Bigger is better: Abdul Kader showing the difference between the sizes of the normal songkok and the new style favoured by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia at his shop in Little India, George Town. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: A sleeker songkok styled after the choice of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, looks to be the latest type of songkok in fashion now.
Songkok maker Abdul Kader Mohammed Mydin, 48, said his customers seemed to be enamoured with this new style.
“Many have come to me to make special orders for this design.
“This style is almost an inch shorter than the regular songkok and the top does not have raised corners but rather a flat surface.
“Customers have been approaching me saying they want theirs to look like the King’s songkok.
“I just finished an order for a family who wanted five songkok styled after the King’s,” he said when met at his shop in Little India here.
Abdul Kader said the main difference between this style of songkok is that it is shorter at 6.98mm in height compared with the regular songkok which is 8.89cm tall.
“The top has a clean flat surface and does not have the usual raised top. This is something new for this Hari Raya,” he said.
Abdul Kader said he does not charge extra for this type of songkok.
“It takes the same amount of time to make (around two hours), and we sell them like normal songkok at around RM40 to RM45 each.
“Colour-wise, people seem to still be inclined towards a black songkok, while a few had asked for blue or maroon.
“They probably feel a black one will match anything they wear,” he said.
Another popular songkok design is the Jinnah, but Abdul Kader has stopped entertaining orders for this because it takes too much time to make one.
“It is made from 100% polyester but it is more of a two-person job. One does the base while the other does the finishing.
“I took the final orders for the Jinnah songkok before the Ramadan month,” he said, adding that a Jinnah costs RM60.
Abdul Kader is running the shop alone this year as his father-in-law and renowned songkok maker Haja Mohideen Mohd Shariff, 76, is too old to do the job.
“My mother-in-law had knee replacement surgery and he (Haja Mohideen) has been caring for her.
“He does have ailments of his own, as he has diabetes.
“However, he still comes to the shop once or twice a month,” he said.
Abdul Kader said while he could take on more orders, it would take longer to make now without his father-in-law.
“I work long hours, many times until 2am. And I take a mid-day break to fetch my children from school,” he said.
