Woman heads famous songkok business
MUAR: The Masood Hussin songkok needs no introduction in the royal town of Muar.
However, many are unaware that the maker is a woman, Nurdalila Abd Ghani, who is the granddaughter of the brand’s founder.
Nurdalila, 41, was introduced to the art of songkok-making by her grandfather Masood Hussin when she was only seven years old, and started to make the Malay traditional head wear when she was in secondary school.
In 2002, the Universiti Teknologi Mara Sports Science graduate opened her own shop in Jalan Majidi-Jalan Meriam, and taught her husband Zahedy Zakariah, 43, the art of songkok-making as part of her efforts to preserve the craft.
“Many do not believe that it was me, a woman, who made the songkok. I am adept at making various types of songkok,” she said.
Her meticulous handiwork received recognition when her songkok, which is also known as Songkok Muar, became the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s favourite, as well as Muar MP, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who is among her regular customers. “Sultan Ibrahim of Johor also booked a special songkok for his coronation in 2015,” said Nurdalila, who also gets orders from Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.
According to Nurdalila, the uniqueness of the Masood Hussin songkok is that it is made by hand using imported material, as well as its size, which is slightly higher than a regular songkok.
She said the price of one of her regular songkok is between RM15 and RM400, with some selling for up to RM3,000 depending on the type of material used.