UBD Vice Chancellor Dr Hazri Haji Kifle signing the "Ferntastic Brunei” book during the launch. PHOTO: JAMES KON
A collaborative project between Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and a local Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Biodiversity and Natural History Society, BruWILD, has produced a book and poster on the unique species of ferns of Brunei Darussalam.
UBD Vice Chancellor Dr Hazri Haji Kifle on Tuesday launched the “Ferntastic Brunei” book and Ferns of Brunei Darussalam poster in a ceremony at the Simpur Cafe, UBD.
The book gives insight into the many unique collections of ferns in Brunei Darussalam.
5 cooking and baking steps where patience pays off
WASHINGTON (THE WASHINGTON POST) – Life is busy when you are getting in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible while trying to cross items off parenting, work and home to-do lists. I’m in favour of efficiency and shortcuts where they make sense, and life easier.
But sometimes you just have to slow down. I’m as guilty as everyone else when it comes to occasionally getting impatient and speeding through tasks. It’s not always consequential. Other times, it can affect how well your food turns out.
Here are five cooking steps where patience is a virtue. Don’t rush, and you’ll be rewarded.
Preheating the oven
If you’re not waiting for your oven to actually reach the temperature you want it to, you may be in for trouble. Keep in mind that’s not necessarily when the chime goes off. My oven at home and the ovens in our test kitchen routinely beep when the temperature is at least 100 degrees below where I’ve set it, typically 20 minutes prematurely. So if you’re baking or cooking something where browning really matters, wait until the oven comes up to temperature – and confirm it with a stand-alone oven thermometer.
PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST
Preheating the skillet
Properly preheating a pan – and waiting until it’s hot to add the fat, in most cases – ensures food immediately browns and crisps rather than sticks or steams. (Enameled cast-iron should never be heated empty, and in the case of nonstick, it’s best to use medium heat for no more than a few minutes.) Similarly, if you are frying food in oil, it’s crucial to hold off adding the food until it’s at the right temperature so that you get crispy, not soggy, results.
PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST
Creaming butter and sugar
This is a crucial step in baking that home cooks often rush. To promote rise, many cake and cookie recipes rely on creaming, in which fat and sugar are beaten until light and fluffy. The process incorporates air, with sugar being particularly effective at introducing and trapping air among the fat (which is often butter, but can also be solid coconut oil, plant-based butter or shortening).
Don’t just look for the butter and sugar to combine. The mixture should have lightened in colour and expanded significantly in volume, Mary Jane Robbins writes at King Arthur Baking. You shouldn’t see greasy smears around the edge of the bowl, and if you rub the mixture between your fingers, it should feel mostly smooth and not gritty. Robbins says 2 to 3 minutes at a moderate speed (3 to 4 on a KitchenAid stand mixer) is often sufficient, but what matters most is what’s happening in the bowl and not the clock. Some recipes may take longer depending on the ingredients, or even your ambient kitchen environment.
PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST
Letting bread dough rise
Whenever I write about bread – most recently about instant vs active dry yeasts – it often inspires readers to email me confessing to their own bread woes. Primary among them: Doughs that don’t rise. As a broad rule, “people almost always underferment,” says Martin Philip of King Arthur Baking, referring to the science of what’s happening as yeasts consume sugar and then flavour and inflate the dough.
If your dough isn’t rising, often the answer is to give it more time. Variations in temperature, moisture and the type of yeast you used can cause dough to take longer to rise than you expect, so be patient. Dough that is properly risen will be domed with a visible network of bubbles. Many, but not all, recipes will specify that it should double in volume. It should feel inflated and elastic when you touch it, like an almost full balloon. Gently poke it with a lightly floured fingertip. If it springs back quickly, give it more time. If it fills back in slowly and leaves a small indent, you’re good to go. (If it doesn’t spring back, you’ve overproofed it, but bake it anyway!)
Waiting to cut bread and cakes
I know, I know. I just told you to wait longer for your bread dough to rise and now I’m telling you to wait even longer after it’s baked? Warm bread can be impossible to resist (might I suggest rolls instead?), but a big loaf really needs time to hang out for the best texture and structure.
“Cutting it hot releases moisture into the air, prematurely halting the process during which starches settle and the loaf temperature equalises. Waiting is similar to allowing a chicken or steak to rest before slicing,” Philip explains in his great book, “Breaking Bread.” Bread that’s cut too early will come across as wet and gummy and may compress as you slice it. Similarly, warm cake may collapse or crumble and feel soggy as well. – BECKY KRYSTAL
In this April 17, 2019 file photo, reviewed by US military officials, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. PHOTO: AP
PETALING JAYA (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – Putrajaya is ramping up efforts for the release and repatriation of two Malaysian citizens detained over terrorism-related charges in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said he met the US special representative for Guantanamo affairs, Tina Kaidanow, during his official visit to New York.
He said it was the second time he had met Kaidanow to discuss the matter after visiting the two Malaysians, Nazir Lep and Mohamad Farik Amin, in Guantanamo Bay.
During his visit to the detention facility, Saifuddin said he expressed his deep empathy for their situation.
“We will work on expediting their return to Malaysia,” he wrote in a post on X, adding that the government is committed to ensure their safe return.
Nazir and Mohamad Farik were among seven people arrested over alleged involvement in the twin bombings that killed 202 people in Bali in October 2002 and the bombing at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in August 2003.
They were caught in Thailand the same year and transferred to Central Intelligence Agency-operated black sites before being relocated to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.
The long-awaited trial of the two Malaysians and an Indonesian co-accused in the 2002 bombings was repeatedly delayed due to the unavailability of qualified Malay translators.
Lead prosecutor George Kraehe recently proposed a trial date of March 2025 for the detainees.
Earlier this year, Nazir’s defence lawyer, Brian Bouffard, expressed frustration over the prolonged delay of the trial, attributing it to the US government’s opposition to the proposed trial date.
In this April 17, 2019 file photo, reviewed by US military officials, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. PHOTO: AP
Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose at a plaque named after his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II at the Flower Market on September 21 in Paris. PHOTO: AP
LONDON (AP) – King Charles III will be welcoming the president of South Korea for a state visit to the UK in November, the second such visit of the monarch’s reign.
The king and Queen Camilla will host Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, at Buckingham Palace on an as yet unspecified date in November, palace officials said Tuesday.
Yoon, a conservative former prosecutor, has sought to strengthen South Korea’s military alliance with the United States, drawing an angry response from North Korea.
But Yoon, 62, has also showed the lighter side of his character. During a state dinner at the White House in April, he belted out the opening verse of one of his favourite songs, the 1970s folk-rock classic “American Pie,” at the request of President Joe Biden.
A state banquet at Buckingham Palace is unlikely to feature a moment of impromptu song. Such events are traditionally more composed affairs featuring tiaras, toasts and dinner for around 150 guests, with a string orchestra usually providing the musical backdrop.
State visits normally begin with a welcome from the king and other members of the royal family, with the visitors inspecting the guard of honour then riding to the palace in a procession of carriages accompanied by mounted soldiers.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was honoured with the first incoming state visit of Charles’ reign when he visited the UK last November.
Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose at a plaque named after his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II at the Flower Market on September 21 in Paris. PHOTO: AP
A housing scheme at Kampong Mengkubau. PHOTOS: KHAYR ZAKARIYYA
The Ministry of Development is committed to maximising sustainability initiatives while carrying out government construction projects, a senior official from the ministry said on Tuesday.
Permanent Secretary (Infrastructure, Housing and Professional) at the Ministry of Development Haji Amer Hishamuddin bin POKPDSS Haji Zakaria made the comments at a Green Construction Dialogue 2023 at the Indera Kayangan Ballroom, the Empire Hotel.
He revealed that housing projects currently in progress have received re-specifications to meet Green Mark Ratings.
Permanent Secretary (Infrastructure, Housing and Professional) at the Ministry of Development Haji Amer Hishamuddin bin POKPDSS Haji Zakaria viewing an exhibition. PHOTO: AZLAN OTHMAN
This file photo shows trainer Marcia Hinton petting Lolita, a captive orca whale who died on August 18, during a performance at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami on March 9, 1995. PHOTO: AP
MIAMI (AP) – A Pacific white-sided dolphin has been moved to SeaWorld San Antonio, where he will live with others of his species, officials said Monday.
Li’I, who shared a tank with Lolita the orca at the Miami Seaquarium until Lolita died last month, will be joining other Pacific white-sided dolphins in San Antonio, some of whom he lived with previously, the park said in a Facebook post.
SeaWorld San Antonio is one of only two places in the United States to care for his species, officials said.
The 40-year-old aquatic mammal had been the only remaining Pacific white-sided dolphin at the Seaquariam, according to a Seaquariam Facebook post. After Lolita’s death, animal care experts at the park suggested his relocation to a habitat with other peers of his species.
“Although we will very much miss him, we feel happy to know this is the best for him,” the Seaquariam statement said.
Lolita — also known as Tokitae, or Toki — died August 18 after spending 53 years in captivity. The 57-year-old orca died from an apparent renal condition, officials said.
Animal rights activists had been fighting for years to have Lolita freed from her tank at the Seaquarium. The park’s relatively new owner, The Dolphin Company, and the nonprofit Friends of Toki announced a plan in March to possibly move her to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest, with the financial backing of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
Lolita retired from performing last spring as a condition of the park’s new exhibitor’s license with the US Department of Agriculture. She had not been publicly displayed since. In recent months, new upgrades had been installed to better filter the pool and regulate her water temperature.
Federal and state regulators would have had to approve any plan to move Lolita, and that could have taken months or years. The 2,267-kilogramme orca had been living for years in a tank that measures 24 metres by 11 metres and is 6 metres deep.
This file photo shows trainer Marcia Hinton petting Lolita, a captive orca whale who died on August 18, during a performance at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami on March 9, 1995. PHOTO: AP
NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Apple’s basic iPhone 15 model is winning buyers, taking almost twice as long for deliveries this year than its predecessor, signalling high demand for the company’s latest handsets after upgrades.
Buyers in the US need to wait for 10 days to receive the basic model, up from six days for the previous generation device launched last year, according to data from Counterpoint Research. At the other end of the spectrum, Apple’s top-tier iPhone 15 Pro Max increased preorder waiting times to a record, the researchers found. Significant upgrades to both models drove renewed demand, though some of it came at the cost of Apple’s other options, the 15 Plus and 15 Pro, which both saw diminished wait times.
In China, Apple’s biggest overseas market, wait times for the basic version quadrupled from last year, Counterpoint said. That suggests Apple is attracting buyers even amid competition from rival devices such as Huawei Technologies’ highly touted Mate 60 Pro.
“We were expecting the base model iPhone 15 wait times in China to come in a lot lower – maybe on par with last year,” said Archie Zhang, an analyst at Counterpoint. “And as far as ultra-premium is concerned, the Pro Max is still the most coveted iPhone in China with long delivery wait times reflecting this.”
The extended delivery times haven’t translated to elevated resale prices, as the researchers affirmed reporting from Bloomberg on Friday that scalper prices in China command only moderate premiums. That may indicate demand is driven at least in part by people trading in their existing devices.
“In a year marked by declining smartphone demand, the trade-in program is expected to play a pivotal role in reducing psychological barriers for those contemplating a new phone purchase,” said Counterpoint’s Ivan Lam. “It’s becoming an increasingly vital contributor to Apple’s market dominance.”
A 100kg World War II aerial bomb found at a construction site along Upper Bukit Timah Road during excavation works. PHOTO: CNA SOURCE
SINGAPORE (CNA) – 4000 residents and workers will be evacuated on Tuesday from Upper Bukit Timah where a 100 kilogramme aerial bomb from World War II had been discovered and will undergo a controlled disposal on-site.
A 200-metre cordon around the site will also be in place, along with road closures.
CNA spoke to experts to unearth what goes into the detonation of an explosive war relic that has been left underground for decades.
The bomb is likely to be a “type 94” that was used by the Japanese, said Winson Chew, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialist with Blastwork Solutions.
He said it was crucial to identify the device so that EOD professionals know what type of fuse it has and the safety approach required.
Decades of exposure to the elements are likely to have caused corrosion, which means any nomenclature on the device could be hard to read.
The most accurate way would thus be to measure its dimensions, said Chew, who spent about 15 years in the 36th Battalion of the Singapore Combat Engineers (36SCE).
The 36SCE is also known as the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) EOD unit, and the national responder to any explosive incidents. It also responds when war relics are discovered.
In this case, the tell-tale signs are the presence of suspension lugs – found on aerial bombs for aircraft to hold them in place – as well as nomenclature and dimensions, said Chew.
Bombs that have been found in Singapore have been “more or less…quite similar”, he added.
Unexploded ordnance buried for a long time tends to be less stable, and improper handling could trigger an explosion, said Gerald Goh, project manager for EOD services at Explomo.
Blastwork’s Chew added that corrosion could also affect a bomb’s fuse. To determine the condition of the fuse, EOD specialists will perform an X-ray scan of the device, he explained.
In 2019, the SAF disposed of a 50 kilogramme WWII device on-site at Jiak Kim Street.
According to SAF, it was a two-step process which first involved breaking open the casing of the bomb and burning its main explosive components.
The next step was to counter-charge the remaining explosive contents – that is, placing an explosive charge against another to detonate them.
Chew said authorities will also check for underground pipes that could be affected.
Safety officers on construction sites should be educated about unexploded ordnance and be aware of the risks of handling such devices improperly, said Explomo’s Goh.
He stressed that EOD experts should be called in whenever a suspected unexploded ordnance is discovered, and workers should not handle the item.
The Japanese dropped aerial bombs over Singapore from December 29, 1941 to Feb 15, 1942, said Professor Brian Farrell of the National University of Singapore’s history department.
Allied forces, particularly the Americans, also carried out aerial bombing between November 1944 and mid-1945, said the war historian.
Professor Farrell said a naval base and a dockyard would have been specific targets for both sides.
“Neither could hit anything very accurately,” he added.
On average, Blastwork disposes of about one unexploded WWII ordnance a month in Singapore, said Chew.
These are mostly cartridges or mortars.
Blastwork is an authorised contractor of the Ministry of Defence, according to Chew. When an unexploded ordnance is assessed as safe to be moved, a contractor can take over from the authorities and dispose of the device off-site.
However, due to their size, aerial bombs require the SAF’s EOD team to step in for on-site disposal, said Chew.
He noted that sand imported by Singapore for land reclamation could also contain unexploded ordnance at times. These will also have to be disposed of.
A 100kg World War II aerial bomb found at a construction site along Upper Bukit Timah Road during excavation works. PHOTO: CNA SOURCE
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies at a Senate hearing in May. PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON (THE WASHINGTON POST) – ChatGPT’s chatbot can now talk with users using voice and audio, OpenAI announced, threatening tech giants Google, Apple and Amazon in the battle to create smarter voice assistants.
ChatGPT can respond to queries from users with one of five “personas,” in a tone that sounds generally more conversational compared with popular voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri. OpenAI said adding voice was a key way for it to get more people to interact with and use ChatGPT.
“That’s our challenge here,” Peter Deng, OpenAI’s vice president of consumer products, said in an interview. “One of the hardest jobs is taking that amazing technology and translating it to the simplicity that the next 300-400 million people are looking for.”
OpenAI’s announcement highlights how Amazon, one of the leaders in voice assistants with Alexa, has in recent months fallen behind the curve in launching new AI tools for the general public. On Monday, the same day as OpenAI’s announcement, Amazon said it had signed a deal to invest up to USD4 billion in another AI start-up, Anthropic. The deal is the largest in the AI space since Microsoft signed its landmark investment in OpenAI at the beginning of the year and reflects how tech giants are placing their bets on hot AI start-ups. Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI, which has led to many product partnerships, has helped it rocket ahead in the AI race.
The developments follow several AI launches last week from such companies as Google, Amazon and OpenAI, a frenzied pace that shows the rush to beat the competition. The companies are trying a variety of approaches to getting people to use – and pay for – the bots, and putting them in existing speakers is one of the key avenues they are exploring. Last week, Amazon announced it was adding a chatbot “conversation” feature to its Alexa home speakers, which are set up in millions of homes. Over the summer, Google told staff that it was looking at putting the tech behind its Bard chatbot into its own voice assistants.
Up to now, people could ask ChatGPT questions by speaking them out loud on its mobile app, but the bot would respond with text. OpenAI also said people can now upload images as part of their questions to the bot, such as showing a photo of the ingredients in a fridge and asking ChatGPT to come up with recipe suggestions. Adding voice and image capabilities also puts ChatGPT further along the line toward becoming a true “multimodal” model – a chatbot that can “see” and “hear” the world, and respond with voice and images, in addition to being fed text-only prompts. AI researchers and analysts say multimodal models are the next stage of competition in the industry, and companies are racing to create the most capable one.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies at a Senate hearing in May. PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST
Voice assistants have been in cars, smartphones, TVs and home speakers for years, with millions of people using them daily. But for the most part, their use is confined to a small set of rote interactions, such as being asked to turn off the lights or give a weather report. The “large language model” technology behind chatbots opens up the possibility that voice assistants could become much more capable of having longer, natural conversations and answering more complex questions.
Investors and analysts have accused Amazon of reacting sluggishly to the competition for such “generative” AI as chatbots and image generators, and the Anthropic deal will give the company access to the start-up’s researchers and technology. Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI employees and had previously taken investment from Google.
OpenAI set off the chatbot boom in November when it made ChatGPT public. Since then, the tech giants have scrambled to develop their own, with Microsoft partnering with OpenAI to use its tech and Google putting out its Bard chatbot.
AI researchers have warned that people are likely to anthropomorphize chatbots, especially since their answers usually seem humanlike. That could give users a false sense of trust in the bot’s intelligence or capabilities. All chatbots still routinely make up information and pass it off as real, a problem that AI researchers refer to as “hallucinating.”
The new personas for ChatGPT are named Sky, Ember, Breeze, Juniper and Cove. Each of the personas has a different tone and accent. “Sky” sounds somewhat similar to Scarlett Johansson, the actor who voiced the AI that Joaquin Phoenix’s character falls in love with in the movie “Her.” Deng, the OpenAI executive, said the voice personas were not meant to sound like any specific person.
In a demo, he showed how the bot could understand rambling and open-ended voice questions. Rather than having to think about how exactly to phrase a question, the new features make conversations easier and more free-flowing, he said.
“With this feature, you can just talk,” Deng said. “My kids now request bedtime stories by ChatGPT.”
OpenAI tested the voice and image features and added guardrails to ensure the bot responds appropriately to sensitive topics, such as suggesting the user consult a professional if they ask questions related to mental health, Sandhini Agarwal, a policy researcher at OpenAI, said in an interview. There will be more to do, though, she said. “The work isn’t ending tomorrow.”
ABOVE & BELOW: Wan Noorazhardy discovered a passion for leathercrafting after trying his hand making a basic leather phone cover; and a customised bag crafted by Wan Noorazhardy. PHOTO: DIANA YAN MANAN
Malaysian graphic designer quits his job to pursue entrepreneurship
ANN/THE STAR – Nine years ago, graphic designer Wan Noorazhardy Wan Ismail acquired a pair of locally crafted, handmade gladiator leather sandals. The exquisite artistry displayed in these sandals piqued his curiosity in the world of leatherwork, ultimately motivating him to venture into crafting leather goods himself.
Reflecting on the moment, Wan Noorazhardy, 41, shared, “I was captivated by the beauty of the handmade leather sandals. I connected with the man who made the sandals and we became friends. Over time, I became interested in learning more about crafting leather. I bought a piece of A4-sized leather hide, and I managed to create a simple phone case using scissors, nails, and a needle and thread. That was my first product.”
The initial creation, a handmade phone case, sparked a previously undiscovered passion for leathercraft, ultimately laying the foundation for his modest yet flourishing creative enterprise.
“In 2015, I joined a small local community of leather enthusiasts from the East Coast. The community served as a platform for crafters to share ideas, techniques, and also suppliers. The collaborative environment fueled my interest further and I even started receiving orders from friends and acquaintances. To enhance my knowledge, I turned to social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.”
In 2017, Wan Noorazhardy quit his job as a graphic designer to focus entirely on leather crafting, under his brand Herdy Leathercraft.
ABOVE & BELOW: Wan Noorazhardy discovered a passion for leathercrafting after trying his hand making a basic leather phone cover; and a customised bag crafted by Wan Noorazhardy. PHOTO: DIANA YAN MANANPHOTO: DIANA YAN MANAN
“Before fully committing to leathersmithing, I did leatherwork on a part-time basis while working as a graphic designer in an advertising firm. In 2017, I transitioned to running my home business. It was a big step, but I made the career switch because of my passion for leathersmithing.
“Before working as a graphic designer, I tried other businesses like running a grocery store, cyber cafe, and selling herbs. And I didn’t mind trying out a new profession.
“Pursuing your passion is important because when you do what you love, you become good at it.
“Challenges don’t stop you; they keep you going. The journey hasn’t been easy, but I’m grateful I have the support of my family members. So far, business has been good, and I’m grateful I earn enough to pay the bills,” said the father of three. But the transition from a part-time hobbyist to a full-time leather artisan wasn’t without challenges.
Limited access to knowledge, stitching techniques, leather supplies, and tools required Wan Noorazhardy to rely on fellow crafters. However, his dedication to the craft and willingness to learn helped him overcome these hurdles.
LEARNING ALONG THE WAY
“Another challenge is in figuring out how to sustain the business. Although it is good that there are new leather crafters now, the main challenge for me is maintaining my edge,” said Wan Noorazhardy. “Some might compete on price but maintaining product quality is crucial. When you prioritise quality, you retain existing customers and attract new ones,” shared Wan Noorazhardy, who specialises in handcrafted wallets, note holders, and handbags. The starting price of his products is at MYR30.
To stand apart from his competition, Wan Noorazhardy offers customisation. For handmade goods, enthusiasts often value uniqueness and craftsmanship, he said. So, he offers customisation in the design, size, leather type, and colour as well as the accessories that go into a particular item.
“My custom-made items are unique and will be even more special to my customers. They can even bear the customer’s name.” – Sheela Chandran
ANN/THE STAR – Despite earning a degree in architecture, Raja Akif Raja Muhammad Ariff, 28, didn’t have much enthusiasm for the conventional role of an architect, involving tasks such as designing blueprints, conceptual drawings, or renderings.
Instead, in 2017, the Universiti Malaya graduate opted to follow his heart and embark on a journey to become a skilled leather crafter.
“I come from a family of crafters. My dad loves carpentry, leather crafting, and painting. Growing up in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Dad and I spent hours crafting things for our home like wood cabinets; we also did origami and stone sculpting. My mother loves sewing, and my older sister runs a crafting business in Johor,” he said.
“After my graduation, I wanted to become a product designer, and focus on crafting. With some financial aid from my varsity professor and my parents, I bought a laser cutting machine and started a small business producing woodcraft items like trophies and plaques.
“Then, I decided to try my hand at leather crafting. I started by making leather card holders and slowly explored new product designs for wallets and handbags,” said Raja Akif.
What started as a hobby gradually transformed into a full-fledged business called Kotak Ilham.
Raja Akif inspects one of his handmade leather products. PHOTO: THE STAR
He now runs his humble business in Taman OUG Parklane in Jalan Puchong, Kuala Lumpur with four staff.
“I’ve always been drawn to the tactile nature of materials. Leather, in particular, offers a unique canvas for my creativity,” said Raja Akif, who makes about 50 handbags a month.
CREATIVITY UNBOXED
While Malaysia may not be known for leather goods, there is an increasing interest and appreciation for locally-made leather products that are unique and also more affordable. Artisans like Raja Akif are feeding the demand for homegrown products.
“Most of my customers are from Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. They come across my products on my Instagram. My target audience is those who value genuine and affordable leather products,” he explained.
He now has over 100 leather product designs under his label, including book covers, handbags, duffel bags and travel bags.
“Generally, Malaysians like crossbody bags, mini bucket bags and phone pouches.
“The bucket handbag is trending now, as more women seem to like the ‘relaxed’ bag look,” shared the father of one, who learned how to craft leather products from watching videos on social media.
Raja Akif said that his architectural knowledge and training do come to good use in the design and construction of his products.
“My designs are inspired by German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who employs the concept of minimalism. I turn to digital software for fabrication, where our designs are digitised into computer-aided design files so we can reprint them. We use Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to generate personalised logos,” said Raja Akif.
He uses vegetable-tanned leather (where leather is dyed using natural products like olive leaves, coffee bean shells and oak bark) and chrome-tanned leather (dyed using chemicals, acids and salts).
It can take between a day to a week to create a bag, depending on the level of complexity.
“First, the leather is chosen based on thickness and durability. Then, the design is printed on the leather. Next, the hide is manually cut and then handstitched. The last step is sanding and bevelling, which helps to smoothen the edges of our leather products.”
While he is keenly aware that Kotak Ilham is a young brand, he is happy with their following so far.
“We try to constantly come up with new designs that follow fashion trends,” he said. – Sheela Chandran
