Of all the batik makers that I interviewed during the trip to Terengganu, Pok Mesri was the most heartfelt and honest life story. This is because of his actual sincerity and pragmatic point of views portrayed during the interview. Hence, why I felt the need to name him The Realistic Maker. He was truthful about the actual real-life of how the batik blok makers dealt with their vocation from the beginning right up to current time in upholding the legacy of Terengganu’s cultural heritage.
The Selfless Maker
Mesri | Seberang Takir | since 1995
Would you believe if I told you that the initial start to his professional life didn’t come from the love and passion of creating batik bloks as per other makers? Well, the saying - “seeing is believing” will most definitely imply into this context. If you get a chance to pay a visit to Terengganu someday and look in on Pok Mesri’s business site and curiously inquire whether my statement is true or not, he himself will look you in the eye and enlighten you on that. So, go ahead! Nevertheless, in my opinion, that doesn’t make him any lesser in terms of skills and specialty than the other makers. I believe that sugar-coating the facts of life regarding Terengganu’s batik bloks will only cease to create the the awareness and impact required for this project.
When asked about the origins of batik-making, he was unsure of the specifications on where and how batik bloks ventured into the state of Terengganu. However, although he lacked in the theory and knowledge understanding, Pok Mesri triumphs in understanding the hands-on application of the batik-making process. In this line of work, the manual pro-activeness is more important because it’s an applied factor, wouldn’t you agree?
The interview progressed on why he chose to do batik blok and this is where the crux of it is. He initially didn’t think he’d be producing batiks. He envisioned himself venturing into other kinds of commercial businesses. However, due to the lack of education given and minimal opportunities opened up, Pok Mesri settled into something more widely in-demand and acceptable in Terengganu’s culture. He initially started off with a mindset to get through day-to-day’s works so that he can support his family seeing he was the breadwinner of the family. The many upheavals and challenges started alike to other makers started when printing batiks and stencil batiks were demanded by his targeted customers. He suffered a huge loss and had to shut down the factory he operated. Moreover, he had to let go a lot of workers in order to survive himself.
The beautiful thing that made Pok Mesri come to a realisation was that not only did he love the utensils and materials that are used to make the batiks, he fell in love in making them. And so, the built passion fired in him to keep on persevering and self-motivate to succeed his own goals. He re-hired two to three workers to work in the little workshop that he built for himself. Moreover, he pursued in a side business whereby he sold salted, fermented fish to gain extra income for his main business.
Today, he’s one of the many well-known batik makers in Terengganu.
From what I saw, Pok Mesra is a dedicated and hardworking person that has stayed true to himself and kept on persisting in hopes to keep on moving forward. He has reminded us and myself personally that we have to take matters into our own hands, do something about it and stick to it regardless of whatever the outcome may be.