International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET) Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2018, pp. 1494–1502, Article ID: IJMET_09_07_159 Available online at http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJMET?Volume=9&Issue=7 ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359

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LABU ACU: AN INNOVATION FOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF MALAYSIAN HERITAGE

Hamdzun Haron* and Nasruddin Yunos Corresponding author*, Pusat Citra Universiti, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Norhasliyana Hazlin Zainal Amri Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kampus Bachok, Beg berkunci No. 01, 16300 Bachok, Kelantan, Malaysia

Siti Maryam Ali Yasin Fakulti Seni Lukis dan Seni Reka, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kampus Seri Iskandar, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia

ABSTRACT Labu Sayong (A water pitcher from ) is also known as Labu Picit from the state of Perak. It is one of Malay heritage crafts. This pottery craft has its own special feature. The water kept inside the clay pitcher is colder than usual and is said to be refreshing to the body when consumed. Labu Sayong was an adaptation of a gourd and was a symbol of the intellectual of Malay in the past. It is produced using several traditional processes in stages and took quite a long time to complete. This problem can contribute to its extinction and therefore many entrepreneurs are changing their direction towards a new innovation in the clay pitcher manufacturing process using casting technique. This new innovation of clay pitcher is called 'Labu Acu' or cast clay pitcher. Researcher found this innovation could produce commercialized products compared to those produced using old ways. It is able to improve the quality and quantity of Labu Sayong to meet market demand. It also means a competition between the latest designs of Labu Sayong with the existing pottery in the market. Cooperation among the entrepreneurs is also formed through a work specialization system to increase productivity. It is hoped that this research will impart the knowledge that Labu Sayong production is already going through innovative transformation to meet customer needs and prevent heritage from disappearing with passing time. Keyword: Cast, Labu Sayong, Labu Acu, Labu Picit, Innovation, Commercialization

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Cite this Article: Hamdzun Haron, Nasruddin Yunos, Norhasliyana Hazlin Zainal Amri and Siti Maryam Ali Yasin, Labu Acu: An Innovation for Commercialization of Malaysian Pottery Heritage, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 9(7), 2018, pp. 1494–1502. http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJMET?Volume=9&Issue=7

1. INTRODUCTION “I urge the Malay intellectuals in medical field to conduct serious research and development programmes to explore this huge potential. Likewise in the area that we have the advantage of such as biodiversity and biotechnology, irrigation and drainage, food production, agriculture, aesthetic, weaving, wood carving, ceramic and others. I believe the Malays are now dominating particular traditional technologies that require modification and innovation in terms of production to be benefited by those areas and to be given commercial value.” (Zuta, 2001). This excerpt above is taken from the opening speech by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the then Deputy Prime Minister, during a convention entitled „Malay World, Islam World – Unite We Must,‟ which was held in Malacca on 19th October 2001. Based on that speech, it is obvious that he encouraged Malay intellectuals to conduct serious research into their own respective fields. This is because, Malays who use traditional methods in manufacturing certain products are in serious needed of innovations and transformations, especially in the aspect of technical production. The benefit of innovations and transformations is that even more commercialized products will be made available on the market. It is clear that our government has serious concerns over the fate and future of traditional Malaysian handicrafts, including the Labu Sayong. For decades, the manufacturing technology of traditional pottery has been frequently associated with the economy of Malays in rural areas. To increase the economic standing of local pottery makers, old production methods need to be transformed. With the government‟s concern over this matter, an innovation in the Labu Sayong manufacturing technique has been introduced to the pottery makers. What is innovation? Innovation is derived from the Latin term innovare, which means 'to produce something new or the success of exploiting a new idea' (Joe, John and Keith, 2001). „Inovasi‟ is a Malay word that has been borrowed from the English word 'innovate,' and according to Oxford Fajar's Advanced Learner's English-Malay Dictionary (2001:952), 'innovation' is defined as 'to make a change'. The Malay word „komersil‟ also originated from the English word 'commercial', which means „of or relating to commerce‟. According to Ainon and Abdullah (1995:16), innovation is a new technology of the development or application of a technology for particular reasons. The purpose of innovation is to create new products and services for users. Therefore, technology is the core to innovation, because without technology, the objective will not be achieved (Hamdzun & Narimah, 2013, Hamdzun & Narimah, 2014). Usually, a product will experience three developmental stages, which are 1) brought to existence, 2) matured and 3) expired. Brought to existence means the moment once it has been created and developed. Maturity is a level reached by certain products to be developed and marketed. Lastly, is the expiry of a product. At the last stage, if innovation has not been introduced, the product will not survive in the market and will finally become extinct. Therefore, improvement and transformation should be done continuously to retain the survival of ideas or products in the market (Mohd Azhar, and Muhamed Fauzi, 2006: 295). Based on the statements above, innovation is viewed as a concept that has been used in order to interpret a revolution phenomenon by implementing a transformation towards the

http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJMET 1495 [email protected] Hamdzun Haron, Nasruddin Yunos, Norhasliyana Hazlin Zainal Amri and Siti Maryam Ali Yasin development and advancement of trading aspects. This concept can also be applied to revive a product and catch the viewer's attention. Likewise, for the Labu Sayong, the lack of innovation can mean eventual extinction. Through research, it was found that only six local families were actively producing these clay pitchers using traditional methods during 1980‟s. And by 2010, there were only two pandai labu (Labu Sayong craftsmen) left. We certainly do not want the Labu Sayong to disappear, like one of the traditional Malay that had become extinct in 1995. Known as „Pasu Kechur,‟ from Perlis, it was declared extinct by the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation (MHDC) that year because the skill of making Pasu Kechur was not passed down to anyone. (Ibrahim & Suhaimi, 2005: 15).

2. LABU ACU Originally, the Labu Sayong was made by women by hand. They usually produced this craft under their houses, which were raised on stilts. The traditional method of making clay pitchers was actually unproductive, because the pandai labu could only produce two or three pieces of Labu Sayong per day. Nevertheless, the demand for this craft was high, even though it was difficult to fulfill (see picture 1 and 2). In 1986, a Japanese ceramic researcher from the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) Berhad visited Koperasi Kg. Kepala Bendang. He introduced and demonstrated a slip casting technique that could be used by traditional Labu Sayong entrepreneurs and teachers at MHDC. They discovered that this new technique was easy to learn and could produce a large quantity of clay pitchers in a very short amount of time. From then on, the production of clay pitchers was no longer carried out in Kg. Kepala Bendang alone. Ultimately, seven different villages in the Sayong district, namely Kg. Talang Ulu, Kg. Sayong Lembah, Kg. Temiang, Kg. Pauh, Kg. Sayong Sekolah, Kg. Bukit Lada and Kg. Padang Serai, became involved in this industry. The pottery was produced inside workshops, complete with modern machines and equipment. They were no longer produced under houses raised on stilts. There are nine primary processes that need to be carried out in Labu Sayong production, using moulds that are known by the locals as „Labu Acu,‟ or cast clay pitcher. The processes are: model making, mould making, slip preparation, slip casting, burnishing, decorating, drying, firing and using paddy husks to get the blackened effect. These processes take approximately four to five days to complete.

3. THE MODEL MAKING OF LABU ACU The model is created in the shape of a clay pitcher using a block of plaster of Paris. The block is placed on a jolly jigger machine during the model making process. The shape of the clay pitcher is produced using a trimming method. From a simple cylinder, it is gradually transformed into the form of a clay pitcher. Several types of blades are used during this process. The model is left to dry for a while before the mould making process can begin. Firstly, the model is lathered with special soap so that it would not stick to the mould piece. Usually, one model can be used to make around 15 to 20 pieces of moulds. The mould is also made from the same material, which is plaster of Paris.

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Figure 1 Traditional Labu Sayong Labu Panai Figure 2 Producing labu picit using pinching technique

3.1. Labu Acu Mould The mould block is produced from the clay pitcher model. One block of the clay pitcher mould consists of three separate pieces for the left, right and bottom parts. Material and tools needed to make the mould are plaster of Paris, four square pieces of wooden/glass boards, a template, a sponge, special soap, bicycle tubes, a bucket and a grater. The clay pitcher model is segmented into two parts by making a straight line as a guide. Then, the model is gently lathered in special soap that acts as the model's releasing agent, using a sponge. The purpose is to avoid the model from sticking to the mould piece. The model is then laid onto a clay slab to stabilize it. The second step is making the first mould piece. The soap lathered model is surrounded with a template and four pieces of board. The boards are tied with string to stabilize it when the plaster of Paris mixture is poured into the block. The plaster of paris is introduced to a bucket of water little by little, until it is leveled up with the water. The mixture is slowly stirred in one direction to avoid air bubbles from forming. It is stirred for two minutes by hand until there is no sign of plaster lumps. After the water and the plaster are well mixed, pour it slowly into the wooden/glass block until it covers the model. The plaster mixture will set gradually and it will become warm to the touch. A cold plaster surface means the mixture is fully hardened and the wood block can be opened. The uneven surface of the mould is scraped, then turned upside down. At this point, we can see that half of the model is protruding, while another half is still embedded in the first mould piece. The template is slowly removed from the mould piece. The next step is making pinholes on the first mould piece; three pinholes are needed for the left, right and bottom parts of the large-sized clay pitcher mould. For small-sized clay pitchers, only two pinholes are needed that is for the left and right parts. The third step is making the second and third mould pieces. The process is the same with the first mould, only without the use of a template or making pinholes. The next process is separating each mould piece and taking out the clay pitcher model from the mould. After the model is taken out, the soap residue on the internal part of the mould is wiped off using hot water. This process is important to enable water absorption from the clay slip. The completed mould block is secured using a bicycle tube that has been cut into long strips. The rubbery tubes can strengthen and tighten the mould pieces during the slip casting process to ensure no leakage. The mould block for Labu Acu is now completed (see picture 4).

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3.2. Slip Preparation This process is very important because the quality of the Labu Acu is determined by the slip itself. Processed clay is called a slip. To produce the slip, clay is taken from anthills and the bottom of the Sayong River. The clay is sieved to separate impurities and then put inside a plunger machine. It is mixed with water to enable the rotor of the plunger to move and the clay is to be ground perfectly. Sodium silicate is added to give plasticity to the clay (Zainal & Hamdzun, 2014). The process takes 3 to 4 hours, before the slip is soaked for a day (see picture 5).

3.3. Slip Casting The slip casting process of a clay pitcher involves the mould and slip. The slip is poured until it fills the mould up to the brink and left for few minutes. The slip will sink because the plaster wall is absorbing the moisture to form the thickness of the clay pitcher's body. The slip should be added until the desired thickness, which is around 1cm. The slip excess is then poured out. This process takes around 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the dampness of the mould piece. The clay body is then left to dry for a while inside the mould so it can be extracted easily. At the same time, the drying process of the clay pitcher is shortened because the plaster of Paris used for the mould is absorbing water from the clay pitcher's body. After the body is taken out from the mould, it is cleaned and smoothed using a fine sponge. It is left to dry again for the burnishing process (see pictures 6 and 7).

3.4. Burnishing Burnishing is the process os smoothening the surface of the cast clay pitcher and it is usually done by women. This process needs a deft hand to ensure the wall of the clay pitcher looks perfectly shiny. It is carried out cautiously because the body of a cast clay pitcher is not as dense and thick as clay pitchers made using the pinching technique. Burnishing is done by using a spoon or river pebbles. But there are some Labu Acu makers who chose not to burnish their clay pitchers because they produce decorative clay pitchers, which are not for storing water (see picture 8).

3.5. Motifs and Decoration Decoration is a process of ornamenting the surface of the Labu Acu with motifs. The motifs are etched on using a wooden stamp. The original motifs, such as cloves (bunga cengkih), star anise (bunga lawang), Spanish cherry (bunga tanjung) and others, are still being today used to ensure the identity of the Labu Acu does not vanish. These motifs are stamped on the leather- hard surface of the Labu Acu (see picture 9).

3.6. Drying The decorated clay pitcher is left to air-dry by placing it under the sun. The process remains the same with traditional methods of drying the Labu Acu (see picture 10).

3.7. Firing Firing is the process of hardening the body of the Labu Acu. In line with modernization, the Labu Acu is no longer fired in open trenches. This is because natural fuel like wood and bamboo is becoming scarce (Hamdzun et al, 2014). It is also to ensure that air pollution caused by open firing does not occur. Currently, the firing of Labu Acu is carried out using gas that are much safer, cleaner and time saving. The firing is carried out slowly and the duration is around 10 hours or until the temperature reaches 850°C (see picture 11).

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3.8. Reduction Reduction is the process of getting the blackened effect on the surface of the Labu Acu. Nowadays, paddy husks are no longer used in the reduction process. The reason is because it has become difficult to obtain the seasonal paddy husks and the price is quite expensive as well (Abdul Rahim et al, 2014). As an alternative, saw dust/wood chaff is used for the reduction process (see picture 12).

Figure 3 Labu Acu model making Figure 4 Labu Acu mould Figure 5 Slip preparation

Figure 6 Labu Acu slip casting Figure7 Burnishing the Labu Acu Figure 8 Burnishing

Figure 9 Decoration Figure 10 Drying process

Figure 11 Firing Figure 12 Reduction process

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4. COMMERCIAL ASPECTS THROUGH INNOVATION When talking about commercialization, we know that it is related to trade. The most important matter in trade is products that fulfill customer‟s tastes and provides satisfaction. In the business world, it is undeniable that the customer is king. Therefore, there are three commercial aspects to be concerned and considered thoroughly, following the innovation of Labu Sayong production.

4.1. Improving the Quality and Quantity of Labu Sayong Labu Sayong production is no longer carried out in the traditional way, which was by hand. Following innovations, new technologies were applied during the manufacturing process. The production quality of the Labu Sayong is now enhanced with the use of moulds, machines and equipments such as the plunger, jolly jigger, throwing machine and gas . This method is able to save time, give almost zero defect and create more precise and balanced Labu Sayong forms. The increase of knowledge and skill among craft makers in their efforts of producing the Labu Sayong, is the root for commercializing the Labu Sayong in the market. The Labu Sayong is considered a traditional Malay handicraft. Its specialty makes many people eager to own one for their own use. This has caused an encouraging demand in market. Commercialization of the Labu Sayong by mass producing it using plaster moulds is a viable solution to fulfilling market demand. This is because one mould can produce roughly two pieces of Labu Sayong per day. If an entrepreneur has ten moulds, she can produce twenty pieces per day. When creating pieces by hand, she could only manage to produce two or three pieces of Labu Sayong in one day.

4.2. New Product Development The Labu Sayong has faced great competition with other types of pottery in various forms and functions. It is undeniable that the Labu Sayong has its own identity, but how far can the identity survive if it were to compete with more creative pottery products made locally and abroad? To overcome this problem, the form and function of the Labu Sayong must be diversified for commercial purposes. Nevertheless, the manufacturing of the blackened Labu Sayong is still retained as a priority. The Labu Sayong is now revived and its usage has been diversified. Today, the function of the Labu Sayong is no longer limited to water storage, but also as decorative items such as lamp-shade stands, decorative pots, flower pots and sculptures. When made as souvenirs, their size is usually slightly smaller than usual. Among the use of Labu Sayong souvenirs are as potpourri containers, coin boxes, pencil cases and small replicas. The market demands for small and medium-sized decorative Labu Sayongs are higher, because the price is cheaper. For foreign tourists, the main function of the Labu Sayong is not important; they just consider the Labu Sayong as a souvenir that is easy and safe to bring back to their country.

4.3. The Existence of New Services Before the innovation of Labu Sayong production, all processes involved, starting from clay preparation to the end, were done by pandai labu with the assistance of family members. The production progressed at a snail's pace, thus unproductive. After its innovation, several services emerged, focusing on a particular manufacturing process, which offered an increase to productivity. The speed in producing Labu Sayong is very important, especially when entrepreneurs receive bulk orders from their clients. Fast and timely service provides satisfaction to clients. Therefore, to achieve the objective of innovation, entrepreneurs are beginning to get services from those who supply processed clay and those who sell Labu Sayong moulds. Labu

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Sayong entrepreneurs now do not need to learn how to make moulds. These services are able to save time, facilitating tedious works, encouraging the entrepreneurs to actively accept orders and now they have much more time to create new designs for their Labu Sayong. For entrepreneurs who can‟t afford to buy a kiln, it is not a reason to shy away from venturing into this business. Now, there are kiln rental and firing services provided. For less creative entrepreneurs, they can hire workers skilled in decoration, especially those who are experts in the cut out technique. The existence of these services has indirectly uplifted the spirit of newcomers in this field. Even though they have no skill in mould making, can‟t afford to buy a kiln or are unable to decorate, they can still accept orders from clients and produce Labu Sayong products confidently. Apart from that, these services can provide ancillary income to those involved and foster cooperation among Labu Sayong entrepreneurs in the Sayong district.

4. CONCLUSION It is clear that the traditional Labu Sayong is definitely a unique Malay handicraft that should be made continuously to prevent extinction. It is obvious that innovations in production methods have been imperative to the survival of the Labu Sayong. Technology is a technical intermediary for producing high quality Labu Sayong with diversified forms and functions. Apart from that, technology is also a major contributor to the Labu Sayong’s commercial production. Innovation and commercialization of the Labu Sayong is a crucial concept in the revival of a dying heritage, with hope for its further development not only in Malaysia, but also at the international level.

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