Words Of A Minister

04/30/09
19:46
Indonesian batik better than Malaysian, Chinese :
Minister

Pekalongan (ANTARA
News) - Indonesian batik is superior to similar products from Malaysia or China, and therefore the country`s batik producers should not worry about the competition, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said.

I*___* : Unless Cik Mari is waging war towards the neighbouring countries, she is a b*&^h to make such a statement. Superior?? I do agree with the fact that Indonesia is one of the very first country to have maybe make a living / trying to achieve some chique-ness in fashion detailing / created a hobby / or simply had a brilliant idea to draw on fabric - but as a Minister (of TRADE somemore) why would you want to put a cork on your backside by making a defamation of other neighbours who tries to emulate what you do? We may be late by a decade in starting this hobby of drawing on cloth, but don't you think it's good competiton for your fellow citizen to know that people are doing the same thing too and maybe they should think about how to commercialise it to a higher level?

Pangestu made the statement at a function to open International Batik Week (PBI) here on Thursday."We don`t have to worry about the competition from China and Malaysia
because our batik designs are superior and difficult to emulate by other countries," Pangestu said.

*__* : Actually, I wouldn't say its difficult to plagiarise (call us copy cats), but what is the point? How do you rate superiority in something that may be of the same stream but of different market segment? It's like making a statement that the Epson printer cartridge is soooo superior, that no one can buy or will buy the recon catridge? . everyone die die also will buy the original cartridge. But just so you know, there is a group of people who couldn't care less and opted for the latter, because it's just a cartridge that will do the equal amount of printing. Sometimes it's cheaper too :)

She said Indonesian batik was more oriented to painted and printed batik and thus its superiority was difficult to match by China and Malaysia.Commenting on Malaysian batik, the minister said its motifs and colors were less competitive than the batik work from Indonesia.

*___* : I really do not get what you are trying to get hold of. get hold of yourself Cik Mari!! Please elaborate then, what is the orientation of the Malaysian and Chinese batiks. Eh.. what are the competitive colors that you think the Indonesian batik have that the rest do not have? How do you measure the competitiveness of the colors? Some colors must have been performing so badly that they do not deserve to even be invented.. :)

"Malaysian batik is completely different from Indonesia`s because it has bright colors with one or two flowers on it but ours has a lot of flowers on it," she said.

I*__* : well at least you know our batik is different. but you mean you really counted the numbers of flowers we have on our fabrics? So to say that as long as you have more flowers, you win the game? Again I must say, Cik Mari may be a good Trade Minister, but you gotta learn to be a lil subjective towards the matter of arts. Trading are figurative exercise i suppose.. but you do not appreciate arts by the numbers of flowers on it. NUMBNUT!

Asked about the number of batik prducers who had been registered as patent right users, Mari said the Trade Ministry still did not know the exact number."I still don`t o know the exact number of batik producers who have been registered because it is an affair of the Intellectual Property Rights (HAKI) Directorate General at the Law and Human Rights Ministry," Pangestu Said.

*___* : Hahaha!! U do not know your facts properly!! Ish !! :P

But she said her office would trace the number of batik makers who had been registered as patent right users.The minister also said the International Batik Week in Pekalongan was expected to increase the number of international buyers of Indonesian batik commodities.

"The important thing for the PBI which is held for the second time in Pekalongan is that it can attract as many foreign buyers as possible to come to Pekalongan," she said.
(*)

I*__* : If it's already the second time, so what was the outcome of the first meet? Where are the statistics? Show me la..

I like Indonesian batik too :) . but being in a small industry with which some are just wannabes who think that this is an easy job, wouldn't it be better to have a collabo between artists of both countries? Well, it's sad to say also that some of us over here in this country do not have an identity to call it their own, hence are trying 1001 methods to emulate your people there.. but have you noticed that even after 200 years they are still drawing 2 flowers with bright colours and not the least stepping onto your 1000 flowers on a cloth skills?

Cari makan biar bersama, cari gaduh, jauh jauh sikit :D