A very short video of interviewing Cik Nor.

 Here I attached a short video on what Cik Nor has commented on Labu Sayong indigenous knowledge. I have asked his personal opinion on why youth is less likely to have the interest to know labu sayong indigenous knowledge. The reason why is it outdated is because of rapid modernity.

The video is only 1 minute because half of my video is crashed. I am very sorry for the inconvenience. 

Conclusion from me.

Labu sayong is one of the unique and special indigenous knowledge evolving from the old Malays. As mentioned, we should preserve and safeguard this knowledge as it reflects our national identity.  The greatest challenges to sustain its continuity is definitely to attract the public and increase youth awareness.

              I have learned about this knowledge and I hope as this craft industry continues to progress not just locally but on a national level, more people (especially Malaysian) will become aware and appreciate this heritage knowledge. With more exposure and sincerity in doing work, I am sure pottery makers can go out of their comfort zone and succeed.

As this research has ended, I sincerely would like to thank my lecturer, Madam Annizah for helping me a lot. Endless thanks to my friends as well as my saviour during this pandemic, Mr Google.

Most importantly, I would like to thank Cik Nor, an Adiguru Kraf that was willing to be interviewed virtually by me via Whatsapp. Despite the difficulties of using an online medium, he was very kind and determined to help me doing this research! Thank you so much Cik Nor. 

Current state + solutions from the challenges

 Nowadays, everything is online. Including buying and selling labu sayong. Easy. 

    However, the process of packing, making sure it does not break during the shipment process is so hard and it takes a lot of time. As well as faith (during the shipment). During the interview session, Cik Nor told that there are still a lot of people who came by his shop to peep or see and sometimes buy the labu sayong. Roughly about 15 labu sayong is sold in a month. But in this pandemic situation, less of that was sold. It is mainly because no freedom to travel between states.

    There are some organizations that currently help to preserve the labu sayong knowledge which is the Pusat Kemajuan Kraftangan Negara and Institute Kraf Negara.

Pusat Kemajuan Kraftangan Negara helps the seller by promoting labu sayong not just by locally but onto a national level. They encourage progress, commercialize it through the bigger markets and help entrepreneurs by providing online skills as nowadays, everything is online.

                                                       Pusat Kemajuan Kraftangan Negara 

              While Institut Kraf Negara provides various skills for the youth. They can pursue studies on pottery making if they are interested. For example, they can take a Diploma in Seni Kraf Seramik, Seni Kraf Batik, and other arts as well. Efforts to preserve this heritage knowledge should be continuously done so it would not be forgotten especially by the younger generations.