Hasanah Gold Threads Awards: Nurturing Malaysia’s textile heritage for future generations

KUCHING – The Hasanah Gold Threads Awards are designed to instil a sense of cultural pride for future generations while inspiring them to actively preserve these traditions for economic sustainability.

Due to a considerable number of Malaysians remain unaware of their nation’s vibrant textile heritage, Asean Handicraft Promotion and Development Association (AHPADA) secretary-general and Hasanah Gold Threads Awards co-producer Elaine Chan elaborated that these awards were on a mission to rectify this by enhancing awareness and providing education about these exquisite textile treasures to the general public.

“In collaboration with institutions such as Tanoti Sdn Bhd and AHPADA, and with the backing of the Finance Ministry, the Hassanah Heritage Awards have initiated numerous projects dedicated to preserving Malaysia’s multifaceted textile-making heritage.

“These endeavours not only protect these time-honoured traditions but also strive to cultivate broader recognition, utilisation, and interest in these textile treasures within the mainstream community,” Elaine told media members at the Hasanah Gold Threads Awards at Borneo Cultures Museum, yesterday.

As the awards ceremony unfolds, she expressed her hope that Malaysia’s textile heritage was not only being preserved but also celebrated and passed on to the next generation.

Since 2020, she explained that these awards have recognised and supported various arts, education, environmental, and community development projects, with a total investment of RM 18.6 million with the primary focus being nurturing Malaysia’s rich tapestry of arts, culture, and heritage.

However, the awards have a special emphasis on preserving traditional textile-making techniques, which were at risk of extinction due to the ageing practitioners because any unique techniques and legacies are in danger of fading into history.

“Recognising this urgency, the Hassanah Heritage Awards have collaborated with partners across Malaysian states to revitalise traditional textiles.

“Their mission has been nothing short of remarkable, earning them the nickname ‘The Gold Bullet’ of heritage preservation,” she explained.

On top of that, she revealed one of the heartwarming examples of their effort were with the prisoners at Penjara Pahang on the ‘Tenung Pahang’ (Pahang Weave), a traditional and exclusive woven fabric from the state of Pahang.

The woven fabric, estimated to be 300 years old, had placed Pahang Weave in a class of its own in the textile industry in the country.

She said that it was Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah who introduced the weaving of the “Tenun Pahang Diraja” at the Penor and Bentong prisons.

Also present at the award ceremony yesterday were Puan Sri Fatimah Mohd Iskandar, the spouse of Sarawak acting Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, member of the Yayasan Hasanah Board of Trustees Datuk Shahira Bazari, Tanoti co-founder and awards producer for Hasanah Gold Threads Awards Jacqueline Fong, and a lecturer in art trivium at the College of Creative Arts, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Irma Murni Ismail.