Why Maimunah Yaacob stitches Johor’s identity into every design

JOHOR BAHRU : With each careful stroke of hot wax, Maimunah Yaacob is doing more than creating batik – she is weaving Johor’s identity into every piece of fabric. Inside her modest workshop in Tanjung Sedili here, intricate patterns inspired by the state’s heritage and natural landscape gradually emerge on stretched cloth.

Black pepper, berembang fruit and the gambus – a traditional stringed instrument closely associated with Johor – are just some of the motifs that set her creations apart from more familiar batik designs.

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