DOCUMENTARY

Gerinda Parang

Kota Tinggi, Johor: Mr. Muhammad Haizar was a machete maker using charcoal. He was nicknamed Ahmad Besi. Ahmad Besi does business in the inland area of Sungai Mas, Kota Tinggi, Johor. He has ventured into the field of machete making for about 20 years. Iron making was inherited from his father. It was the generation his father passed down. It is also timeless. The interesting thing is that he made a machete using charcoal. Not only that, he uses used iron, especially iron items from cars such as springs, bearings and so on. He uses iron tools from the car because he says the best iron is the iron from the car. Parang-parang produced according to the customer's request in terms of short length as well as the requested design. Most of his customers are from the kamoung people because many use it for gardening. But there is still a demand for machete even though times are changing.