Kuala Lumpur, 10 November 2025 — As Malaysia’s traditional textile industry faces modern pressures such as rising production costs and a shrinking pool of successors, a new fellowship aims to future-proof the sector by equipping artisans with global best practices, creative innovation, and knowledge sharing within the sector.
Yayasan Hasanah (“Hasanah”), together with its scholarship arm Yayasan Khazanah, has announced the Khazanah ACE² Heritage Textile Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to strengthen Malaysia’s heritage textile community through international learning, mentorship, and product innovation.
Spanning six months, the Fellowship combines three weeks of immersive learning in Türkiye, chosen for its strong textile ecosystem that harmonises heritage with innovation, and five months of mentorship and product development in Malaysia. This approach ensures that artisans not only gain exposure to global best practices but also translate those insights into locally rooted innovations that benefit Malaysia’s heritage textile preservation efforts.
“This Fellowship is part of our ongoing effort to build a thriving heritage textile ecosystem, and this is our small way of contributing to it,” said Puan Siti Kamariah Ahmad Subki, Trustee and Managing Director of Yayasan Hasanah, and Trustee of Yayasan Khazanah.
“Many artisans today work in isolation, each doing incredible things — yet often without the support system that allows them to grow together. If we are to future-proof our heritage, we must move beyond individual excellence and grow into a network — one that feeds off each other’s strengths, learns from one another, and uplifts the whole community. We flourish when knowledge is shared, and when our ecosystem evolves together. And this is exactly what the Khazanah ACE² Heritage Textile Fellowship aims to nurture,” added Siti Kamariah.
A Global Learning Platform — Beginning in Türkiye
In its inaugural edition, the Fellowship begins in Türkiye, selected not for imitation but as a live classroom to observe how countries with deep textile legacies have built resilient ecosystems, well into the modern market. Fellows will engage with master artisans, cooperatives, universities, and manufacturers in Istanbul, Kayseri, and Bursa — engaging directly with artisans, museums, and cooperatives that embody the country’s living textile traditions.
“For our Fellows, Türkiye offers more than just a technical learning journey — it is an immersion into a living model of how cultural legacy and modern creativity can coexist, sustain livelihoods, and strengthen national identity,” said Siti Kamariah.
Upon returning to Malaysia, fellows will spend five months under structured mentorship, developing new works and initiatives inspired by their exposure abroad. Their journey will culminate in the Capsule Craft Collection, a public showcase celebrating their growth in technical skill, creative expression, and innovation.
Thus, beyond creative inspiration, the Fellowship offers new technical knowledge, design discipline, and exposure to sustainable business models — all vital to ensuring that Malaysia’s heritage textiles remain relevant and economically viable.
Fellows were selected through a nationwide open call and assessed by their commitment to heritage preservation, openness to collaboration, potential for both commercial and social impact, and willingness to share knowledge through multiplier activities upon return. The programme follows the “Expose, Enable, Extend” development framework, designed to expose artisans to global practices, enable innovation grounded in heritage, and extend the benefits to others through shared learning and mentorship.
Fellows share their hopes and learnings ahead of the Türkiye immersion
Ahead of their learning journey in Türkiye, the Khazanah ACE² Heritage Textile Fellows shared what they most look forward to discovering — from exploring traditional craftsmanship and production processes to finding new ways to sustain Malaysia’s own textile heritage.
- NURAN SYAZIYAH RAZALI (Creative Entrepreneur – Sarawak)
“Because there are differences between traditional clothing from Türkiye and Malaysia, I want to see how they modernise theirs — how they bring traditional garments into a contemporary context. Maybe we can learn from their approach, identify similarities and differences, and apply those insights here.”
- NOR AZRINA LASA (Creative Entrepreneur, Batik – Kuala Lumpur)
“Through this exploration in Türkiye, I want to learn how artisans there create and scale their textile art — how their environment empowers them to grow, and how they merge traditional and modern influences. These are insights I hope to adapt into BatikTEKTURA to strengthen our own creative and production processes.”
- MOHD AZWARIN BIN AHMED (Artisan, Telepuk – Terengganu)
“I joined this program because I wanted to learn from Türkiye how they preserve their artistic heritage and pass down knowledge to the younger generation. In our country, the art of telepuk is still not well known among the younger generation. I wish to seek inspiration on how we too can spark young people’s interest in learning telepuk. I hope that upon my return, I can continue to share this craft and nurture more telepuk artisans in Malaysia.”
“Saya menyertai program ini kerana saya ingin belajar daripada Turki bagaimana mereka mengekalkan kesenian warisan dan menurunkan ilmu kepada generasi muda.
Di tempat kita, kesenian telepuk masih belum dikenali oleh generasi baru. Saya ke sana untuk mencari inspirasi bagaimana kita juga boleh menarik minat anak muda mendalami ilmu telepuk. Saya berharap selepas pulang nanti, saya dapat terus menyebarkan keilmuan telepuk ini dan melahirkan lebih ramai penelapuk di Malaysia.”
- NORINDA K. SU’UT (Artisan, Keringkam – Sarawak)
“Going to Türkiye has always been a dream of mine as a Keringkam artisan. There, they have unique threads and embroidery techniques that I wish to learn — so I can apply them to Sarawak’s Keringkam embroidery. Through this program, I hope to gain new knowledge that will enrich our heritage.”
“Ke Turki adalah impian saya sebagai seorang artisan Keringkam. Di sana ada benang dan sulaman unik dengan pelbagai teknik yang saya ingin pelajari — supaya dapat saya aplikasikan dalam sulaman Keringkam Sarawak. Melalui program ini, saya berharap dapat mempelajari sesuatu yang baru untuk memperkayakan warisan kita.”
- CHARMAINE KAMAL (Textiles Artist – Selangor)
“In this fellowship, I want to see how another culture sustains its craft — how Turkish artisans adapt centuries-old techniques into modern practices and how they use their materials. I’m particularly interested in exploring textures and structures — that’s the style I’m adapting now. I hope to learn how to link cultures and apply those insights to my own creative work.”
Yayasan Hasanah’s commitment to cultural preservation spans over a decade, including initiatives to digitise and protect legacy motifs through intellectual property registration, train new artisans in crafts such as Keringkam, Songket, and Telepuk, and support exhibitions that bring Malaysian craftsmanship to the public eye. This newest Fellowship programme extends this mission by cultivating the next generation of artisans to apply global insights in reimagining Malaysia’s heritage textiles for a contemporary world.
Looking ahead, Hasanah plans to explore other regions rich in textile traditions, such as India and Morocco, to continue growing this platform for shared learning and cultural exchange.
-END-
About the Khazanah ACE² Heritage Textile Fellowship
The Khazanah Executive Short Courses (ACE²) Heritage Textile Fellowship is a collaborative initiative by Yayasan Hasanah and Yayasan Khazanah that empowers artisans and designers through international exposure, mentorship, and product development. The Fellowship ensures Malaysia’s cultural heritage remains vibrant, relevant, and economically sustainable.
In its debut edition, ten fellows will spend three weeks in Türkiye before returning home to develop new works and ideas that contribute to Malaysia’s growing creative economy and craft ecosystem.