About Kandis Resource Centre

The People Behind Kandis Resource Centre 

There are many wonderful people who have helped to bring Kandis Resource Centre, its exhibitions, books, its collections and now its courses to fruition.  But the main people involved from the beginning are:

Allahyarham Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein

The late Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein brought the art of transforming rare woods and ivory into keris handles and sheaths to new heights. The keris he carved, normally using very old blades, are works of art which have been presented by the Government of Malaysia to the Emperor of Japan, the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and many other visiting heads of state. His keris can also be found in many of Malaysia’s museums and private collections.  His designs for the carvings on the huge Pintu Gerbang doors for the Istana Balai Besar in Kota Bahru have been copied across the state by others looking for true Kelantanese design.

However, perhaps far more importantly Nik Rashiddin also became known as an expert in the history and traditions of woodcarving and keris making. He acquired his priceless collections of historic weapons and antique carvings because they functioned as his “textbooks”; each piece contributed to his knowledge of the motifs and the evolution of design in Malay Woodcarving. 

In recent years, Nik Rashiddin’s twin vocations as artist and teacher took on a new dimension. Working with his wife Rosnawati, Othman and his friend and protégé, Norhaiza Noordin to promote Malay Woodcarving in his home state of Kelantan through Kandis Resource Centre which is being developed on his home ground of Kampong Kandis, in the South of Kelantan.

Nik Rashiddin’s tragic death in 2002, at the young age of 45 has been a great blow to this venture.  But his spirit lives on in the work he initiated, and his work is being continued by Puan Rosnawati Othman and Norhaiza Noordin.

Norhaiza Noordin

One could say that Norhaiza Noordin was born to become a woodcarver: his parents were introduced to each other by Master Woodcarver and National Treasure, Haji Wan Su with whom he also later studied. He also apprenticed himself to Tengku Ibrahim and Latif Long, both well known masters.  However as he matured, he devoted his life to learning  about the finer details of motif and philosophy within the art of woodcarving alongside Nik Rashiddin.

Norhaiza still regards himself as a student of his Art

In 1990, at the age of 25, he was chosen to design the moulds for the great doors in the Terengganu Museum. Since then, he has executed commissions for many prestigious buildings and distinguished patrons.  At present he is working on the carvings to be presented to the new Islamic Centre at Oxford, UK

Despite his many successes and growing renown however, his concerns about the future of woodcarving are leading him to take on the roles of teacher and administrator; helping to provide information to the carving schools, being involved in the setting up of the One Kampong One Craft to help young artisans in his district,  and recently moving to live in his restored collection of superb old Terengganu houses.  He managed to find, relocate and reconstruct these  over many years whenever he had enough funds to spare.  This wonderful complex of buildings is now home to him, his wife Puan Royhayati  and their two children.  It has been visited by many dignitaries, including the recent Minister of Culture, Dato Seri Rais Yatim, the Mentri Besar of his state, Dato Seri Idris Jusoh and many dignitaries during the launching of  “Besut as the Carving Centre of Malaysia” in 2007.

He will be the Chairman of the new Akademi Nik Rashiddin.

Rosnawati Othman

Puan Rosnawati Othman, the widow of the late  Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein, has taken on the administrative mantle of his mission, and curated the exhibitions which took place at Muzium Negara in May, June and July 2005  & Muzium Negeri at Kuala Terengannu later that year. 

Still living at their home by the sea at Kampong Kandis with their 4 children, Rosnawati is the driving force behind setting up Kandis Resource Centre as a place to which all can come to study, discuss and examine the artifacts, library and sketchbooks of Nik Rashiddin, and take part in workshops, study groups and study visits.  She is deeply involved now in the cataloguing of the entire collection of artifacts, drawings, books, tools and materials which will form a unique resource for researchers.  A library is also being created to house these at the new centre, and Rosnawati besides delivering many papers at relevant seminars and conferences is also holding both short and more in depth courses covering the wealth of information contained within the collections and associated subjects. 

An architect herself, qualifying from the University of Newcastle in Australia, Rosnawati has done much work on the origins and application of motif within Malay art and is about to publish a book in conjunction with the Ministry of culture, in both Bahasa and English, which will give fuller and more technical information to augment that published in Spirit of Wood. She will take on the Directorship of Akademi Nik Rashiddin.

Nik Rashidee Nik Hussein

The younger brother of Nik Rashiddin, Nik Rashidee Nik Hussein, along  with Rosnawati,  has been pivotal in making sure that the impetus provided by Nik Din’s ideas have not faltered.

Both in ensuring that the construction of Kandis Resource Centre continues whenever funds permit, and becoming a highly talented lecturer and demonstrator, Nik Rashidee took on a vital role during the Spirit of Wood tour of Singapore, London and Malaysia when he held visitors, both professional carvers and artists and academics, as well as the general public, spellbound with his explanations and demonstrations of the carvers art.  He continues in this role during the courses at Kandis, and frequently is visited by students and scholars from all over the world searching for information on keris. 

He now runs the Keris shop in Jalan PCB in Kota Bahru where it is possible to see and purchase both the superb keris carved by his brother and now also the keris and badek that Nik Dee is also creating. 

Waveney Jenkins

Sculptor and artist, Waveney Jenkins has been immersed in Malaysian culture since she first arrived in 1962. In 1983 she helped to set up the Badan Warisan Malaysia, of which she is now an Honorary Council Member.

Waveney has a keen interest in Malay traditional architecture, in particular the wood carvings that characteristically decorate and increase the functions of the spaces. Her years of study in the subject stood her in good stead in 1984, when she was part of the team that designed the museum at the Gedong Raja Abdullah, Klang, and in 1992, when she advised on the restoration of the Istana Jahar Royal Museum, Kota Bahru.

In 1995, she delivered a paper on Malaysia’s Vernacular Architecture at the Asia Society Conference in Chiang Mai. She also wrote the introduction to the chapter, “Immigrant Architecture” for the Malaysian Encyclopedia of Architecture.

Introduced to the late Nik Rashiddin by Norhaiza, she helped to organize and raise the funds needed to both publish the book Spirit of Wood, and to set up the exhibition, of which she was the curator for the Singapore and London venues.  She is for the moment Chairman of Kandis Resource Centre, and will be a trustee for Akademi Nik Rashiddin.

David Lok

studio dl

Photographer

David Lok has always striven to complement his work in commercial photography with more personal projects. Since the mid-1980s, he has established himself as a versatile commercial photographer who excels both in the studio and on location.

David’s documentary work is fuelled by his passion to record the Malaysian heritage. He is happiest when the two aspects of his profession coincide, as when he worked on a series of photographs for Malaysian Wetlands. At present, he is alternating his commercial assignments with a long-term commitment to documenting Penang’s architectural and cultural heritage.

His contribution to Kandis has been immeasurable – taking thousands of photographs of both artifacts and occasions which are to be catalogued and set up into a database which can be accessed for both commercial and publicity purposes, and thereby to provide much needed income for Kandis Resource Centre .

KC Chong and Roselyn Chuah

KC has been at the helm of Kandis, assisted by Roselyn Chuah, both in providing financial advice and management services, and in sourcing superb design and printing facilities from KC’s  long suffering and generous friends and business contacts. 

Acute eyes and a meticulous ability to compose lucid and accurate copy from the rather incoherent material supplied by the rest of the team has been of the most enormous importance to the progress of Kandis’s projects.

About this website

This website came about as a result of the enthusiasm of the wood carvers, their friends, and excellence of the carvings themselves.  It is intended to echo the qualites of the exhibitions. It can only be a faint echo by comparison.  The visitor to this website would be well advised to visit Kandis Resource Centre at Kampong Kandis, south of Bachok in Kelantan on Malaysia's beautiful Eastern sea-bord to marvel at the beauty of the craft, and discover so much more.