Locally-made handcrafted leather hats

BATU PAHAT: The wearing of leather hats with the classic cowboy look may not be familiar to some people in this country but it still has its own fans.

This has prompted an entrepreneur to produce the hats that are suitable to be worn in a tropical or equatorial climate and to meet domestic demand.

"The design of my hats is inspired by songkok (Malay headgear) and the Dutch style worn by British officials during the colonial era.

"My hats come in two different styles, namely the Johor and Dutch styles that provide more options for customers," he told Bernama at his residence in Rengit, recently.

Giman, or fondly known as Mastor Tuah, who has been producing the leather hats since 2002, said the idea of producing the handcrafted hats came after he had mistakenly bought a hat that was made of non-halal materials.

"It was difficult back then to find imported leather products that are sourced from halal materials.

"Therefore, I decided to do it myself using high quality materials. I also provide my customers with multiple design options," he said.

Giman said he had now managed to sell almost 10,000 hats with prices ranging from RM200 to RM800 depending on the grade.

Apart from making the handcrafted hats, he also produced various types of leather accessories such as belts and sandals.

-- BERNAMA