Today batik is a thriving industry across Malaysia, with production centered in factories or semi-industrialized settings in which some steps are farmed out to work-at-home batik painters. Several contemporary Malaysian fashion designers have made batik a staple of their lines, designing modest tunics and headscarves for Malaysia's predominately Muslim women, as well as outfits destined for European and American consumers. Today batik artisan enterprises, in which the production is entirely carried out by hand and within the same family, are concentrated in just a few areas.
Malaysia's complex textile scene makes locating an authentic, handmade batik souvenir challenging for even the most seasoned international shopper. Many screen-printed fabrics mimic handmade batik. "Batik" items churned out for the tourist trade, including picture frames, placemats, cushion covers, and swimsuit cover-ups, are not necessarily traditional. It's easy to arrange a batik factory tour, but not so easy to judge what constitutes quality in the shops.
A good place to start is the craft museum and workshops inside the Kompleks Budaya Kraf in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Government-sponsored craft emporia, operating in several Malay states under the name Karyaneka, sell quality batik that is a safer bet than trying to locate a treasure among the piles of fabrics stacked high in the city's markets and shops.
The most traditional choice you can make is a batik sarong, a wide cloth tied or belted at the waist, considered traditional garb for both men and women in Southeast Asia. To ensure that you buy a traditional handmade batik textile, and not one of the machine-made, screen-printed versions, examine both the front and back of the fabric carefully. A true batik will be equally bright on both sides, whereas a screen-printed imitation will be lighter on one side. A quality piece will have been executed with wax on both sides of the fabric, so that the design is exactly the same on the back and front.
If you're serious about coming home with an authentic piece of batik, as well as enjoying an immersive cultural experience, arrange an excursion to Kelantan or Terengganu, rural states located on Malaysia's quiet east coast. This is truly Malaysia's heartland of batik. Kota Baharu, the capital of Kelantan state, is great place to see batik being made in seaside family workshops, as well as to appreciate other traditional crafts like silversmithing and the making of spinning tops and kites. Several tour operators in Kuala Lumpur can help you organize excursions to Kota Baharu and nearby coastal villages, where you can witness the ancient art of batik firsthand.
