Single Mum S Journey From Lock Up To Making Malaysia Themed Outfits

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Mahani Udit sewing a Malaysia-themed outfit. With her is her friend Izza Saidin, who helped her cope with increased orders for Merdeka and Malaysia Day.GEORGE TOWN: Mahani Udit recalls the time she was arrested and forced to spend a night in the lock-up for “defiling” the Malaysian flag.
One day three years ago, Mahani was busy cutting flags to be turned into Merdeka and Malaysia Day costumes for schoolchildren when an army sergeant walked past her small shop at the Bukit Jambul Complex.
The upset soldier reprimanded Mahani, telling her it was not right to defile the Jalur Gemilang. A bewildered Mahani told him she was merely turning the flag into parade costumes.
Insisting “you cannot defile the flag”, the soldier lodged a police report and that was how she ended up in the police lock-up hours later.
“The police told me I was not supposed to repurpose the flag into any other form, it was against the law. I said I did not know and that I was just making clothes for children.
“I spent a night in the lock-up and was freed the next day,” the 32-year-old told FMT.
From then, she did not use the flag or any flag motif in sewing clothes.
Boutique owner
Mahani, who had been separated from her husband, moved from Kedah to Penang six years ago to give her daughters a better life, and started a pisang goreng stall outside the Bukit Jambul Complex.
Later, she started learning tailoring on YouTube and decided to open her own shop inside the complex, where she started the business of making “Malaysiana” costumes.
“People called me crazy when I first started this. But now, I’m able to put food on the table for my two daughters, and survive through the pandemic,” the single mother said.
She said her business began after she sewed a Merdeka-themed costume for one of her daughters as part of her kindergarten’s programme to instil patriotism.
Mahani and her children, one of whom had won a costume contest at her kindergarten.“I thought, why bother dressing her in just plain blue, red or white t-shirts, so I sewed something out of our flag so that my kid would stand out from the rest.
“When the other parents saw my daughter, they became interested and asked me if I could do the same for their children. After that, through word of mouth, I started getting many calls,” she said.
They called her ‘crazy’
When Mahani set up an online store on Facebook, people called her “crazy” for starting a shop that would be a flop.
“But as soon as people started calling me crazy, the orders started coming in like crazy, from schools holding Merdeka events and sports day. You name it, I can do it,” she said.
Today, she uses the hashtag “#tailorGila” in her marketing posts. She creates baju kurung, kebaya and custom-designed Malaysia-themed clothing for both adults and children, priced between RM25 and RM250, depending on the work involved.
Last year, she made about 4,000 pieces of clothing.
Mahani said that when the pandemic began, she started sewing cloth masks from leftover cloth and Hari Raya costumes, and later sold them on Facebook to make ends meet.
Despite the pandemic, she said, the demand for Malaysia-themed clothes was high, as teachers had urged students to create short patriotic videos as part of their assignment for Merdeka and Malaysia Day.
Mahani said a family of five in Kelantan would come down personally to her shop every year to get their Merdeka outfits done.
Because of the pandemic restrictions, the family could not come to Penang this year but they nevertheless placed an online order for five pairs of Malaysia-themed clothes.
On her recipe for success, Mahani said it all boiled down to positive thinking.
“We have to find ways to make a living and not feel depressed or grumpy. When times are bad, we have to cut the cloth to suit our situation and be glad with what we have.”
Those interested may check out Mahani’s collection on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/angrik.rimba. - FMT

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