The Youth, Sport and Tourism Office of the Province of West Kalimantan (West Kalimantan) together with the West Kalimantan Malay Women's Council (MPMKB) initiated a seminar with the theme Pakem Clothing for the West Kalimantan Region as a Source of Creative Economy Product Creations. As is well known, West Kalimantan Province is part of a unified area inhabited by a large number of Malays in Indonesia. Culture, language, customs, and typical Malay clothing basically have something in common between one region and another. So it is necessary to have typical standards for West Kalimantan Malay clothing which were formulated through the seminar. Henceforth it will be presented through narration and books. The seminar was also coupled with the Baju Kurung and Telok Belanga fashion competitions, with the theme Strengthening West Kalimantan Malay Cultural Identity in the Archipelago's Cultural Treasures. The Regional Secretary (Sekda) of West Kalimantan Province, Harisson, who opened the activity, said that West Kalimantan Province is one of the provinces with the largest Malay population in Indonesia. Of course it has its own standard of clothing that distinguishes it from other regional Malay clothing. "Malays are found in West Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau and several other areas in Indonesia. In fact, the clothing has similarities. What we are looking for is actually the West Kalimantan Malay (typical) clothing standard. So we can identify the differences in Malay clothing in West Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau and others," said West Kalimantan Regional Secretary Harisson on Monday (12/12/2022). He added that in order to strengthen the standard of Malay clothing, discussions were held through seminars involving Malay culturalists, as well as fashion designers in West Kalimantan. When you have obtained a grip that is truly unique to West Kalimantan, then all that remains is to develop it to support the creative economy sector in this province. "The estuary is of course for the development of the creative economy from the Malay clothing standard which we will later patent," he said. Harisson revealed, the typical Malay clothing of the Province of West Kalimantan certainly has its own characteristics. So that uniqueness can be developed through the creative economy and become an attraction for the public and people who visit West Kalimantan. "We can export Malay clothing to other regions and even abroad. Apart from that, this seminar is also our effort to make intangible cultural heritage," he explained. On the same occasion, Head of the West Kalimantan Disporapar Windy Prihastari said that his party in its functions which include youth, sports, tourism and the creative economy really supports the development of these sectors. Like the tourism sector and the creative economy, which according to him are two things that cannot be separated.
The two are interconnected with each other, so tourism development must also be supported by a creative economy. -sort of," said Windy. So that her party is working with the West Kalimantan MPMKB as a forum for Malay women to carry out the seminar. The results of the seminar will later be turned into a book that will serve as a guide along with the standards of Malay clothing that are truly unique to West Kalimantan. "In addition, we are also holding a fashion competition, which the jury chooses based on the criteria that fall into these standards. The point is that in the future we (West Kalimantan) already have a book, and a narrative of the typical Malay clothing of West Kalimantan," he said. Meanwhile, MPMKB Chairperson Sulha Akhmad expressed his gratitude to the West Kalimantan Disporapar for providing the opportunity for MPMKB to take part in conducting seminars and West Kalimantan Malay fashion competitions. In the future his party will always be ready to support West Kalimantan Disporapar programs, especially those related to Malay culture . "The main objective of this activity is to preserve Malay culture as an important element of the strength of national culture. Then as the identity of Malay people through the culture worn, strengthens the marwah and identity of Malay people. It is also a means of familiarizing Malay cultural arts to non-Malay people, both local and national," he concluded.
