But on the first floor, an elderly man can be seen hunched over a sewing machine, surrounded by hundreds of songkoks arranged neatly in glass casings and stacked on tables.
Occasionally he looks up in the hope that a customer will walk in but on this quiet Tuesday morning, his only companion is the radio blaring music beside him.
He is Bachtiar Mustafa, owner and sole worker at the aptly named store, Kedai Songkok. He is perhaps among the last generation of songkok-makers in the country.
Furrowing his eyebrows, the 84-year-old tells FMT that he used to run a stall in a night market before developing an interest in the art of songkok-making.
He remembers vividly how he used to watch in awe as the songkok makers in Kampung Baru went about their day, expertly crafting immaculate songkoks day in, day out. That was 46 years ago, he says.
“I would go to their shops and observe the way they made the songkoks and later, I tried my hand at it too.
“My first ever songkok took me three full days to complete and that was of course, under the tutelage of an experienced songkok maker,” explained Bachtiar.
Once he felt he had mastered the craft, he started his own songkok-making business at Pasar Datuk Keramat, before moving to UTC Keramat in 2011.
Sitting at his trusty old sewing machine, Bachtiar recalls the days when he could churn-out 15 to 20 songkoks a day but now if he’s lucky, he can manage one.
“On a very good day, I can make two, maybe three songkoks.”
But like all businesses, competition is stiff and other cheaper, inferior brands are giving Kedai Songkok a run for its money, even if it’s made from coarse material that don’t give a comfortable fit.
His songkoks are made from velvet which means they sit more comfortably on the wearer’s head and are much softer and smoother to the touch.
“The prices of songkok vary according to the location of the shop and the type of fabric used.
“For example, I would sell mine at RM25 but if you were to go to stores in the middle of town, they would charge anything from RM50 to RM60 for the exact same piece,” explained Bachtiar.
One would think his store would be flooded with customers in the weeks leading up to Hari Raya, but the shop is virtually empty, a fate Bachtiar has come to accept.
“I used to enjoy brisk business during the wedding season and the holy month of Ramadan but that’s not the case any more.”
“If you go for Friday prayers, just observe how many Muslim men bother to wear a songkok. Very few.
“Back then, students would wear songkoks to school but do you see any students now who follow this tradition?”
Bachtiar points to the glass-door shelves in his shop, holding row upon row of black songkoks of various sizes. Wearing a somewhat saddened expression, he says, “Usually by now, all these songkoks would have been sold out. But business these days is bad.”
“Songkoks are considered a national head dress but if people don’t continue this tradition, no one will buy them anymore.”
The father of six lamented that the younger generation were not keen on wearing songkoks let alone learning the art of making them and preferred their modern-day office jobs and all its trappings.
With business very much on the downtrend, Bachtiar no longer puts in as many hours at his shop as he used to. These days, he works only from 9am to 3pm, then closes shop and heads home.
Is he planning on calling it a day? No such thing.
Bachtiar tells FMT he plans to keep sewing songkoks as long as his sharp eyes and nimble hands permit.
After two hours, a customer finally walks in and makes a purchase. Minutes later, Bachtiar resumes his position at the sewing machine — doing his bit to keep the craft of songkok-making alive.
Kedai Songkok
First floor Keramat Mall
Kampung Datuk Keramat
54000 Kuala Lumpur,
Kuala Lumpur
Contact: 017-3338127
Business hours: 9am – 3pm (closed on Friday)