The
text message from my friend, who is familiar with the stuff that interests me,
read like this:
 |
Rafidah Ahmad, better known as Ima, with her
batik products at Imarazak - The Batik House,
located within Kompleks Kraf Johor
|
“I
wanted to share with you about my batik shirts. Lately, I’ve opted to wear more
Batik Johor and it’s all from this shop in Kompleks Kraf Johor called, Imarazak.
They
use Johor motifs like pepper, gambier and pineapple, and they also offer batik
printing classes at their shop.”
It is
no secret that I have an inherent interest in Johor culture and heritage, so
key words like batik along with, Johor motifs of pepper, gambier and
pineapple, certainly appealed to me.
I did
not hesitate to get the contact details and asked him for a favour to make an
e-introduction before I arranged our meet-up at their shop.
I am
familiar with Kompleks Kraf Johor, located in Larkin off Jalan Datin Halimah,
and when I arrived at the carpark, Madam Ima herself was waiting there to
welcome me in.
 |
A golden digit for Nine, floating
against the product display, that
marks the Ninth Anniversary
of Imarazak this year
|
She
explained that their brand name, Imarazak, was coined from her name in
one part with the other part made up of her husband’s name, Razak.
My eyes
zeroed in on a golden balloon in the shape of the digit nine, floating against
the rack of batik shirts on display, and Ima was quick to share that they were
commemorating their Ninth Anniversary since the brand was registered in 2017.
Madam
Ima clarified that her name is Rafidah Ahmad while Ima, was her home
name when she was growing up in Kampung Tanjung Adang, Gelang Patah.
This
struck a familiar chord with me because my dad was posted to work at the Government health dispensary in Gelang Patah in the 1960s and he had good friends in Kampung Pok, the village that Ima told me, was next to Kampung
Tanjung Adang.
As we
chatted about her journey to Imarazak, I learnt that Ima has a background in
Engineering, more specifically, in the specialised field of High Radio
Frequency Nano Technology.
She had
a successful career with multinational companies in Shah Alam, working in their
Research & Development team with the opportunity to develop her skills
through further research studies abroad.
At that
stage in her life, she was a mother to five children with ages that ranged from
seven years to five months old. With her mother advanced in age and her husband
ill, she had to make a decision to choose between advancing her career or being
with her family.
Ima
then reached the decision to uproot herself from Shah Alam, accepted a job
opportunity in Iskandar Puteri and moved closer to her mother in Johor.
As the
Radio Frequency Designer of a special device, her work (again!) required her to
be in the UK for three years with six months in Japan. Once again, she was
faced with the tough decision of choosing between career and family.
To Ima,
her family always comes first.
Armed
with professional skills from her engineering career, she forged ahead as a
trader in batik and curated an exclusive collection of all types of
high-quality, beautiful batik from various Malaysian states, available to
discerning customers from her boutique and art gallery, opened in Iskandar
Puteri.
Ima
made good use of the six years as a trader in batik to study her target market
and successfully met their tastes for premium quality fabrics that reflect
traditional heritage and handled the business with a modern approach.
 |
Ima with her son, Faris, as he was block printing
a piece of fabric at the workshop, adjacent
to their shop in Kompleks Kraf Johor
|
From
trading in batik, Ima turned to learning more about the art of creating batik.
At a special workshop organised by Kraftangan Malaysia, a batik tutor from
Terengganu was invited to conduct training in the art of canting and
block printing.
Ima
gave much thought into choosing to pursue the art of creating batik using the
canting method or the block printing method and after much deliberation, she
decided on acquiring the skills in block printing.
With the
Imarazak brand established, her batik business relocated to the current
premises in Kompleks Kraf Johor where there was space to create her own designs
using the block printing method.
Then under
a Johor Corporation branding exercise in 2017, she registered IMARAZAK
TRADITIONAL & MODERN as ‘The Batik House’ with a tagline, Batik Comes
Alive.
 |
Faris had acquired the skills in
block printing, a tedious but
satisfying task, all done by hand
|
When
the global pandemic reached our shores in 2020, Ima had no alternative but to
work-from-home. In such a challenging situation, she applied her engineering
skills to modify equipment and techniques to continue creating batik using the
block printing method at home, to meet with her customers’ requests.
Her
social-media savvy sons, Danial and Faris, supported her home-based business by
creating an online presence on various platforms and she was able to keep her
brand alive throughout the lockdown period by creating custom-designed fabrics.
I
observed that Ima was proud of how they were able to commit to deliver on time,
her exclusive products that were made according to the customers’ choice in
fabric, colours and designs.
She
cited the example of a Malay wedding where the customer required a number of
two-meter batik printed fabrics for the ladies’ traditional costumes. And when
she was able to meet the customers’ requirement, they added to their order, five-meter
fabrics for the men’s costumes.
 |
Ima showing off her own design
of the Johor motif of pepper and
gambier made using the block
printing method, tailored
into a shirt
|
It was
clear that her experience garnered from the years as a Research &
Development engineer-turned-trader in batik, a useful time of training and
learning for her own advancement in the world of creating meaningful batik, a
unique form of wearable art with a story.
Ima
then showed me a framed piece of batik she created that featured the Johor
motifs of pepper and gambier with fronds of the piai fern, and told me
about the Batik Lestari Competition in 2024, where she was shortlisted among
the top 20 from some 80 participants.
The
shortlisted participants were invited to present a pitch and share their
response to the question, “What do you know about sustainability?”
By
then, her sons had joined the business where Faris was applying his skills in
block printing fabrics while Danial continues to support in sales and on
social-media.
In her
presentation, Ima was able to share about the heritage element of the motifs
used in the design of her batik fabric: Pepper and gambier that represent the
lucrative spice trade and the first economy crops that put Johor on the world
map as the world’s largest producer of gambier in the 1800s, and piai leaves, a
coastal fern that grows abundantly in mangrove forests, essential plants that
protect the delicate coastal eco-system.
 |
This framed piece of batik
features Johor motifs of pepper,
gambier and fronds of piai fern
|
Ima
discussed the route to growth and sustainability by having a succession plan
where her sons were hands-on involved in the business, and having seen the
process and the work involved in producing quality fabrics, they can better
appreciate the final products.
She was
also unselfish about her skills and knowledge, ready to share her journey with
the younger generations by collaborating with colleges and universities, open
to accepting practical trainees and interns who wish to learn batik-making
techniques.
As Ima
shared, I could feel her passion for creating batik designs that aimed to
elevate Malaysian batik by showcasing the Johor identity to the world through
the production and marketing of quality products with exclusive and
contemporary designs.
While I
was there, a walk-in customer came to look at the smart shirts and Danial
helped to pick out one that met with his taste and size.
Then
one-by-one, Ima showed me her designs that were tailored from cotton and satin
cotton fabrics, created in trendy colours like teal and olive, or according to
the customer’s requirement or corporate colours.
When
Ima showed me a batik design used on a cold bag she that designed for Tea
Garden, I instantly recognised it from a Ramadan promotional event at Tea
Garden in 2024. As Ima pointed to her signature on the design that featured Bunga
Raya (Red hibiscus) and Bunga Telang (Blue pea flowers), it was good
to know that she was, in fact, the designer.
Among
Imarazak’s recent customers were brands like UDA Holdings, Tea Garden, Desaru
Coast, the Johor Heritage Foundation and Gleneagles Hospital, and collaborators
like Universiti Teknologi MARA, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia and Southern University College.
 |
The plaque Ima received from
Yayasan Raja Zarith Sofiah,
Negeri Johor
|
Ima
told me she was pleasantly surprised when a team from Yayasan Raja Zarith
Sofiah, Negeri Johor or the Raja Zarith Sofiah Foundation, Johor, visited
Imarazak – The Batik House, to learn more about Ima and her use of Johor motifs
in her designs.
She was
more than pleased when they presented her with a plaque as a sign of approval
from Yayasan Raja Zarith Sofiah, Negeri Johor for what she was doing to
preserve and promote the Johor identity through her useful and wearable art work.
No, she
has no plans to move into a mall where there were more footfalls. At Kompleks
Kraf Johor, Imarazak welcomes visitors and groups to watch how block printing
was done and take part in batik painting using a paintbrush or the canting.
Congratulations
on your Ninth Anniversary and wishing Imarazak greater heights of success as
more customers – many of them repeat customers – appreciate the quality in
their products and services that meet with the customers’ tastes and
requirements.
Imarazak
– The Batik House, is at Wakaf No. 1, Craft Valley, Kompleks Kraf Johor, Jalan
Cendersari, off Jalan Datin Halimah, 80350 Johor Bahru, Johor. Open from Monday
to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. For enquiries, Tel: +6019 2779275.
For
info and updates, visit Imarazakbatik official pages on Facebook, Instagram and
TikTok as well as YouTube to view videos.
A version of this feature was first published in The Iskandarian, the official newspapers of Iskandar Malaysia, on 12 October 2026.
