with 2021, and we hope to either maintain or improve its growth further this year.
"We hope this event will encourage more people, especially those in the B40 group, to consider taking up craft making as either their primary or secondary source of income.
"This will then increase the variety of high-quality affordable craft product offerings in the market to meet the preferences of both local and foreign visitors alike, further growing the craft industry's demand.
"The usage and fame of Malaysian-made products will then be more widely spread, further boosting the tourism sector as a whole," he said in his speech during HKK's official launch ceremony on Sunday (March 5).
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, was also present at the event.
