MODERN MALAYSIAN:
A Tribute to FELDA's Craftspeople
By Sh. Sakinah Aljunid and Warwick Purser
Photography by Rio Helmi

Handicraft has always been is an integral part of Malaysian culture and tradition. For the people of FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority) whose lives have once solely focused on work at oil palm and rubber plantations, handicraft offers a new kind of entrepreneurship in fully utilizing human resources particularly among the womenfolk. Modern Malaysian is an initiative to combine the country's natural materials with generations of this craft tradition and lively, contemporary designs, forms and functionality.

This book showcases these products in four chapters: natural fibres, forest materials, textiles and other materials. Natural fibres includes handcrafted products made from mengkuang, lidi, and rubber leaves; forest materials features the products made from wood, rattan and bamboo. Textiles covers embroidery, Tenun Pahang, songket and batik. The last chapter, other materials, includes nearly everything else: stone, resin, jewellery, candles and even recycled newspaper.

With a detailed introduction providing a history of handicraft in Malaysia and FELDA's involvement, and a conclusion providing a glimpse to the road ahead, Modern Malaysian is the most comprehensive reference guide for the products created by the families of FELDA's thousands of settlers and marks the beginning of a new era in Malaysian crafts. Modern Malaysian is a must-have resource for interior and graphic designers looking for new colours and forms, as well as the general public who is interested in the remarkable history and fascinating contemporary uses of handcrafted products in modern-day Malaysia.

About the author
Sh. Sakinah Aljunid is currently features editor of Marie Claire magazine and freelances as translator and voice talent. She was formerly a journalist with the New Straits Times and newsreader with Radio Television Malaysia. This is her first book.