ALOR STAR: Sardi Dahar, 55, makes the songkok, or traditional Malay headgear, by hand.
The craft is a legacy left to him by his late grandfather, through Sardi’s father, Dahar Dato, who in turn has left the business to his son.
The songkok is usually worn with the baju Melayu for prayers at the mosque and during formal occasions, such as weddings.
Sardi is famous for his Tun’s Style Songkok, the style of headgear preferred by and named after former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, who is a regular customer.
“My grandfather was a songkok maker with quite a reputation in his hometown in Sumatra.
“He passed on the knowledge to my father, who then migrated to Malaysia in the 1940s. I learnt all about songkok-making from him,” he said.
A father of four, Sardi has been making songkok for almost a quarter century.
He has done the family proud with his reputation for fine quality songkok made of velvet.
He said the fasting month was the busiest period for songkok makers as Muslim men start shopping for new songkok for Hari Raya.
“My business usually doubles during the fasting month and I have to work long hours to meet the demand,” he said.
A stickler for detail and quality, Sardi makes no more than five songkok a day, even during the festive rush, at his shop in Pekan Rabu, here.
His list of customers includes quite a few luminaries apart from the former prime minister. He can also count Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom among his clients.
Any day now, Mahathir is expected at Sardi’s shop, where he will buy a songkok for Hari Raya as he had done in previous years
“He (Mahathir) likes his songkok to be light, foldable and well-sewn. He wears a size 22,” said the songkok maker.
The price of the Tun’s Style Songkok is RM120.