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A bit of info on Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia - Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (CCM) is an entity that was incorporated on January 1, 2008 which previously known as the Department of Cooperative Development Commission (NCC). The main purpose is to oversee the growing of SKM cooperative sector and ensure it is able to develop with effective and systematic. In my understand is, if I'm not mistaken, SKM helps those who involves in small medium business.
A bit info on Gaya Travel - It is a travel magazine that had just won the best travel magazine recently. Man, I haven't had more info about this magazine. If I'm not in my internship, I wouldn't now the magazine exist ! Thanks internship. Haha. You can click here for more info on the magazine.
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The view in front of the cooperation.
Some of the tools being made by the villagers.
Example of Keris which cost about RM150.
Encik Haji Ahmad Shukri bin Nordin giving short speech to the media representatives.
Ustaz Azhar showing on how the tools are being made.
First the iron will be burn at a high temperature.
So that it will be easy to mold.
The workers hitting with two types of hammer - small and big.
To make the eye 'mata' of the tools.
The new machine that can hit with more force than human.
4 days and 3 nights of pack activities in Penang was surely tiring but most of all I'm enjoying every bits of it. Let me share some of the activities held by them. On the first day, after departing from MaTIC, KL, we arrived at Koperasi Pandai Besi Pekan Darat Seberang Perai Berhad, which is famous for its iron-making tools like keris, parang, pisau, kacip and much more.
Why is the cooperation called "Pandai Besi"? Because in the old days, those who have the skills of making the iron tools are known as those who are good in iron as in 'pandai besi', and that is the reason behind the name.
This cooperation has been operated as early as 1841 and the skills of making it has been pass down on generation by generation. As times goes by, the skills of making it has been upgrade from using traditional utensils and man-power, new machines have been given to speed-up the process of making it, but the people still prefer on the traditional method.
The one that interests me is the making of the keris, a traditional Malay dagger. There are two types - Lok and Sundang. The keris which has a lot of 'lekuk' is called Keris Lok which the 'lekuk' can be as much as 17. Where as a clean straight keris is called Keris Sundang. The making if keris can be as long as 1 year due to customer preferences.
Thank you to Encik Haji Ahmad Shukri bin Nordin and Ustaz Azhar Hamid for the opening statement and introduction.Ustaz Azhar is the 7th generation in the iron-making industry.
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In the evening of the same day, we arrived at Koperasi GDW Mengkuang Titi Pulau Pinang Berhad. Which consisting of a homestay package. For those who wants to run out from the fuss of the city, you can choose to stay at a homestay and enjoy the life of the people living here.
Some sport activities known as Sukan Rakyat were done in order to create a bond between the village people and the tourists. Such as Tarik Upeh - which you need to sit on a Pinang tree leaves and two people will pull you to the end, Pancing Botol - where you need to life a bottle by only using a bait of small twig, and Lari dalam Guni - running in a sack, which makes me walked like a penguine. Here, besides than preparing and serving their local dish like Nasi Ramuni which made from the leaves of Ramuni tree, we were presented with Penang's traditional dance - Boria.
Welcoming banner of the event.
The dishes being served.
The famous 'Tarian Boria'.
And lastly the media representatives.
Staying with a foster family for a night, is what the SKM is trying to promote since this Mengkuang Titi Cooperation is one of the cooperation being handled by the SKM. With an amount of 29 homestay in total, it is surely enough if you want to do events involving homestay rather than staying in a hotels. With roughly of RM100/per head, or more, it will surely worth the money if something different is what you seek.
More stories coming soon.
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