Head over heels: Haja Mohideen (left) and his son-in-law Abdul Kader making songkok at their shop in King Street, George Town, in preparation for Hari Raya celebrations. Displayed in front of them are the tarbush and Jinnah headwear. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Haja Mohideen Mohd Shariff is a man who is on the top of everybody’s head during Ramadan in Penang – he is the foremost songkok-maker in town.
Haja Mohideen, 75, has been in the business for more than 60 years, but he is now making way for his protege.
His son-in-law Abdul Kader Mohammed Mydin, 47, is poised to take over.
Abdul Kader, who has been learning the trade since 2009, said he is ready to take over and keep the trade alive because “no one else makes songkok like these anymore”.
“The good thing is, there is little competition in this business.
“There is no middleman and people deal with us directly. Many foreign tourists visit us to buy our songkok as souvenirs to take home,” he said at his shop along King Street here.
Abdul Kader used to run his own business before he started picking up songkok-making skills from his father-in-law.
Besides the songkok, he said the Jinnah cap, a Pakistani design, is also popular and comes in various colours.
The tarbush or fez, a Middle Eastern hat that is usually red or maroon in colour and attached with a tassel, has also been a hit.
“Those who order the tarbush usually say their grandfather or relatives used to wear them, and they want to emulate the style.
“They are all made of velvet, which looks better than any other fabric.
“We source the materials locally and sometimes import from South Korea and India.”
Abdul Kader said a normal songkok is priced at RM35, while the tarbush is sold for between RM50 and RM60. The Jinnah cap costs RM60.
For the coming Hari Raya, he said they would be taking fewer orders as his father-in-law has not been well lately.
“We usually make around 500 songkok for Hari Raya, but this time, we will probably make around 200.
“It’s time consuming, as we can only produce around 10 songkok a day. The Jinnah cap alone takes around two hours to complete.
“We used to sell our products online, but now, we are just focusing on walk-in customers. We custom-make the orders so they fit perfectly, even for small children and infants,” he said.
