THIS Aidilfitri, one of the most exciting things to watch on our phones or tablets was this viral video showing a new breed of samping; a sarong, usually made of songket, worn with the traditional Baju Melayu.
It is a common sight on Hari Raya morning to see young Malay men helping each other to tuck the sarong tight so it would not fall off later.
Those with partners usually count themselves lucky — with the gesture seen by some as intimate — as one runs their hands along the wearer’s torso and waist to line the sarong.
How close a pair stands to each other to do this is perhaps determined by how many Rayas they’ve spent together, or how busy that morning is. It is hard to dawdle when there are screams from the kitchen asking for the rendang and lodeh to be brought out.
Well, the new samping is much easier to wear with the help of velcro tapes — usually only available for kids. It also has additional pockets! Pockets are usually only reserved for those who wear their samping inside (kain dagang dalam), like the Johoreans with their teluk belanga-style round-neck tops.
For those who wear their samping outside (dagang dalam), the two bigger pockets of the top are effectively covered up and notoriously difficult to access.
This excitement brought about by the new samping is because innovations when it comes to traditional clothes for men, especially Baju Melayu, are hard to come by.
The most “adventurous” design this year, Awal Ashaari’s collaboration with textile juggernaut Jakel, only went as far as a tiny “W” label sewn on the chest pocket, and pocket squares.
More often than not, innovations are usually mocked and derided,
One of my prized collection is Maluri-based Lat’s Collection. The top comes with buttons already stitched, so you do not need to buy a separate set of metal buttons.
It features button loops on the collar instead of eyelets, and have buttons on the top part of the sleeves so you can roll them and fix them in place with tabs. And yet, the style is largely unknown to most.
In recent years, the trend had been moving from the more loose and baggy cut to the modern slim fit, resulting in seemingly ridiculous Baju Melayu that is tight and body-hugging.
But that does not mean the trend is false. Well-known traditional tailors such as Omar Ali now offer a more modern cut for its ready-made Baju Melayu. Department stores such as Parkson have an array of modern ready-made Baju Melayu from men’s brands.
Even Japanese brand Uniqlo has started offering Baju Melayu tops in its own distinctive fabric, in sober colours such as silver, teal, and ochre.
One specific trend that has grown in popularity in recent years is copying the popular style worn by the Johor royal family — using a colourful Baju Melayu top, usually the teluk belanga, but with slightly shorter sleeves.
Its most striking feature is pairing the top with black slacks instead of matching pants. The samping, is worn outside instead of the usual Johor style of inside.
The style was said to have been started by Johor’s Sultan Iskandar Ismail, who was also the country’s eighth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and the father of the current sultan, Sultan Ibrahim — the latter has been portrayed wearing his samping inside instead.
Whether you are from Johor or not, it is impossible to deny this particular sartorial influence. While it was partly due to the loyalty of their subjects, the style has also been emulated because it presents a sharp, sensible image — not unlike wearing a suit — compared to the more jovial, vibrant vibe of a colourful two-piece.
But this trend may have an older precedent. Malaysian heritage chronicler Siti Zainon Ismail has noted in a 2004 book that in the early days, the Johoreans liked to mix-and-match their teluk belanga top and pants.
With the relatively staid fashion development, it is only natural that Malay men started wearing other styles in the search for variety.
A couple of years back, the Arabic long robe, or jubah, was preferred, due to the ease of just pulling the one piece over your head and “be done with it.”
These days, you are more likely to find Malay men in kurta, an upper garment from the Indian subcontinent.
The most popular style is similar to the Punjab kurta, a simple and light top with collars that look similar to Baju Melayu and ready buttons. Most important of all, such a top, usually in neutral colours and a bit longer than Baju Melayu, can be worn with any pants.
A specific type of heavy black kurta, with silver embroidery, even caught public attention after it was worn by Chadwick Boseman’s character, T’Challa the Black Panther, king of Wakanda.
This, inevitably and hilariously, did not sit well with of all people, the Islamists. In an editorial late last month, Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) warned that the popularity of kurta will lead to the demise of the Baju Melayu.
“We should not be seen like we are celebrating Diwali, when we are actually celebrating Aidilfitri,” it said.
And yet, the same piece had bafflingly touted the wearing of the jubah, just because Prophet Muhammad had worn it. If anything, this aversion towards kurta smells of racism and xenophobia, just because South Asians are seen by many, even their fellow Muslims, as undesirables in the country.
In my column in July 2015, I pointed out that the jubah is the least problematic aspect of Arabisation.
As for me? I have all three, jubah, kurta, and of course too many pairs of Baju Melayu.
For a celebration as cultural as the Hari Raya, it is inevitable that more elements will come to be part of it. Much like how we embraced giving out angpow and playing fireworks, it does not hurt to have much more diversity with our Aidilfitri.
